Hale-Bopp and Andromeda . ... Answer: the comet. In its trek through the inner Solar System , Comet Hale-Bopp has passed nearly in front of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), seen on the lower left. At the time of this picture, March 27 th , Comet Hale-Bopp was about 10 light-minutes from the Earth , while M31 remained about 3 million light- years distant. By contrast, light can cross the Earth in about 1/20 th of a second, and light takes about one second to reach Earth's Moon . ...