Andromeda in a Single Shot
Explanation:
How far can you see?
The
Andromeda Galaxy, 2.5 million light years away, is the most distant
object easily seen by the unaided eye.
Other denizens of the night sky, like stars, clusters, and nebulae,
are typically hundreds to thousands of light-years distant.
That's far beyond the Solar System but well within
our own Milky Way Galaxy.
Also known as M31, the
external galaxy poses
directly above a chimney in this well-planned
deep
night skyscape
from an old mine in southern Portugal.
The image was captured in a single exposure tracking the sky,
so the foreground is slightly blurred by the camera's motion while
Andromeda itself looms large.
The galaxy's brighter central region, normally all that's
visible to the naked-eye, can be seen extending to spiral arms
with fainter outer reaches spanning over 4 full moons across the sky.
Of course in only 5 billion years or so, the stars of Andromeda could
span the
entire
night sky as the Andromeda Galaxy
merges
with the Milky Way.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
