|
Credit & Copyright: Jason Ware
Explanation:
Andromeda is the nearest major galaxy to our
own Milky Way Galaxy. Our Galaxy
is thought to look much like Andromeda.
Together these two galaxies dominate the Local Group
of galaxies. The diffuse light from Andromeda
is caused by the hundreds of billions of stars
that compose it. The several distinct stars that surround Andromeda's
image are actually stars in our Galaxy
that are well in front of the background object. Andromeda
is frequently referred to as M31 since it is the 31st
object on
Messier's list of diffuse
sky objects. M31
is so distant it takes about 2 million years for light to reach
us from there. Much about M31 remains unknown,
including why the center contains two nuclei.
|
January February March April May June July August September October November December |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day