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Credit & Copyright: UV - NASA/Swift/Stefan Immler
(GSFC)
and Erin Grand (UMCP)
Optical - Bill Schoening, Vanessa Harvey/REU program/NOAO/AURA/NSF
Explanation:
This stunning vista represents the highest resolution image
ever made of the
Andromeda Galaxy (aka M31) at ultraviolet
wavelengths.
Recorded by NASA's Swift satellite,
the mosaic is composed of 330 individual images covering
a region 200,000 light-years wide.
It shows about 20,000 sources,
dominated by hot, young stars
and dense star clusters that radiate strongly in
energetic
ultraviolet light.
Of course, the Andromeda
Galaxy
is the closest large spiral galaxy
to our own Milky Way, at a distance of some 2.5 million light-years.
Just slide your cursor over the image to compare the appearance
of this
gorgeous island universe
in optical light with its ultraviolet portrait.
Optical - Bill Schoening, Vanessa Harvey/REU program/NOAO/AURA/NSF
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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
Publications with keywords: M 31 - Andromeda galaxy - ultraviolet - Swift
Publications with words: M 31 - Andromeda galaxy - ultraviolet - Swift
See also:
- APOD: 2024 September 8 Á M31: The Andromeda Galaxy
- APOD: 2023 November 13 Á Andromeda over the Alps
- The Once and Future Stars of Andromeda
- APOD: 2023 August 23 Á The Meteor and the Galaxy
- NGC 206 and the Star Clouds of Andromeda
- APOD: 2023 March 22 Á M31: The Andromeda Galaxy
- APOD: 2023 January 17 Á Unexpected Clouds Toward the Andromeda Galaxy