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Credit & Copyright: Bob and Janice Fera
(Fera
Photography)
Explanation:
The large stellar association cataloged as
NGC 206 is
nestled within the dusty arms of neighboring
spiral galaxy
Andromeda (M31), 2.5 million light-years distant.
Seen near the center of
this
gorgeous close-up of the southwestern
extent of
Andromeda's disk, the bright, blue
stars of
NGC 206 indicate its youth.
Its youngest massive stars are less than 10 million years old.
Much larger than the clusters of young stars
in the disk
of our Milky Way galaxy known as open or galactic clusters,
NGC 206
spans about 4,000 light-years.
That's comparable in size to the giant stellar nurseries
NGC 604 in nearby spiral
M33 and the
Tarantula Nebula,
in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
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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 - star cluster
Publications with words: M 31 - star cluster
See also:
- APOD: 2026 September 27 Á Andromeda before Photoshop
- APOD: 2026 June 3 Á Andromeda Through Gas and Dust
- NGC 147 and NGC 185
- APOD: 2025 October 8 Á NGC 7380: The Wizard Nebula
- APOD: 2025 December 16 Á Andromeda and Sprites over Australia
- Andromeda and Friends
- APOD: 2025 August 6 Á Meteor before Galaxy