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Credit & Copyright:
ESA/Herschel/PACS & SPIRE Consortium, O. Krause, HSC, H. Linz
Explanation:
This infrared view from the
Herschel Space Observatory explores
the Andromeda Galaxy, the closest large spiral galaxy to
our own Milky Way.
Only 2.5 million light-years distant, the
famous island universe is also
known to astronomers as M31.
Andromeda spans
over 200,000 light-years making it more the twice
the size of the Milky Way.
Shown in false color,
the image
data reveal the cool
dust lanes and clouds that still
shine in the
infrared but are
otherwise dark and opaque at visual wavelengths.
Red hues near the galaxy's outskirts represent the glow of
dust heated by starlight to a few tens of degrees above absolute zero.
Blue colors correspond to hotter dust warmed by
stars in the more crowded central core.
Also a tracer
of molecular gas, the dust
highlights Andromeda's prodigious reservoir of raw material for
future star formation.
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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 - Herschel
Publications with words: M 31 - Andromeda galaxy - Herschel
See also:
- 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
- Clouds Around Galaxy Andromeda