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Credit & Copyright: NASA,
NSF,
NOAJ,
Hubble,
Subaru,
Mayall,
DSS,
Spitzer;
Processing & Copyright:
Robert Gendler &
Russell Croman
Explanation:
This picture of Andromeda shows not only where stars are now,
but where stars will soon be.
Of course, the big, beautiful
Andromeda Galaxy, M31, is a
spiral galaxy -- and a mere 2.5 million
light-years away.
Both space-based and ground-based observatories have been
here combined to produce
this intriguing composite image of Andromeda, at wavelengths both inside and
outside normally visible light.
The visible light shows where M31's stars are now -- as highlighted in white and
blue hues and imaged by the
Hubble,
Subaru, and
Mayall telescopes.
The infrared light shows where M31's future stars will soon form -- as highlighted
in orange hues and imaged by NASA's
Spitzer Space Telescope.
The infrared light tracks enormous
lanes of dust,
warmed by stars, sweeping along Andromeda's spiral arms.
This dust is a tracer of the galaxy's vast interstellar
gas -- the raw material for future
star formation.
These new stars will likely form over the next hundred million years,
surely
well before Andromeda
merges with our
Milky Way Galaxy in about 5 billion years.
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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
Publications with words: M 31 - Andromeda galaxy
See also:
- Hubble s Andromeda Galaxy Mosaic
- NGC 206 and the Star Clouds of Andromeda
- 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
- APOD: 2023 March 22 Á M31: The Andromeda Galaxy