The Splendid Andromeda Spiral Galaxy
December 28, 2018
Photographer: Greg Parker
Summary Author: Greg Parker
Featured above is perhaps the crown jewel of extragalactic space, the splendid Andromeda Galaxy or M31, the closest, large spiral galaxy to our own Milky Way. In spite of its vast distance (2.5 million light years away from us) it can be seen with the unaided eye because of its intense brightness and enormous size. M31 has a magnitude of 3.4 and a diameter approximately 1.5 times that of the Milky Way. Look for it away from city lights on clear, moonless nights using averted vision. Note that satellite galaxy M110 is at lower right center and M32 is at left center, just above M31's core. Images acquired at the New Forest Observatory in England and processed by Noel Carboni.
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