Andromeda and Friends
Image Credit &
Copyright:
Piotr Czerski
This magnificent extragalactic skyscape
looks toward the Andromeda Galaxy, the
closest large spiral galaxy to the Milky Way.
It also accomplishes a Messier catalog trifecta by including
Andromeda, cataloged as
Messier 31 (M31),
along with
Messier 32 (M32),
and
Messier 110 (M110)
in the same telescopic
field of view.
In this frame, M32 is just left of the Andromeda Galaxy's bright core with
M110 below and to the right.
M32 and M110 are both elliptical galaxies themselves
and satellites of the larger spiral Andromeda.
By combining 60 hours of broadband and narrowband image data,
the deep telescopic view also reveals tantalizing details of
dust lanes, young star clusters, and star-forming regions along
Andromeda's spiral arms, and
faint, foreground
clouds of glowing hydrogen gas.
For now,
Andromeda and friends are some 2.5 million light-years
from our own large spiral Milky Way.