Friday 11 October 2013

Object of the Month: Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31)

The Andromeda Galaxy is the closest large galaxy to our galaxy, the Milky Way. It is 2.5 million light-years away from us (and closing, as it is projected to collide with us in about 4 billion years time). It is the brightest messier object in the sky, and due to it's size and close distance compared to other galaxies, also appears very large. Although our eyes are not sensitive enough to see the full extent of it, it actually appears 6 times larger than a full moon.
A colour image of Messier 32, Cluster Cam