#messier 31

[quiltofstars]

The Andromeda Galaxy, M31 // Ronald Rijkers

Two of its satellite galaxies are here too: M110 (below) and M32 (above).

[krakenmare]

Mount Wilson Observatory: Andromeda Galaxy (24 August 24, 1925)

[agoblincat]

M31 (messier 31) aka the Andromeda galaxy taken with Seestar. Left side at 3 minutes, right side at 30+ minutes exposure time.

[chibinotan]

Andromeda's Open Cluster

[alascene]

Andromeda galaxy, my longest integration so far at about 6 hours and 45 minutes. Really happy to be able to get these details despite my light pollution!

[earthstory]

Our galactic neighbour, rising over the Italian Alps The Andromeda galaxy is speeding towards ours at a large rate of knots, and in some 4 billion years the two galaxies will collide in a slow motion minuet that will ignite a huge burst of star formation in both island universes. At the moment it is still some 2.5 million light years away, but it is so bright it is visible to the naked eye as a light smudge if you know where to look and have a reasonably dark sky (in fact its visibility or lack thereof is a good test of what astronomers call 'seeing').

Also known as M31 (from a catalogue compiled by Charles Messier in the late 19th/early 19th centuries that was intended to mark these objects so that they would not be confused with comets), like our galaxy it is the largest in the local group and has some 16 satellite star clumps orbiting it. Our first recorded sighting dates from 965, when the Persian astronomer Abd al-Rahman al Sufi mentioned it in his Book of Fixed Stars (while mystics, the Sufi orders produced a lot of tomes of practical knowledge, from star charts and glassmaking to animal husbandry, mostly anonymously like we do here at TES). Early star charts label it as the little cloud. Galaxies were not proved to lie beyond our immediate neighbourhood until the 1920's, and the debate was settled by Erwin Hubble in 1925 when he identified a type of variable star with fixed properties called Cepheids that allow distances to be measured. Loz Image credit: Matteo Dunchi http://space-facts.com/andromeda/ https://www.sciencefocus.com/space/how-can-i-see-the-andromeda-galaxy/

[fisherken]

The Andromenda Galaxy by simon.r.hudson Via Flickr: Messier 31 the Andromeda galaxy HaLRGB Thought I’d give this one another whirl today, happy Friday. :) Equipment used; CGX mount QHY9s CCD AA 70 EDQ-R telescope Baader filters Capture details; 24 x 300 red 21 x 300 green 26 x 300 blue 48 x 300 ha 36 x 300 lum 31 x darks 100 bias (super bias pixinsight) Software used; SGP, phd2, pixinsight & Photoshop

[spinningblueball]

M31 Andromeda Galaxy