Andormeda Galaxy

M31: The Andromeda Galaxy in Andromeda (NGC 224)


Object type: Spiral Galaxy
Distance from Earth: 2,500,000 light years
770,000 parsecs
Distance across galaxy: 160,000 light years
50,000 parsecs

The Great Galaxy in Andromeda is the largest galaxy in the Local Group which includes our Galaxy, the Milky Way. M31 contains over 300 billion suns. We see it nearly edge on - from our viewpoint it is tilted at an angle of 13 degrees. It is the farthest object visible to the naked eye. M31 can be seen without optical aid from sites away from city lights when the Moon is below the horizon. With a telescope, the two satellite galaxies NGC205 and M32 can be seen in the same field (and are shown in the picture at left center and bottom right).