M31 Andromeda Galaxy
The Andromeda Galaxy is a large spiral galaxy very similar to our own Galaxy, the Milky Way. Also known as M31, the Andromeda Galaxy is over 65,000 light years in diameter and approximately 2.2 million light years in distance. The two bright dwarf elliptical galaxy companions of M31 are also visible in the image: M32 sits on the right edge and M110 is in the far lower left corner. M31 is considered a nearby galaxy, and is one of the very few galaxies that is visible with the unaided eye. M31, the Milky way and the Triangulum Galaxy (also known as M33) are the three major galaxies of our corner of the Universe, a small group of galaxies known as
| Observatory: | WIYN Observatory Kitt Peak, Arizona |
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| Telescope: | WIYN 0.9-Meter |
| Instrument: | Mosaic I |
| Astronomer: | T.A. Rector & B.A. Wolpa (NOAO/AURA/NSF) |
| Date of Observation: | 01-13-2001 |
| Filters and Assigned Colors: | U (violet), B (blue), V (green), R (orange), I (red), Hydrogen-Alpha (red) and Oxygen [OIII] (green) |
| Exposure Times: | 5x5 minutes in each optical filter |
| Location of Image: | Andromeda |
| Field of View: | 59 x 59 arcminutes |
| Orientation: | North is to the left and East is down |
| Link to Larger Image | |
| Link to Full Resolution Image | |
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