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Credit & Copyright: NASA,
NSF,
NOAJ,
Hubble,
Subaru,
Mayall,
DSS,
Spitzer;
Processing & Copyright:
Robert Gendler &
Russell Croman
Explanation:
This picture of Andromeda shows not only where stars are now,
but where stars will be.
The big, beautiful
Andromeda Galaxy,
M31, is a
spiral galaxy
a mere 2.5 million
light-years
away.
Image data from space-based and ground-based observatories have been
combined here to produce
this
intriguing composite
view of Andromeda at wavelengths both
inside and outside normally visible light.
The visible light
shows where M31's stars are now, highlighted in
white and blue hues and imaged by the
Hubble,
Subaru, and
Mayall telescopes.
The infrared light
shows where M31's future stars will soon form,
highlighted in orange hues and imaged by NASA's
Spitzer Space
Telescope.
The infrared light tracks enormous
lanes of dust,
warmed by stars, sweeping along Andromeda's spiral arms.
This dust is a tracer of the galaxy's vast
interstellar gas, raw material for future
star
formation.
Of course, the new stars will likely form over the next hundred million years or
so.
That's well before Andromeda merges with our
Milky
Way Galaxy in about 5 billion years.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: M 31 - Andromeda galaxy
Publications with words: M 31 - Andromeda galaxy
See also:
- APOD: 2023 November 13 Á Andromeda over the Alps
- APOD: 2023 August 23 Á The Meteor and the Galaxy
- NGC 206 and the Star Clouds of Andromeda
- APOD: 2023 March 22 Á M31: The Andromeda Galaxy
- APOD: 2023 January 17 Á Unexpected Clouds Toward the Andromeda Galaxy
- Clouds Around Galaxy Andromeda
- Andromeda in Southern Skies