Andromeda: Our Galactic Next-Door Neighbor

Summary


When we look at the night sky, every star we observe is part of our Milky Way galaxy. Even the star clusters and nebulae are part of the Milky Way. The only naked-eye object that isn't part of the Milky Way is the nearest major galaxy to our own: the Andromeda galaxy.

In general, a galaxy is a large collection of stars. Andromeda contains about 1 trillion stars, compared to the Milky Way's 400 billion. Galaxies are also made up of giant clouds of gas and dust. When the clouds smash into each other they spark the birth of new stars.

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Andromeda: Our Galactic Next-Door Neighbor

The Andromeda galaxy, which is also known as Messier object 31 (M31), is more than twice as big as our own. Andromeda is about 250,000 light-years across. ...

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