The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) the nearest spiral Galaxy to our own
March 21st 2008 03:08
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Our nearest neighbour The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) the nearest spiral Galaxy to our own which can be seen with naked eye.
Andromeda is best seen from the northern hemisphere but can be seen in the southern hemisphere just before dawn. However if you don’t like early mornings viewers can see Andromeda rising in the evening sky from early November.
Pictures from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope looks at the Andromeda Galaxy in a new light. The infrared portrait of the Andromeda Galaxy show its true splendor the image is pleasing to the eye but has plenty of scientific value.
The readings confirm that Andromeda, 2.5 million light-years away in the constellation of the same name, puts our own Milky Way galaxy to shame in the star department. With over twice the diameter of our own Milky Way Andromeda has about 1 trillion stars, compared with the Milky Way's 400 billion stars.
Infrared light serves as a thermal copy showing the shroud of dust being heated up by the galaxy's younger stars.
Spitzer's view is actually built up from about 3,000 individual picture frames, combined to make up the final colour coded composite image. The blue represents the infrared light from older stars, and red represents the glow from dust made up of molecules called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, the red is dust seen in the outer peripheries of the Galaxy.
Andromeda is best seen from the northern hemisphere but can be seen in the southern hemisphere just before dawn. However if you don’t like early mornings viewers can see Andromeda rising in the evening sky from early November.
Infrared limage of Andromeda:Credit: Pauline Barmby (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA) et al., JPL, Caltech, NASA
Pictures from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope looks at the Andromeda Galaxy in a new light. The infrared portrait of the Andromeda Galaxy show its true splendor the image is pleasing to the eye but has plenty of scientific value.
The readings confirm that Andromeda, 2.5 million light-years away in the constellation of the same name, puts our own Milky Way galaxy to shame in the star department. With over twice the diameter of our own Milky Way Andromeda has about 1 trillion stars, compared with the Milky Way's 400 billion stars.
Infrared light serves as a thermal copy showing the shroud of dust being heated up by the galaxy's younger stars.
Spitzer's view is actually built up from about 3,000 individual picture frames, combined to make up the final colour coded composite image. The blue represents the infrared light from older stars, and red represents the glow from dust made up of molecules called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, the red is dust seen in the outer peripheries of the Galaxy.
Image of Andromeda photographed in monochrome
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