The Andromeda Galaxy

Photo of the swirling stars of the Andromeda Galaxy shown in purples, yellows, and reds against black background.

Andromeda Galaxy
Photo: © Robert Gendler, www.robgendlerastropics.com

There is a better choice.

Andromeda, estimated to contain several billion stars, likely DOES include many massive stars in all stages of development. But unfortunately, it’s too far away. At 2.5 million light years, that is, 25 times farther than the width of our entire Milky Way galaxy, even the Hubble Space Telescope has great difficulty seeing individual stars.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. (NSF AST 0507478). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.