Picture of the Day - the Andromeda Galaxy

The most distant object easily visible to the eye is M31, the great Andromeda Galaxy some two and a half million light-years away.





Without a telescope, even this immense spiral galaxy - spanning over 200,000 light years - appears as a faint, nebulous cloud in the constellation Andromeda. In contrast, details of a bright yellow nucleus and dark winding dust lanes, are revealed in this digital telescopic image.

Narrow band image data, recording emission from hydrogen atoms, shows off [...]

Full story at http://spacefellowship.com/news/art17853/picture-of-the-day-the-andromeda-galaxy.html