M31, also known as the Andromeda Galaxy

M31, also known as the Andromeda Galaxy

The most distant object readily visible without the aid of optical instruments is M31, also known as the Great Andromeda Galaxy. Despite its distance of approximately two and a half million light-years, this vast spiral galaxy, spanning over 200,000 light-years, can be observed as a faint and nebulous cloud in the constellation Andromeda. The image depicts a bright yellow nucleus, dark winding dust lanes, and expansive spiral arms, which are dotted with blue star clusters and red nebulae. This stunning telescopic image combines data from the Hubble Space Telescope with ground-based images from the Subaru and Mayall telescopes. In approximately five billion years, the Andromeda galaxy may become visible to the naked eye, spanning the entire night sky, just before it merges with or passes by our Milky Way Galaxy.

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