Messier 31
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NASA
Sparkling Andromeda
The Andromeda galaxy, also known as Messier 31 (M31), is a glittering beacon in this image released on June 25, 2025, in tribute to the groundbreaking legacy of astronomer Dr. Vera Rubin, whose observations transformed our understanding of the universe. In the 1960s, Rubin and her colleagues studied M31 and determined that there was some unseen matter in the galaxy that…
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NASA
NASA’s Chandra Shares a New View of Our Galactic Neighbor
The Andromeda galaxy, also known as Messier 31 (M31), is the closest spiral galaxy to the Milky Way at a distance of about 2.5 million light-years. Astronomers use Andromeda to understand the structure and evolution of our own spiral, which is much harder to do since Earth is embedded inside the Milky Way. The galaxy M31 has played an important role in many aspects of…
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NASA
Hubble Pinpoints a Dim, Starry Mini-galaxy
A glittering collection of stars shines against a background of much more distant galaxies in this view from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope of the Pegasus Dwarf spheroidal galaxy, also known as Andromeda VI. The Andromeda galaxy, also known as Messier 31, is the Milky Way’s closest grand spiral galaxy neighbor, and is host to at least 13 dwarf galaxies that…
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