Andromeda Galaxy in Visible and Infrared

  • Released Monday, September 10, 2018
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While Andromeda is a spiral galaxy, its dust falls largely in a huge ring structure, possibly caused by gravitational interactions with its smaller satellite galaxies.

Andromeda is the nearest spiral galaxy to the Milky Way, around 2.5 million light-years away. Once thought to be a twin of our galaxy, its different structure is very evident in infrared light. While it is a spiral galaxy, its dust falls largely in a huge ring structure, possibly caused by gravitational interactions with its smaller satellite galaxies.

Optical: This is the classic visible view of the Andromeda Galaxy

Infrared: Andromeda's dust ring stands out in the infrared

This animation is the same as above, played twice as fast.

NOAO optical image of AndromedaOptical: This is the classic visible view of the Andromeda Galaxy

NOAO optical image of Andromeda

Optical: This is the classic visible view of the Andromeda Galaxy

Spitzer Infrared image of Andromeda Infrared: Andromeda's dust ring stands out in the infrared

Spitzer Infrared image of Andromeda

Infrared: Andromeda's dust ring stands out in the infrared

Credits

Please give credit for this item to:
Video: NASA, ESA, and G. Bacon (STScI)
Image Credits:

  • Optical: NOAO, AURA/NSF
  • Infrared: NASA, JPL-Caltech, K. Gordon (University of Arizona)

This page was originally published on Monday, September 10, 2018.
This page was last updated on Monday, March 10, 2025 at 12:26 AM EDT.

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