Stirling Astronomical Society Gallery

At a distance of over 2 million light-years, the beautiful spiral Andromeda Galaxy is one of our nearest neighbours. From a location with dark skies and with dark-adapted eyes, M31 can be seen as a faint patch in the constellation of Andromeda, between Cassiopeia and the square of Pegasus. It is the most distant object visible to the naked eye. This image was taken using the PIRATE telescope in Tenerife.