Stirling Astronomical Society Gallery

M31, the great spiral galaxy in Andromeda, is one of our nearest galactic neighbours. A spiral galaxy with a luminous core, dark dust lanes and red hydrogen-α regions, Andromeda is similar in structure to our own Milky Way,although a little larger. At a distance of approximately 2.5 million light years, M31 can be seen from a suitably dark location, making it the most distant object visible to the naked eye. This image shows two satellite galaxies, M110 (top) and the smaller M32 (below the main galaxy).