Infrared image of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) recorded by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS). Located at a distance of million light years,

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Infrared image of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) recorded by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS). Located at a distance of million light years, M31 is the closest major galaxy to our own Milky Way. It is a member of our Local Group of galaxies, which occupies a region of space nearly five million light years across. The existence of M31 was realised in 964 by the Persian Astronomer Al-Sufi, who recorded it as a \little cloud\"; its nature as a galaxy was not defined until this century. The Andromeda Galaxy's diameter is almost 150,000 light years, and it contains approximately 300,000 million stars."

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Size: 2492px × 3543px
Photo credit: © NASA/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 224, andromeda, astronomy, cosmology, galactic, galaxy, imagery, infrared, iras, m31, ngc, science, spiral