Andromeda Galaxy Gallery

Andromeda constellation

Andromeda constellation. Optical image of the constellation Andromeda. North is at top. The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) is the small fuzzy blob at centre. This large spiral galaxy is around 2.3 million light years away. At lower right is the constellation Pegasus, the winged horse, centred on the square of four bright stars. The upper left star (Alpheratz, or Alpha Andromedae) is in Andromeda, not Pegasus. The other three stars, clockwise from Alpheratz, are Scheat (Beta Pegasi), Markab (Alpha Pegasi) and Algenib (Gamma Pegasi). The two bright stars at lower left are in Aries, with the faint constellation Triangulum above them. Cassiopeia is at upper centre

© ECKHARD SLAWIK/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Maffei I and II galaxies

Maffei I and II galaxies. North is at top. Maffei I (red, centre right) is an elliptical galaxy, Maffei II (centre left) is classified as a barred spiral. Both are thought to be around 8 to 10 million light years from Earth. They are part of a group (the Maffei I Group) that comprises some 20 galaxies. This group is thought to be a subgroup of the Local Group of galaxies, the group that contains our Milky Way. The group is thought to have been flung away from the Local Group after an interaction with the Andromeda galaxy (not seen). These two galaxies lie in the plane of the Milky Way, and are thus obscured by dust. They were only discovered in 1968. Photographed by the 1.22-metre Oschin Telescope at Mount Palomar, California, USA

© DAVIDE DE MARTIN/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY