Andromeda halo, illuminated in night sky (illustration) (IMAGE)

NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

Andromeda halo, illuminated in night sky (illustration)

Caption

This illustration depicts the gaseous halo of the Andromeda galaxy if it could be seen with the naked eye. At a distance of 2.5 million light-years, the majestic spiral Andromeda galaxy is so close to us that it appears as a cigar-shaped smudge of light high in the autumn sky. If its gaseous halo could be seen with the naked eye, it would be about three times the width of the Big Dipper--easily the biggest feature on the nighttime sky.

Credit

NASA, ESA, J. DePasquale and E. Wheatley (STScI), and Z. Levay (background image)

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