Printer Friendly
The Free Dictionary
989,099,563 visitors served.
?
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

Andromeda Galaxy
(redirected from Andromeda (galaxy))

   Also found in: Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.06 sec.
Andromeda Galaxy, cataloged as M31 and NGC 224, the closest large galaxy to the Milky Way Milky Way, the galaxy of which the sun and solar system are a part, seen as a broad band of light arching across the night sky from horizon to horizon; if not blocked by the horizon, it would be seen as a circle around the entire sky.
..... Click the link for more information.
 and the only one visible to the naked eye in the Northern Hemisphere. It is also known as the Great Nebula in Andromeda. It is 2.2 million light-years away and is part of the Local Group Local Group, in astronomy, loose cluster of at least 35 nearby galaxies , including our own Milky Way galaxy, the Andromeda Galaxy , and the Magellanic Clouds .
..... Click the link for more information.
 of several galaxies that includes the Milky Way, which it resembles in shape and composition. It has a diameter of about 165,000 light-years and contains at least 200 billion stars. Its two brightest companion galaxies are M32 and M110. The light arriving at earth from the Andromeda Galaxy is shifted toward the blue end of the spectrum, whereas the light from all other cosmic sources exhibits red shift red shift or redshift, in astronomy, the systematic displacement of individual lines in the spectrum of a celestial object toward the red, or longer wavelength, end of the visible spectrum. The effect was discovered by V. M.
..... Click the link for more information.
.

Andromeda Galaxy

 or M31

Great spiral galaxy in the constellation Andromeda. It is the nearest spiral galaxy outside the Milky Way Galaxy and one of the few visible to the unaided eye, appearing as a milky blur. About 2 million light-years from Earth, it has a diameter of about 200,000 light-years, which makes it the largest galaxy in the Local Group. For centuries astronomers considered it part of the Milky Way; only in the 1920s did Edwin Hubble determine conclusively that it was a separate galaxy.


?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Email
Feedback
? Mentioned in
 
Encyclopedia browser? ? Full browser
 
 
Encyclopedia
?

Disclaimer | Privacy policy | Feedback | Copyright © 2008 Farlex, Inc.
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. Terms of Use.