Sharpest ever view of the Andromeda Galaxy
This image, captured with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, is the largest and sharpest image ever taken of the Andromeda galaxy — otherwise known as M31.
This is a cropped version of the full image and has 1.5 billion pixels. You would need more than 600 HD television screens to display the whole image.
It is the biggest Hubble image ever released and shows over 100 million stars and thousands of star clusters embedded in a section of the galaxy’s pancake-shaped disc stretching across over 40 000 light-years.
This image is too large to be easily displayed at full resolution and is best appreciated using the zoom tool.
Credit:About the Image
| Id: | heic1502a |
| Type: | Observation |
| Release date: | 5 January 2015, 23:15 |
| Related releases: | heic1502 |
| Size: | 69536 x 22230 px |
About the Object
| Name: | Andromeda Galaxy, M 31, Messier 31 |
| Type: | Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Spiral |
| Distance: | 2 million light years |
| Constellation: | Andromeda |
| Category: | Galaxies |
Image Formats
Coordinates
| Position (RA): | 0 44 36.99 |
| Position (Dec): | 41° 35' 33.81" |
| Field of view: | 57.98 x 18.54 arcminutes |
| Orientation: | North is 123.5° right of vertical |
View in ESASky:
View in WorldWide Telescope:
Colours & filters
| Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
|---|---|---|
| Optical b | 475 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
ACS |
| Infrared I | 814 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
ACS |