Andromeda galaxy (M31). North is at top. This large spiral galaxy is the nearest major galaxy to our own Milky Way, lying around 2.5 million light years from Earth, in the constellation Andromeda. It is orbited by two satellite galaxies, M32 (bright dot below M31s nucleus) and M101 (above and right of M31s nucleus). The bright star at centre left is Nu Andromedae. Photographed by the 1.22metre Oschin Telescope at Mount Palomar, California, USA.
