Andromeda Galaxy

At a distance of 2.5 million lightyears, the Andromeda Galaxy is one of the closest neighbours of the Milky Way. It is also one of the furthest light sources visible to the unaided eye as a fuzzy grayish patch of light. Astrophotography allows Andromeda to be rendered in colour and great details, showing the dust lanes and blue outer regions of young, hot stars. Andromeda is estimated to contain one trillion stars. Two satellite galaxies, M32 (above Andromeda) and M110 (below) is also seen in this image. Andromeda and Milky Way are expected to collide and merge in about 4 to 5 billion years to form a giant single galaxy.

This image was captured with 1.5 hours of exposure under the dark skies of Northern Ontario.