The great sprial Galaxy M31 in the constellation Andromeda is one of the nearest major galaxies to the Milky Way. The Andromeda galaxy is visible to the naked eye as a very faint glow on clear Autumn nights. At a distance of 2.5 million light years the Andromeda Galaxy was one of the first objects that was determined to be outside of our own galaxy.
About the image:
This photo of the Andromed Galaxy was taken in October 2024 at the Pawnee Grasslands of Eastern Colorado. The telescope used was a SkyWatcher Esprit 120mm and ZWO ASI6200 CCD camera. Total exposure time was three hours using red, green, and blue filters.