The Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31) is the nearest major galaxy to the Milky Way, a spiral galaxy about 2.5 million light-years away and easily visible to the naked eye from a dark sky site; the Persian astronomer Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi recorded it in his Book of Fixed Stars in 964 CE, the earliest known report of the object.
Facts
Discovery YearEarliest known recorded observation (naked-eye), by Persian astronomer Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi, not a modern point-source discovery. Classification
Constellation Connections
In the Other Atlases
In Constellation
Also in Divinity Atlas: the constellation this subject lies in.
Sources
1. Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Wikimedia Foundation
2. HubbleSite
Space Telescope Science Institute, for NASA and ESAscience.nasa.gov, Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 31
It is easily visible with the unaided eye from a dark sky site.
Entity description, andromeda-galaxy catalogue classification
The Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31) is the nearest major galaxy to the Milky Way, a spiral galaxy about 2.5 million light-years away and easily visible to the naked eye from a dark sky site; the Persian astronomer Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi recorded it in his Book of Fixed Stars in 964 CE, the earliest known report of the object.
Andromeda Galaxy (Wikipedia)
Andromeda Galaxy, Wikipedia - lead section, constellation
The galaxy's name stems from the area of Earth's sky in which it appears, the constellation of Andromeda, which itself is named after the princess who was the wife of Perseus in Greek mythology.
- In Group: Spiral Galaxies, infobox 'type' field: SAB(s)b (NED classification, de Vaucouleurs system) filed under Spiral Galaxies
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