Celestial Objects
Andromeda Galaxy
Galaxy
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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. Sources
1. HubbleSite
Space Telescope Science Institute, for NASA and ESAscience.nasa.gov, Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 31Quote, science.nasa.gov, Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 31
It is easily visible with the unaided eye from a dark sky site.
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