Andromeda Galaxy

Home > ... > Science and Technology > Astronomy and Space Exploration > Astronomy: General > ...

Andromeda Galaxy

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | 2008 | The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Andromeda Galaxy cataloged as M31 and NGC 224, the closest large galaxy to the Milky Way and the only one visible to the naked eye in the Northern Hemisphere. It is also known as the Great Nebula in Andromeda. It is 2.2 million light-years away and is part of the Local Group of several galaxies that includes the Milky Way, which it resembles in shape and composition. It has a diameter of about 165,000 light-years and contains at least 200 billion stars. Its two brightest companion galaxies are M32 and M110. The light arriving at earth from the Andromeda Galaxy is shifted toward the blue end of the spectrum, whereas the light from all other cosmic sources exhibits red shift .

Hide all research tools
Print this article Print all entries for this topic Cite this article Link to this article
Link to this article

CloseClose

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/.aspx#1E1-AndromGal" title="Facts and information about Andromeda Galaxy">Andromeda Galaxy</a>

Add this article to Del.icio.usBookmark this article on DiigoShare this article on FacebookSubmit this article to RedditGive this article a thumbs-up on StumbleUpon
Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

"Andromeda Galaxy." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Dec. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Andromeda Galaxy." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (December 10, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-AndromGal.html

"Andromeda Galaxy." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Retrieved December 10, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-AndromGal.html

Learn more about citation styles

Andromeda Galaxy

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | © World Encyclopedia 2005, originally published by Oxford University Press 2005. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Andromeda Galaxy Spiral galaxy 2.2 million light-years away in the constellation Andromeda, the most distant object visible to the naked eye. The Andromeda Galaxy has a mass of more than 300,000 million Suns. Its diameter is c.150,000 light-years, somewhat larger than our own Galaxy.

Hide all research tools
Print this article Print all entries for this topic Cite this article Link to this article
Link to this article

CloseClose

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/.aspx#1O142-AndromedaGalaxy" title="Facts and information about Andromeda Galaxy">Andromeda Galaxy</a>

Add this article to Del.icio.usBookmark this article on DiigoShare this article on FacebookSubmit this article to RedditGive this article a thumbs-up on StumbleUpon
Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

"Andromeda Galaxy." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Dec. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Andromeda Galaxy." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (December 10, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-AndromedaGalaxy.html

"Andromeda Galaxy." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved December 10, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-AndromedaGalaxy.html

Learn more about citation styles

Related entries from encyclopedias, dictionaries and thesauruses

Free newspaper and magazine articles

Free Article Milky Way _ the galaxy _ not snack-sized anymore
News Wire article from: AP Online; 1/5/2009
Free Article Milky Way galaxy is bigger than thought
News Wire article from: AP Worldstream; 1/5/2009
Free Article Observational cosmology: from high redshift galaxies to the blue pacific.
Magazine article from: Progress in Physics; 10/1/2005

Related topics

  Edit this list

Related articles from newspapers, magazines, and more

Catching Andromeda's light.(Andromeda Galaxy and Milky Way)
Magazine article from: Highlights for Children; 12/1/2007; ; 700+ words ; ...miles. So the Andromeda Galaxy is about 15 quintillion...at least, as galaxies go. Andromeda...Group has dozens of galaxies. Andromeda is the brightest...Local Group. Our Galaxy, the Milky Way...Galactic Empires Both Andromeda and the Milky Way are giant spiral ...
Andromeda: the cannibal galaxy
Newspaper article from: The Independent - London; 9/3/2009; ; 700+ words ; ...times larger than the galaxy's central disc of...and gas. "We mapped Andromeda's unexplored outskirts...remnants of smaller galaxies, which have been incorporated...immense scale of a galaxy's influence. "We...area, showing that galaxies are much bigger than we originally thought. ...
Faint debris trail detected in the Andromeda galaxy.
Newspaper article from: Science Letter; 1/27/2003; 700+ words ; ...stars in the nearby Andromeda galaxy offers new evidence that large spiral galaxies have grown by gobbling...appearance. Studying Andromeda gives astronomers an...bigger sibling of our galaxy, said GuhaThakurta...at UCSC. How such galaxies formed is a central...spiral galaxies ...
Andromeda galaxy 3 times bigger than previously thought:astronomers
News Wire article from: Xinhua News Agency; 5/31/2005; 700+ words ; ...the accretion of small galaxy fragments." Chapman...neighbors," he said. The Andromeda galaxy is a spiral one similar...there are smaller dwarf galaxies nearer to us, Andromeda is the closest large galaxy, at about 2 million...
Assault on Andromeda: nearby galaxy had recent collision.
Magazine article from: Science News; 10/21/2006; ; 700+ words ; ...years ago, a small galaxy plunged into Andromeda--the spiral galaxy...minor galaxy moved on, Andromeda still holds signs of...dust surrounding the galaxy. But the new inner...stimulated galaxy growth. Andromeda provides "an absolutely...
Andromeda Galaxy five times larger than earlier thought
News Wire article from: The Hindustan Times; 1/9/2007; 667 words ; ...of a classic spiral galaxy that is close enough...and is the largest galaxy in the "Local Group...and about 30 smaller galaxies. Spiral galaxies typically...of the radius). In Andromeda, the disk has a radius...from the center of the galaxy, said Guhathakurta...ongoing investigation ...
Lady in Red: Andromeda Galaxy Shines in Spitzer's Eyes.
News Wire article from: Ascribe Higher Education News Service; 10/13/2005; 700+ words ; ...and a hole in the galaxy's spiral disk...several satellite galaxies that surround Andromeda. "Occasionally...straight through bigger galaxies," said Dr. Karl...appears a little galaxy punched a hole through Andromeda's disk, much...
Researchers explore mysteries of Andromeda galaxy
News Wire article from: University Wire; 3/4/1999; ; 593 words ; ...Astronomical Journal. "Andromeda is the closest galaxy that resembles...Statler said. Galaxies in the universe...of light in a galaxy, according to...the dynamics of galaxies, like the Andromeda, that possess...that happen to galaxies that evolve," Statler said. The ...
Andromeda Galaxy in Process of Digesting its Nearest Neighbours; NRC scientist leads largest-ever survey of our sister galaxy.
News Wire article from: Marketwire Canada; 9/2/2009; 700+ words ; ...near cosmic neighbour, the Andromeda Galaxy, is swallowing smaller galaxies as it continues to grow...already been absorbed by Andromeda. The finding has come to...broadest and deepest image of a galaxy ever made, spanning a volume...
Chandra finds a 'cool' black hole at the heart of the Andromeda galaxy.
M2 Presswire; 1/17/2000; 700+ words ; ...ray star in the Andromeda Galaxy has a temperature of several...million degrees. The Andromeda Galaxy is our nearest neighbor spiral galaxy at a distance of two million...central black holes in similar galaxies. Based on its X-ray luminosity...galaxies like the Milky Way and ...
Click to see an enlarged picture
Andromeda Galaxy. Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)

For students and teachers!

Encyclopedia.com provides students and teachers facts, information, and biographies from verified, citable sources, including:

Encyclopedia.com provides students and teachers facts, information, and biographies from verified, citable sources, including:

Current Andromeda Galaxy News:

Scientists Spot Galaxy 'Cannibalism'

(9/3/2009 8:52:00 AM)