HUBBLE ATLAS
Nighttime Sky View of Future Galaxy Merger: Present Day (Andromeda Galaxy , Galaxy Collisions , M 31 , Messier 31 , Milky Way) — image from the Hubble Space Telescope

Illustrations

Nighttime Sky View of Future Galaxy Merger: Present Day

May 6, 2014 · ESA/Hubble · Andromeda Galaxy , Galaxy Collisions , M 31 , Messier 31 , Milky Way

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This is a nighttime view of the current sky, with the bright belt of our Milky Way. The Andromeda galaxy lies 2.5 million light-years away and looks like a faint spindle, several times the diameter of the full Moon.