ANDROMEDA GALAXY

A binocular view of the Andromeda Nebula, Messier 31, a spiral galaxy 2.5 million light years away, reveals a tilted disk. Except for much fainter M 33 in Triangulum, it is the most distant object you can see with the naked eye. Two "elliptical" galaxies hover near M 31. M 32 is the bright dot immediately below the nucleus of M 31, while NGC 205 (sometimes called M 110) appears as a slightly fuzzy patch up and to the right of M 31. The bright star to the left of M 31 is Nu Andromedae.

To see a labelled image, push the star:

See a telescopic view, courtesy of Mark Killion.