Our Neighbor Galaxy: Andromeda Galaxy
The Andromeda Galaxy was an inhabited galaxy located in the universe within relative proximity to the Milky Way. Andromeda had two satellite galaxies.
An image depicting the Andromeda Galaxy was scanned by the Talosians as they reviewed the library computer files on board USS Enterprise in 2254. (TOS-R: "The Cage")
An older image of the Andromeda Galaxy appeared in the original "The Cage". This image was replaced for the remastered episode.
This galaxy was located in the Andromedaconstellation.
In the real world, the Andromeda Galaxy is 2,537,000 light-years from Earth.
The Messier Catalog number for this galaxy was M31. Both the Andromeda and the Milky Way were located within the Local Group of galaxies.
The distance between the Andromeda Galaxy and the Milky Way Galaxy was either about one million light years (Star Trek Encyclopedia (4th ed., vol. 1, p. 28)) or about 2 million light years.
The Andromeda Galaxy is bright enough to be seen with the naked eye, even with some light pollution. Andromeda is best seen during autumn nights in the Northern Hemisphere, when from mid-latitudes the galaxy reaches zenith (its highest point at midnight) so can be seen almost all night. From the Southern Hemisphere, it is most visible at the same months, that is in spring, and away from our equator does not reach a high altitude over the northern horizon, making it difficult to observe. Binoculars can reveal some larger structures and its two brightest satellite galaxies, M32 and M110.
An amateurtelescope can reveal Andromeda's disk, some of its brightest globular clusters, dark dust lanes and the large star cloud NGC 206.
Like the Milky Way, the Andromeda Galaxy has satellite galaxies, consisting of 14 known dwarf galaxies. The best known and most readily observed satellite galaxies are M32 and M110. Based on current evidence, it appears that M32 underwent a close encounter with the Andromeda Galaxy in the past. M32 may once have been a larger galaxy that had its stellar disk removed by M31, and underwent a sharp increase of star formation in the core region, which lasted until the relatively recent past.
In 2006, it was discovered that nine of the satellite galaxies lie in a plane that intersects the core of the Andromeda Galaxy; they are not randomly arranged as would be expected from independent interactions. This may indicate a common tidal origin for the satellites.
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