Separated by about 14 degrees (28 Full Moons) in
planet Earth's sky, spiral galaxies M31 ,left, and M33 are both large members of
the Local Group, along
with our own Milky Way galaxy. This
wide-angle, telescopic mosaic captures colorful details of spiral structure
in both, while the massive neighboring galaxies seem to be balanced either side
of bright Mirach, beta star in the constellation
Andromeda. But M31, the Andromeda Galaxy, is really
2.5 million light-years distant and M33, the Triangulum
Galaxy, is also about 3 million light years away. Mirach, just 200
light-years from the Sun, lies well within the Milky Way, along with the dim clouds
of dust drifting through the frame only a few hundred light-years above the
galactic plane. Although they look far apart, M31 and M33 are locked in a mutual
gravitational embrace. Radio astronomers have found indications of a bridge of
neutral hydrogen gas that could connect the two, evidence of a closer encounter
in the past. Based on measurements, gravitational simulations currently predict that the
Milky Way, M31, and M33 will all undergo mutual close encounters and potentially
mergers, billions of years in the future.
September 26, 2013
M31 and M33
Separated by about 14 degrees (28 Full Moons) in
planet Earth's sky, spiral galaxies M31 ,left, and M33 are both large members of
the Local Group, along
with our own Milky Way galaxy. This
wide-angle, telescopic mosaic captures colorful details of spiral structure
in both, while the massive neighboring galaxies seem to be balanced either side
of bright Mirach, beta star in the constellation
Andromeda. But M31, the Andromeda Galaxy, is really
2.5 million light-years distant and M33, the Triangulum
Galaxy, is also about 3 million light years away. Mirach, just 200
light-years from the Sun, lies well within the Milky Way, along with the dim clouds
of dust drifting through the frame only a few hundred light-years above the
galactic plane. Although they look far apart, M31 and M33 are locked in a mutual
gravitational embrace. Radio astronomers have found indications of a bridge of
neutral hydrogen gas that could connect the two, evidence of a closer encounter
in the past. Based on measurements, gravitational simulations currently predict that the
Milky Way, M31, and M33 will all undergo mutual close encounters and potentially
mergers, billions of years in the future.
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