Fact Sheet
Andromeda Galaxy
Star clusters and individual stars shine in this image of a small portion of M31, the Andromeda galaxy. Blue stars are young and hot, while yellow and red stars are cooler and older. Dark bands inside the galaxy are lanes of dust, which block light from stars behind them. M31 is the nearest major galaxy to our own Milky Way, at a distance of 2.2 million light-years. [Credit: AURA/NOAO/NSF]
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