andromeda_galaxy

This photograph is of the Andromeda Galaxy. It was taken through a 400mm zoom lense picggyback mounted to a telescope. This is the furthest object visible to the naked eye, being an estimated 2.2 billion light years away. The second little smudge below and to the left of Andromeda, is a small companion galaxy that orbits the Andromeda Galaxy. Charles Messiere cataloged thes two galaxies and gave them the names M31, and M32 respectively.