This remarkable synthetic color composite image was assembled from archives of
visible light and infrared astronomy image data. The field of view spans the
Andromeda Galaxy (M31), a massive spiral a mere 2.5 million light-years away.
In fact, with over twice the diameter of our own Milky Way, Andromeda is the
largest nearby galaxy. Andromeda's population of bright young blue stars lie
along its sweeping spiral arms, with the telltale reddish glow of star forming
regions traced in space- and ground-based visible light data. But infrared data
from the Spitzer Space Telescope, also blended directly into the detailed
composite's red and green color channels, highlight the lumpy dust lanes warmed
by the young stars as they wind ever closer to the galaxy's core. Otherwise
invisible at optical wavelengths, the warm dust takes on orange hues. Two
smaller companion galaxies, M110 (below) and M32 (above) are also included in
the frame.
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