                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                              2023 November 13
       The night sky over a snowy mountain is shown, with the dark sky
   dominated by a large spiral galaxy -- the Andromeda galaxy. Please see
               the explanation for more detailed information.

                           Andromeda over the Alps
                Image Credit & Copyright: Dzmitry Kananovich

   Explanation: Have you ever seen the Andromeda galaxy? Although M31
   appears as a faint and fuzzy blob to the unaided eye, the light you see
   will be over two million years old, making it likely the oldest light
   you ever will see directly. The featured image captured Andromeda just
   before it set behind the Swiss Alps early last year. As cool as it may
   be to see this neighboring galaxy to our Milky Way with your own eyes,
   long duration camera exposures can pick up many faint and breathtaking
   details. The image is composite of foreground and background images
   taken consecutively with the same camera and from the same location.
   Recent data indicate that our Milky Way Galaxy will collide and
   coalesce with Andromeda galaxy in a few billion years.

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                      Tomorrow's picture: planets rock
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

