ANDROMEDA GALAXY,M31(NGC 224 ) + M32 & M110 The Andromeda Galaxy , also known as Messier 31 (M31), or NGC 224; (older texts often called it the Andromeda Nebula) is a spiral galaxy approximately 2.5 million light-years away in the constellation Andromeda. It is the nearest spiral galaxy to our own, the Milky Way. Andromeda was believed to be the largest galaxy of the Local Group of galaxies, which consists of the Andromeda Galaxy, the Milky Way Galaxy, and the Triangulum Galaxy, and about 30 other smaller galaxies. Recent observations by the Spitzer Space Telescope revealed that M31 contains one trillion (10^12) stars, greatly exceeding the number of stars in our own galaxy. M31 is approaching the Sun at about 300 kilometres per second (186 miles/sec.), so it is one of the few blue shifted galaxies. Given the motion of the Solar System inside the Milky Way, one finds that the Andromeda Galaxy and the Milky Way are approaching one another at a speed of 100 to 140 kilometres per second (62–87 miles/sec.). However, this does not mean it will definitely collide with the Milky Way, since the galaxy's tangential velocity is unknown. If it is on a collision course, the impact is predicted to occur in about 3 billion years. In that case the two galaxies will likely merge to form a giant elliptical galaxy.Such events are frequent among the galaxies in galaxy groups The Andromeda Galaxy is easily visible to the naked eye in a moderately dark sky. It appears quite small without a telescope because only the central part is bright enough to be visible, but the full angular diameter of the galaxy is seven times that of the full moon. It is generally considered to be the penultimate distant object visible to the naked eye after Triangulum. CANON EOS 350D + EF L 200mm f/2.8 closed to f/4 In parallel to a Meade SCT 8" ; F 2000 f/10