The Andromeda Galaxy: Closest Neighbor to the Milky Way and Its Fascinating History

KOMPAS.com – The Andromeda Galaxy is the closest neighbor to the Milky Way Galaxy, where the Earth we live on is located.

Interestingly, the Andromeda Galaxy is one of many galaxies that can be seen with the unaided eye, which appears hazy like milk.

So, what is the Andromeda Galaxy and where is it located?

As quoted from Britannica, Monday (14/8/2032) the location of the Andromeda Galaxy is about 2.5 million light years from Earth, with a diameter of about 200,000 light years.

As a neighbor of the Milky Way, the Andromeda Galaxy shares many characteristics with our galaxy.

Also read: Revealed, The Mystery of the Form of a Strange Star Cluster at the Center of the Andromeda Galaxy

The history of the discovery of the Andromeda Galaxy

An interesting fact is that the Andromeda Galaxy has been mentioned since 965 AD in various books, such as the Book of the Fixed Stars by the Islamic astronomer Al Sufi.

Furthermore, this galaxy was rediscovered in 1612, not long after the invention of the telescope, by a German astronomer named Simon Marius.

Marius stated that this galaxy was similar to a candlelight seen through a pair of binoculars.

For centuries, astronomers considered the Andromeda Galaxy to be part of the Milky Way Galaxy.

Also read: Cannibalism of the Andromeda Galaxy Revealed, The Milky Way’s Next Target

This galaxy is considered to be a spiral nebula similar to other clusters of glowing gas in the local galaxy system. Therefore, this galaxy is also called the Andromeda Nebula.

However, in the 1920s, American astronomer Edwin Powell Hubble finally confirmed that Andromeda was actually a separate and distinct galaxy that existed outside the Milky Way.

According to experts, the Andromeda Galaxy has a past involving collisions and accretion with other galaxies.

Its unique closest companion, M32, exhibits structures that suggest that Andromeda was once a normal, more massive galaxy.

Possibly, in the past, the Andromeda Galaxy has lost most of its outer portions and all of its inner globular clusters, due to a past collision with M31.

Also read: Good News, Our Galaxy Will Not Be Swallowed by Andromeda

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2023-08-14 13:00:00
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