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Astronomy & Space vocabulary · Galaxies & Deep Sky

Andromeda Galaxy

Meaning in astronomy & space, with examples

/ænˈdrɑːmɪdə ˈɡæləksi/nounCommon term

In astronomy & space, Andromeda Galaxy means: The nearest large spiral galaxy to the Milky Way, about 2.5 million light-years away. Under dark skies it can be seen with the naked eye as a faint smudge.

In Turkish: Andromeda Gökadası, Andromeda Galaksisi

How it is used

Also known as M31. It is a classic first deep-sky target for stargazers, and science stories often mention that it is moving towards our galaxy and may collide with it in a few billion years.

Example sentences

  1. On autumn nights in the Northern Hemisphere, the Andromeda Galaxy is high in the sky.

  2. The light we see from the Andromeda Galaxy left it about 2.5 million years ago.

Common collocations

  • the Andromeda Galaxy (M31)
  • observe the Andromeda Galaxy
  • Andromeda and the Milky Way
  • spiral galaxyA flat, rotating galaxy with a bright central bulge and arms that curve outwards like a pinwheel. The arms are rich in young stars, gas and dust.
  • Milky WayThe barred spiral galaxy that contains our solar system and a few hundred billion stars. It also names the pale band of light it forms across a dark night sky.
  • galaxyAn enormous system of stars, gas, dust and dark matter held together by gravity. A large galaxy can contain hundreds of billions of stars.
  • light-yearThe distance light travels in one year, about 9.46 trillion kilometres. It is a unit of distance, not of time.

More terms: Galaxies & Deep Sky

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