August 17, 2015
If the universe seems cold from a distance, birthdays are part of its rebuttal.
Andromeda Rising over the Alps
Birthday · August 17, 2015
A little universe, just for you
Your date.
Ready to give.
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APOD published August 17, 2015. Credit: Matteo Dunchi. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
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. Now rising near a few hours after sunset from mid-latitude northern locations, Andromeda is rising earlier each night and will be visible to northerners all night long starting in September. The featured image captured Andromeda rising above the Italian Alps last month. 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. Recent data indicates that our Milky Way Galaxy will collide and coalesce with the slightly larger Andromeda galaxy in a few billion years. Follow APOD on: Facebook, Google Plus, or Twitter
Image credit: Matteo Dunchi