The Andromeda Galaxy
Uploaded by knoxville (325) on May 6, 2004 |
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The Andromeda galaxy is the closest full size galaxy to the Milky Way because of this it is known as our nearest galactic neighbor. The Andromeda Galaxy is also the only galaxy visible to the naked eye in the Northern Hemisphere. At 2.9 million light-years from Earth, Andromeda is also the farthest object that can be seen from Earth. Andromeda is not only known as our closest neighbor but scientists also refer to Andromeda and the Milky Way as sister galaxies. Andromeda closely resembles the Milky Way in shape (spiral), structure, and distribution of chemical elements. But that is where their similarities end, for Andromeda dwarfs the Milky Way and contains around twice as many stars.
This galaxy is set among the stars of the constellation of Andromeda, the tiny misty blur that astronomers know by the catalog number M 31 is easy to miss. Yet despite its unassuming appearance, M 31 is immensely greater than the stars that surround it. For centuries, astronomers thought that the Andromeda galaxy was nothing more than a nebula, a cloud of light-reflective dust and gas situated within the Milky Way. Then, in the 1880s, astronomer Isaac Roberts used a 20-inch telescope to take the first detailed photograph of Andromeda. For the first time, the spiral arms were revealed; but since no one could make out any individual stars, M 31 was still assumed to be a nebula.
Ideas changed after a 100-inch telescope, the world's largest, opened on Mount Wilson near Los Angeles in 1917. The great astronomer Edwin Hubble was able to see for the first time that the outer spiral arms of the Andromeda galaxy contained individual stars. Theses appeared similar to many found in the Milky Way, but were much fainter. Hubble located three novae. One of these novae, however, turned out to be a Cepheid variable, a star that changes predictably in brightness. This Cepheid, and others subsequently discovered in the Andromeda Nebula, enabled Hubble to prove that the Nebula was not a star cluster within our own Milky Way, but a galaxy more than a million light years away.
Andromeda is especially important for astronomers because is so similar o the Milky Way. Since we can never see our own galaxy from the outside, we can observe and learn from our nearby sister instead- the next best thing.
Despite the large amount of knowledge we now have about the Andromeda Galaxy, its distance is not really well known. The absolute value of this intergalactic measure is still uncertain, and in current sources, usually given between 2.4 and 2.9 million light-years, showing the scientific uncertainty. No matter what distance is correct a journey to Andromeda would be an enormous undertaking. Unfortunately, the laws of physics insist that faster-than-light travel is impossible. If we ever acquire the necessary technology the trip could be well worth the effort. Andromeda, with 90% more stars than the Milky Way, is far richer in old globular clusters, which furnish the heavier elements that make life at least possible.
Such a civilization, millions of years more mature than our own, would probably be the explorers' best chance of ever seeing their native earth again. We may have no idea of how to cross the gulf between the galaxies with magical speed, but our Andromedan neighbors might have solved the problem eons ago. In fact, statistically the Andromedans are more likely to show up in our solar system than we are in theirs. |
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