14 DAY TRIAL // This past January 5, astronomers released a positively stunning image of the Andromeda galaxy. The image, obtained with the help of the Hubble Space Telescope, is the largest and most detailed space picture to have until now been put together.
In a statement, scientists with the Space Telescope Science Institute explain that the Andromeda galaxy is located at a distance of about 2.5 million light-years from our planet. Thus, it is our Milky Way's neighbor.
The stunning image that hit the public eye just yesterday does not show the Andromeda galaxy in its entirety. In fact, it merely shows a 48,000-light-year-long stretch of our galactic neighbor. Even so, some 100 million stars are included in it.
Astronomers explain that this bird's-eye view of a portion of the Andromeda galaxy is a composite image comprising 7,398 exposures obtained by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope between July 2010 and October 2013.
It is understood that the original image has a resolution of 1.5 billion pixels. This means that, to look at it properly, in full, folks would have to display it on a small army of about 600 HD television screens.
If you have a few minutes to spare and feel like having a closer look at this galactic neighbor of ours, do visit the official website for the Space Telescope Science Institute and have some fun zooming in out and out of this image.