The Andromeda Nebula is the abode of sacraments

Galaxy The Andromeda Nebula is one of the largest clusters of stars closest to our native galaxy. It is part of the so-called local group of galaxies, whose members, besides her, are our Milky Way with galaxy satellites and the galaxy of the Triangle (which can also have satellites until undetected). In fact, the closest to the Milky Way are small clusters - the Large and the Small Magellanic Clouds. The galaxy itself contains about a trillion stars (which is five times more than in our own), and the radius of its circumference is more than 110,000 light years. The Andromeda nebula is two and a half million light-years away from us, and to get there, the most perfect spacecraft would take 46 billion years. This is at least six times more than the Earth exists. Such figures are even hard to imagine!

The history of observations of a neighbor galaxy

A dense cluster of stars in the sky was seen back in the Middle Ages. In particular, in one of the Arab chronicles, the Andromeda Nebula is referred to as a small cloud. This cluster of stars, located in the constellation Andromeda (for which, in fact, the nebula and got its name) was observed by astronomers for centuries. However, without significant progress in its description. However, technological opportunities have allowed humanity to take a step forward in this regard. In 1885, there is an interesting event - in the galaxy of the Andromeda Nebula, a supernova burst out , and the attention of astronomers around the world turned to this cluster. True, according to one version, it exploded long ago, several million years ago, and what scientists took for the birth of a new star is just the light from the explosion, which only now (or rather, in 1885) reached Earth. The Andromeda Nebula, whose photo was first obtained in 1887, appears before astronomers in the form of a huge spiral cluster of bodies. A stunning discovery was made in 1921 by the American Vesto Slipher. Calculating the trajectory of the movement of the galaxy, he found that the Andromeda Nebula with monstrous speed rushes directly toward the Milky Way. According to modern estimates of astronomers, in 4 billion years there will be a merger of two galaxies. It does not look like a collision, but the stars of two clusters will surely undergo a significant rearrangement and a change in their own orbits. For sure, many bodies will even be pushed out of the boundaries of the newly formed galaxy into interstellar space. Interestingly, in 1993, another cluster of stars was discovered in the center of the Andromeda Nebula. Perhaps it is a trace of another galaxy, absorbed by the Nebula millions of years ago.

Features of the Nebula

According to the ideas of modern astrophysicists, in the centers of most spiral galaxies are supermassive black holes. They are difficult to consider because of the large heap of celestial bodies in the centers of spirals, and also because of the absence of radiation or reflection of light. However, black holes can be detected by observing how they affect other objects. It is curious that in the nucleus of the Andromeda Nebula there are simultaneously two such candidates in supermassive black holes.