The incredibly huge size of Andromeda next to the Moon
This is how the Great Spiral Galaxy of Andromeda
would look in the sky if it were bright enough. Sadly, its light is too
faint. But imagine seeing that every night. Would you get tired of it? I
know I wouldn't.
Unfortunately, it's not that bright. But
it's a beautiful simulation anyway, one that gives an idea—albeit a
faint one—of how huge the cosmos is. Of course, it's not the only image
of this kind. Here's another one featured in NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day.
continue to source article at
sploid.gizmodo.com
Andromeda—or M31—is larger than our Milky Way (although not as
massive, if you count the dark matter in our galaxy.) It's 2.5 million
light-years from us, while the Moon is only 384,400 kilometers away. Now
think that a light-year is 9.5 trillion kilometers. Even with this
graphic comparison, the size of M31—or anything at a galactic scale—is
truly incomprehensible for the human mind.
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