Andromeda is a spiral galaxy that is 2.5 million light years distant and 220,000 light years across. It is the nearest major galaxy to the Milky Way. Be forewarned, our Milky Way and Andromeda are expected to collide in 3.75 billion years.
“Outside the zodiacal group of constellations, and with the possible exception of Orion, Andromeda may be one of the most exploited names in the night sky. It has been the motif of a television series, the subject of fiction, poetry and song, christened various sailing vessels, and designated as a deadly extraterrestrial microorganism (The Andromeda Strain). The Andromeda Galaxy, too, has been both a home and a destination in numerous works of science fiction. The name has an exotic other worldly ring, its four syllables fairly rolling off the tongue like a mystical mantra.”
“Annals of the Deep Sky” by Jeff Kanipe & Dennis Webb
The image was taken through a Takahashi 4 inch refractor. It is comprised of 100 stacked 15 minute LRGB exposures (25 hours).
Astro La Vista Observatory 