                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

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                    written by a professional astronomer.

                              2024 November 28

                  NGC 206 and the Star Clouds of Andromeda
                 Image Credit & Copyright: Roberto Marinoni

   Explanation: The large stellar association cataloged as NGC 206 is
   nestled within the dusty arms of the neighboring Andromeda galaxy along
   with the galaxy's pinkish star-forming regions. Also known as M31, the
   spiral galaxy is a mere 2.5 million light-years away. NGC 206 is found
   at the center of this sharp and detailed close-up of the southwestern
   extent of Andromeda's disk. The bright, blue stars of NGC 206 indicate
   its youth. In fact, its youngest massive stars are less than 10 million
   years old. Much larger than the open or galactic clusters of young
   stars in the disk of our Milky Way galaxy, NGC 206 spans about 4,000
   light-years. That's comparable in size to the giant stellar nurseries
   NGC 604 in nearby spiral M33 and the Tarantula Nebula in the Large
   Magellanic Cloud.

              Tomorrow's picture: star cluster of the Milky Way
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
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