M31’s Intriguing Nucleus

Our Neighboring Galaxy's Unusual Core

The images and illustration reveal that the Andromeda Galaxy's (M31's) core is composed of a ring of old, red stars and a newly discovered disk of young, blue stars. The disk is trapped within a supermassive black hole's gravitational field. The mass of Andromeda's monster black...

Andromeda's Active Core

This artist's concept shows a view across a mysterious disk of young, blue stars encircling a supermassive black hole at the core of the neighboring Andromeda Galaxy (M31). The region around the black hole is barely visible at the center of the disk. The background stars are the...

Andromeda Galaxy (M31) Wide-Field Image

Image of M31 taken with a 12.5-inch Ritchey-Chrétien telescope.

The Core of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31)

A Hubble WFPC2 image of the core of M31. Astronomers believe the two bright objects are a ring of red stars and a disk of blue stars.

Artist's Rendition of the Core of M31

Artist's rendition of the core of M31 that shows a ring of older red stars and a disk of young blue stars.

Andromeda Constellation

A color-processed photo of the Andromeda constellation.

Andromeda Galaxy – WIYN 0.9-Meter Telescope

A close-up view of the Andromeda Galaxy taken with the Mosaic I camera on NOAO's 0.9-meter WIYN telescope at KPNO.

Andromeda Galaxy – KPNO Mayall 4-Meter Telescope

A close-up of the nucleus of the Andromeda Galaxy taken in the infrared with the NOAO Mayall 4-meter telescope at KPNO.

Mysterious Disk of Blue Stars Around M31's Black Hole

A zoom diving deep into the nucleus of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) then dissolving into an animation of a concentration of red stars. Pushing deeper into the animation reveals a disk of young blue stars swirling around a black hole. Hubble's Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph...