Download Video
Video Information
Subscribe to Series
Fade to Red
This animation shows the Andromeda galaxy, first as seen in visible light by the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, then as seen in infrared by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.
The visible-light image highlights the galaxy's population of about one trillion stars. The stars are so crammed into its core that this region blazes with bright starlight.
In contrast, the false-colored Spitzer view reveals red waves of dust against a more tranquil sea of blue stars. The dust lanes can be seen twirling all the way into the galaxy's center. This dust is warmed by young stars and shines at infrared wavelengths , which are represented in red. The blue color signifies shorter-wavelength infrared light primarily from older stars.
The Andromeda galaxy, also known affectionately by astronomers as Messier 31, is located 2.5 million light-years away in the constellation Andromeda. It is the closest major galaxy to the Milky Way, making it the ideal specimen for carefully examining the nature of galaxies. On a clear, dark night, the galaxy can be spotted with the naked eye as a fuzzy blob.
Andromeda's entire disk spans about 260,000 light-years, which means that a light beam would take 260,000 years to travel from one end of the galaxy to the other. By comparison, the Milky Way is about 100,000 light-years across. When viewed from Earth, Andromeda occupies a portion of the sky equivalent to seven full moons.
Because this galaxy is so large, the infrared images had to be stitched together out of about 3,000 separate Spitzer exposures. The light detected by Spitzer's infrared array camera at 3.6 and 4.5 microns is sensitive mostly to starlight and is shown in blue and green, respectively. The 8-micron light shows warm dust and is shown in red. The contribution from starlight has been subtracted from the 8-micron image to better highlight the dust structures.
Related Media
 |
News Release Andromeda Adrift in Sea of Dust in New NASA Image ssc2006-14 |
 |
Image Andromeda Makes a Splash ssc2006-14a |
 |
Video Fade to Red ssc2006-14v1 |
 |
PDF Andromeda Adrift in Sea of Dust in New NASA Image ssc2006-14p |
Most Popular Videos
Spitzer Podcasts
Browse Videos in Science Animations
03.29.07 Two Suns Raise Family of Planetary BodiesThis artist's animation depicts a faraway solar system like our own -- except for one big difference. Planets and ast... |
02.21.07 Hot, Dry, and Cloudy (Artist Concept)This artist's concept animation shows a cloudy Jupiter-like planet that orbits very close to its fiery hot star. NASA... |
12.18.06 Stars Spring Up Out of the DarknessThis artist's animation illustrates the universe's early years, from its explosive formation to its dark ages to its ... |
11.07.06 Hubble-Spitzer OrionThis video cycles between the Hubble view, the Spitzer view, and the combined Hubble-Spitzer view of the Orion Nebula. |
11.07.06 Making a Great Observatories CompositeThis video shows how a Hubble image and a Spitzer image of the Orion Nebula were combined to create a new, multi-wave... |
10.30.06 Who Ya Gonna Call?NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope is a galactic ghost buster, spotting hidden massive stars and other monsters lurking i... |
10.26.06 Order Amidst Chaos of Star's ExplosionThis artist's animation shows the explosion of a massive star, the remains of which are named Cassiopeia A. NASA's Sp... |
10.12.06 Fire and Ice Planet (without data plot)This artist's animation shows a blistering world revolving around its nearby "sun." NASA's infrared Spitzer Space Tel... |
10.12.06 Fire and Ice PlanetThis artist's animation shows a blistering world revolving around its nearby "sun." NASA's infrared Spitzer Space Tel... |
08.14.06 Journey to OrionThis movie begins with a visible view of the famous Orion constellation. Superimposed on the area near Orion's sword ... |
07.24.06 Stars Can't Spin Out of ControlThis artist's animation demonstrates how a dusty planet-forming disk can slow down a whirling young star, essentially... |
06.05.06 Fade to RedThis animation shows the Andromeda galaxy, first as seen in visible light by the National Optical Astronomy Observato... |
04.05.06 Birth of 'Phoenix' Planets?This artist's animation depicts the explosive death of a massive star, followed by the creation of a disk made up of ... |
03.16.06 Cigar Galaxy up in SmokeThis movie compares a visible-light view of the "Cigar galaxy" to an infrared view from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescop... |
06.09.05 The Cry of Cassiopeia AThis animation begins with a stunning false-color picture of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A. It is made up of ima... |
06.02.05 Space Eyes See Comet Tempel 1This artist's concept of Tempel 1 illustrates the comet's shape, reflectivity, rotation rate and surface temperature,... |
05.30.05 Pillars Behind the DustThe movie begins with a visible-light picture of the southern region of our Milky Way galaxy then slowly zooms into t... |
05.30.05 Carina in ContextThis animation starts with an image of a larger but lower resolution image of the Carina Nebula from the Midcourse Sp... |
05.04.05 A More Spectacular SombreroThis movie shifts from the well-known visible-light picture of Messier 104 taken by the Hubble Space Telescope to inf... |
04.20.05 Band of RubbleThis artist's animation illustrates a massive asteroid belt in orbit around a star the same age and size as our Sun. ... |
