This picture is titled "M31 versus M33", posted yesterday on apod.nasa.gov. It shows the galaxies M31 (left) and M33 (right). These two galaxies are part of three large galaxies in the Local Group; the third is the Milky Way. The bright star in the middle is beta star Mirach, which is located in the constellation Andromeda. Mirach however, is just 200 light years from the sun; M31 and M33 are 2.5 million and 3 million light years away, respectively. I was amazed by this picture because I have never viewed a galaxy this way before, I've just seen a blown up image of the Milky Way. It's incredible to see how they would look through just a telescope. I really hope I can see that one day.
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