M31

FAIL2 FAIL3 

Alternate Names

NGC 224

Type

Supermassive

Location

in the constellation Andromeda

Finder Chart

Distance

2.5 million light-years (0.78 megaparsecs)

Mass

30 million times the mass of the Sun

Size

Diameter roughly equal to the orbit of Venus.

Discovery Methods

• Measuring the motions of stars

Mysterious disk of blue stars around M31's black hole [NASA, ESA and G. Bacon (STScI)]

This document was last modified: April 30, 2012.