Fact Sheet
Hot Galaxy
Hot young stars outline the spiral arms of M31, the Andromeda galaxy, in this ultraviolet view from the orbiting Swift observatory. The galaxy's core looks redder and smoother because it contains mainly older, cooler stars, which produce little ultraviolet light. Many of the stars in the spiral arms congregate in large clusters. This view, which was created by combining 330 individual images, spans almost 200,000 light-years. [NASA/Swift/Stefan Immler (GSFC)/Erin Grand (UMCP)]
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