The Andromeda galaxy has thirty-four smaller galaxies orbiting it
Our massive neighbor is surrounded by a swirling cloud of thirty-four smaller galaxies, each one a ghostly remnant of a cosmic collision from the distant past.
While the Milky Way is a bustling metropolis of roughly sixty satellite galaxies, our closest giant neighbor, Andromeda, is catching up with the recent identification of its thirty-fourth companion. These satellite galaxies are not just random neighbors; they are smaller clusters trapped within a massive halo of dark matter—the invisible 'glue' that holds the universe together. Located 2.5 million light-years away, Andromeda serves as a perfect laboratory for astronomers to test how galaxies grow by consuming their smaller peers.
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