Every now and again, a Hubble image will kick me back with a wave of nostalgia. Most Hubble pictures are of specific objects with which I'm not familiar, some galaxy or cluster I've never even heard of. Sometimes the great observatory is pointed at a target I do know from my own youth as an amateur astronomer, something I've seen myself through my telescope. And sometimes it's something with a more personal connection, a galaxy I've actually studied, and which reminds me of old friends, figuratively and literally... like this incredible picture of the halo of the Andromeda Galaxy:
[Click to unenchainedmaidenate.] Lovely, isn't it? The Andromeda Galaxy is the nearest big spiral like our own. It's just under 3 million light years away, as big as the Milky Way (even maybe a shade bigger), and bright enough to be seen easily by the naked eye in a dark site. ...
