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A cosmology question. Every single star we see at night unaided is within our own Milky Way galaxy. There is only one galaxy (I was told only if you don't count the Magellanic Clouds or the Triangulum galaxy... but the point mostly stands) capable of being seen with the naked eye, Andromeda, our closest neighboring major galaxy, which is around 2.5 million light years away (that's a whole lot of empty space). If we were in a spacecraft halfway between the Milky Way and Andromeda, what would our view be like? Would it look about the same as our own night sky, except instead of being full of stars we would be seeing galaxies all around that merely looked liked stars as their distance was so great? Would the density of these celestial bodies be about the same as we view in our own region of space, say from a vantage point somewhere in our solar system, or would it be remarkably different, whether a higher or lower density?

[Edited for correct distance to Andromeda]

WilliamCharles 8 Apr 10
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30 comments (26 - 30)

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1

Without the atmosphere, everything would be brighter and clearer, but only Andromeda would be significantly closer. Even though there are galaxies just about anywhere you point a telescope, with the naked eye you would probably pick out Andromeda, The Milky Way and the Mageleic Clouds. I doubt you would be able to see much else.

1

My brain hurts now ... Thankyou !

1

Did you know that Andromedia used to be thought of as a much larger galaxy but now it is thought to be approximately the same size as our galaxy. The 2 galaxies will merge in about 4 billion years.

3

I think it would be nearly black. There would be a scattering of star-like galaxies - more than we see from earth because there would be no light pollution save only the lights of our spaceship, or atmosphere. The eye is sensitive enough to detect a single photon and cosmic rays can also trigger the light-sensitive cells in our retina, so we would probably also experience tiny, evanescent flashes.

2

Most likely if you were in between the two galaxies you would see the galaxies as small clusters or pinpoints of light possibly resembling a star. Much like how Andromeda looks. The farthest star we can see unaided is about 16,000 light years away and the two galaxies are about 2.5 million light years away. Obviously a Galaxy is much brighter than a star, but the distance is still vast. So my guess would be a lot of darkness and a few sections of clustered light.

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