The Andromeda Galaxy

Type:  Spiral  Distance from Milky Way:  2.5 million light-years. Diameter:  260,000 light-years. Mass:  400 billion solar masses. Number of Stars:  1 trillion. Astronomical Unit:  92.95 million miles.

Astronomical Information
The Andromeda galaxy is a beautiful spiral galaxy. It is the Milky Way's spiral neighbor, and is the most distant object in the sky that you can see with your unaided eye — but only on a clear night from a location with a very dark sky. It is one of ten galaxies that can be seen with the unaided eye.

Andromeda, also known as Messier 31 (M31), is located about 2.5 million light years away. The Andromeda contains a concentrated bulge of matter in the middle, surrounded by a disk of gas, dust, and stars 260,000 light-years long, more than 2.5 times as long as the Milky Way. Andromeda boasts a large ring of dust in its center, giving it an interesting shape.

"Andromeda is the largest galaxy of the Local Group..." A local group of galaxies are the galaxies closest to each other. The other galaxies in Andromeda's local group are the Milky Way and the Triangulum, as well as thirty other small galaxies.

It has a larger number of black holes than the Milky Way, most of these are located near the centre (see image). According to Terra scientists this is an 'unprecedented' amount of black holes. "Seven of the 35 black hole candidates are within only 1,000 light years of the Andromeda Galaxy's center." However, Andromeda may not be the most massive of the Local Group "as recent findings suggest that the Milky Way contains more dark matter."

Due to its size, location and inhabitants, Andromeda "plays an important role in (inter) galactic studies...." and The Chandra Observatory on Terra, continues to produce images of the Andromeda.

Name Origin
The Terran named Andromeda after the constellation closest to M-31.

Langauges
English is a dead language only spoken by people from the Milky Way. The closest thing to English is the Debarian tongue, which is comparable to German vs. English.

The Andromeda Galaxy has a multitude of languages and many people know three-four languages by the time they leave their respective schooling. There is a language called Galacti'trade, which as by the name suggests is an intergalactic trade language. A combination of a multitude of languages and gestures, it is commonly used by traders and low-life specials.

Due to the overwhelming variety of languages, the fastest way to connect with people who do not speak the same language is to obtain a Una-lator. These useful devices come in various forms - from earbuds to bracelets, from collars to distinguished and easily hidden ear studs (those these are high end). Una-lators can be purchased at most major trade areas (and of course this includes the RIT).