M31, also known as the Andromeda Galaxy, is the nearest large galaxy to
our own.  Its distance is about 2 million light years.  M31 is about
4 times as massive as the Milky Way.  It has a substantially large
population of globular clusters (about 600)  than does the Milky Way.
The overall star formation rate in M31 is remarkablely low compared to
other spiral galaxies.  M31 and the Milky Way are bound together (maybe?)
in a configuration known as the Local Group of Galaxies.  Within this
group random motions exceed mutual expansion motions and hence M31 actually
exhibits a blueshift.

This image is another unique image.  It was taken with a Lynxx CCD
camera from a suburban back yard.  A 75 mm lens was placed in front of
the Lynxx to yield a roughly 2 x 1.5 degree field of view.  This assembly
was bolted onto the side of a C-8 telescope for tracking.  The total
exposure is 100 seconds using a blue filter.  Without a telescope,
the faint outer regions (with surface brightness about 10% of the sky
background) can be still be seen with this imaging system.