Sharpest radio image of the Andromeda galaxy achieved

The Andromeda Galaxy is the closest spiral galaxy to the Milky Way – but still 2.5 million light-years away. Details are therefore difficult to discern. This makes it all the more important to observe our future home (Andromeda will merge with the Milky Way in a few billion years) in all possible wavelengths. Each region of the spectrum reveals different secrets.

Such an image has now been obtained with unprecedented accuracy at the microwave frequency of 6.6 GHz by physicist Sofia Fatigoni of t...