This spiral galaxy probably looks similar to our own Milky Way if it were possible to see that from 2.5 million light years away. Bands of interstellar dust are quite clearly visible. Two small companion galaxies (of dwarf elliptical type) can also be seen in this photo: M32 is the more compact one on the left (it looks like a bright star); M110 is the more obviously galaxy-like one on the right, near the edge of the picture.
Canon EOS5DMkII 254mm Newtonian @ 1200mm 52 x 10s f/4.8 ISO6400 2009-9-26 22:49:17-23:05:39 BST
