Hubble Space Telescope maps giant halo around Andromeda galaxy
August 28, 2020 13:07 ISTUsing NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, scientists have mapped the immense envelope of gas, called a halo, surrounding the Andromeda galaxy, our nearest large galactic neighbour. This tenuous, nearly invisible halo of diffuse plasma extends 1.3 million light-years from the galaxy -- about halfway to our Milky Way -- and as far as two million light-years in some directions, said the study published in The Astrophysical Journal.