An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

The nearest → spiral galaxy to our own and a major member of the → Local Group. It lies in the constellation → Andromeda and is the most remote object normally visible to the naked eye. The earliest known reference to this galaxy is by the Iranian astronomer Sufi who called it “the little cloud” in his Book of Fixed Stars (A.D. 964).

See also: → Andromeda; → galaxy.