This is the Andromeda Galaxy, photographed from a dark sky location in remote Idaho.
(If you search "Light Pollution Map" online, you can find nearby dark skies that are ideal for stargazing or astrophotography).
At 2.5 million light years away, the Andromeda Galaxy still appears as large as six full moons in the night sky.
The Andromeda Galaxy is approaching the Milky way at about 250,000 MPH and will consume it in about 3.75 billion years.
The blurry star looking object at the top of the photo is one of Andromeda's "satellite" galaxies. These are smaller galaxies that orbit a bigger galaxy.
I photographed this galaxy last year with a wide angle telescope. This telescope is much larger and offers more detail on the center of the galaxy.
Full size resolution available here (click "Full Resolution" at the top right): https://astrob.in/full/h66cuk/0/
