Hey Space Placers!
The farthest thing you can see with your unaided eye, and the closest major galaxy to us, is the Andromeda Galaxy or M-31. This is a beautiful galaxy that is seen in the fall as a faint smudge in the constellation Andromeda. Located at a distance of over 2.2 million light years this is a galaxy that has been intensely studied.
The European Space Agency (ESA) has added to our collective knowledge of M-31 by studying it in multiple wavelengths. You can view a great video on this at http://www.esa.int/export/esaSC/SEM5IUYGRMG_index_0.html
Oh by the way. M-31 and our galaxy are on a collision course as they will be gravitationally interacting and possibly merging in 5 billion years. We are moving closer to one another at a speed of a million miles an hour. I'll have more on this in the future.
Sky Guy in VA