The Andromeda Galaxy is approximately 2.5 million light-years away from Earth. This distance means the light we currently see from Andromeda has traveled for about 2.5 million years to reach us
. More precise measurements estimate the distance to be around 2.54 ± 0.11 million light-years based on various methods including Cepheid variables and eclipsing binary stars
. Although Andromeda is moving toward the Milky Way at about 110 kilometers per second (68 miles per second), it has only moved roughly 900 to 1,250 light-years closer in the last 2.5 million years, which is minor compared to the total distance and the galaxy's size (about 110,000 light-years across)
. In summary, the Andromeda Galaxy is about 2.5 million light-years from Earth, making it the nearest large galaxy neighbor to the Milky Way and visible to the naked eye under dark skies
