The Andromeda Galaxy, also known as Messier 31, M31, or NGC 224 and originally the Andromeda Nebula, is a barred spiral galaxy approximately 2.5 million light-years from Earth and the nearest major galaxy to the Milky Way. ... From Wikipedia

This is one of those objects that can be easily seen with naked eyes under dark skies. I have seen it many times that way and with the aid of a telescope. It still appears as a smudge with small amateur telescopes. Unless the astrophotography techniques of long exposures and stacking is applied, its beauty is not apparent. Last year, during the pandemic I started playing around with astrophotography and this was one of the first targets that I imaged. Here are 3 images taken over the last few months and it is obvious that my technique is getting better with time. I like seeing the dust lanes making the spirals of the galaxy. Hoping to get better images of M31 again later in the year when it rises again in the East.