In the outskirts of Andromeda, with reference to space (4)
I believe the answer is:
area
'space' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'in the outskirts of andromeda with reference to' is the wordplay.
'in' is an insertion indicator.
'the outskirts of' says to hollow out the word (remove centre letters) (letters on the edges or outskirts are used).
'with reference to' becomes 're' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'andromeda' with its middle taken out is 'aa'.
'aa' going around 're' is 'AREA'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for area that I've seen before include "Speaking formally to (someone)" , "Region, space" , "Region, zone" , "Geographical region" , "Territory" .)