During metaphase the chromosomes assemble along an imaginary plane called the metaphase plate, and the cell ensures that all is ready. During anaphase the sister chromatids separate, and each is transported to the location where the nucleus of a daughter cell will form. In telophase the nuclei reform and the chromosomes decondense. Cytokinesis usually begins during anaphase and is completed during telophase or shortly afterwards. Plants and animals divide by similar mechanisms, but there are two major differences.
Centrosomes consist of a pair of centrioles and are found near the nuclear envelope in animal cells.
Each centriole reproduces before mitosis resulting in two centrosomes, and each centrosome migrates to the opposite end of the cell during prophase. During this process two different networks of microtubules are formed. The first, called the spindle, connects one centrosome to the other. The second, called the aster, is a network of microtubules radiating out in all directions from the centrosome to form a structure resembling a star. Cells use the aster to determine where the cells will actually divide.