{"id":51930,"date":"2023-11-28T20:30:15","date_gmt":"2023-11-28T20:30:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/d8167493-a4d0-4b21-9d9a-dfda4fcae686"},"modified":"2023-11-28T20:32:37","modified_gmt":"2023-11-28T20:32:37","slug":"andromeda-galaxy-complete-guide-and-how-to-see-it","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/andromeda-galaxy-complete-guide-and-how-to-see-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Andromeda Galaxy: Complete guide and how to see it"},"content":{"rendered":"

Facts about the Andromeda Galaxy, M31, and images captured by astrophotographers. <\/p>

By Iain Todd\n <\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 28 November 2023 at 20:30 PM<\/p>

\n\n

The Andromeda Galaxy is the closest major galaxy to our home galaxy the Milky Way and is located over 2 million lightyears from Earth.<\/p>

It is a spiral galaxy<\/a> found in the Andromeda constellation and is about 200,000 lightyears wide. It is also known as M31, part of the deep-sky Messier Catalogue<\/a>.<\/p>

The Andromeda Galaxy is notable for its bright blue tinge, which is caused by pockets of hot young stars<\/a> burning bright blue.<\/p>

The Andromeda Galaxy by Brian Cummins, Virginia, USA, 1, 2, 24 & 25 November 2019. Equipment: ZWO ASI 1600MM-Pro mono camera, Orion 8″ Newtonian astrograph reflector, Sky-Watcher NEQ6 Pro mount<\/figcaption><\/figure>

How to find the Andromeda Galaxy<\/strong><\/h2>

The Andromeda Galaxy can be seen in the night sky in the northern hemisphere throughout much of the year, but is best seen in autumn.<\/p>

What’s more, the Andromeda Galaxy can be seen with the naked eye under good conditions, making it the furthest object than can be seen with the human eye.<\/p>

Use Cassiopeia to find the Andromeda Galaxy<\/strong><\/h3>
\"Use
Use star Schedar in Cassiopeia to help you locate the Andromeda Galaxy. Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/figcaption><\/figure>

The W-shaped constellation of Cassiopeia<\/a> is a great tool for locating the Andromeda Galaxy.<\/p>

This technique of hopping from star to star to help you locate a difficult target is known, unsurprisingly, as star-hopping<\/a>.<\/p>

From the UK, Cassiopeia appears circumpolar, meaning it never sets.<\/p>

Its shape is distinctive and its stars are easy to see, even from a suburban city location.<\/p>

In the winter months, Cassiopeia can be seen in the north-west. Its W shape makes it easy to find, but you can use a star chart<\/a> or stargazing or astronomy app<\/a> to help you.<\/p>

You can use Cassiopeia to help you locate the Andromeda Galaxy using these steps:<\/p>

  1. Locate Cassiopeia in the night sky<\/li>
  2. At the bottom of the deeper of the two Vs of Cassiopeia is star Schedar<\/li>
  3. Treat this V like an arrow, which points to the Andromeda Galaxy<\/li>
  4. You’ll see the Andromeda Galaxy as a faint smudge with the naked eye<\/li><\/ol>

    Use the Great Square of Pegasus to find the Andromeda Galaxy<\/strong><\/h3>
    \"To
    To find M31 and M33, start at Alpheratz in the Great Square of Pegasus and follow our star-hopping trail. Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/figcaption><\/figure>

    Another star-hop you can do to find the Andromeda Galaxy involves the asterism known as the Great Square of Pegasus.<\/p>

    1. Imagine a diagonal from the southwest to northeast corner of the Square<\/li>
    2. Extend it for about the same distance again to reach star Mirach<\/li>
    3. Turn 90\u00ba to head northwest for a short distance towards dimmer Mu (m) Andromedae<\/li>
    4. Continue on to Nu (n) Andromedae<\/li><\/ol>

      For more on how to find it for yourself, read our guide on how to see the Andromeda Galaxy<\/a>.<\/p>

      The Andromeda Galaxy and the Milky Way are gravitationally interacting, and astronomers have calculated that both galaxies will collide in about 4.5 billion years time. This event is known as the Andromeda-Milky Way collision<\/a>.<\/p>

      \"The
      The Andromeda Galaxy by James Downey, Ongar, Essex, 18 August and 9 September 2020. Equipment: ZWO ASI 533MC-Pro camera, William Optics RedCat 51 apo refractor, Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer Pro mount<\/figcaption><\/figure>

      The Great Debate<\/strong><\/h2>

      Observations of the Andromeda Galaxy have led to some of the most important discoveries in the Universe: particularly its part in the Great Debate<\/a>, in which astronomers Harlow Shapley and Heber Curtis debated about whether other galaxies existed beyond our own.<\/p>

      The matter was settled largely because of the work of Edwin Hubble, after whom the Hubble Space Telescope<\/a> was named.<\/p>

      Hubble was able to photograph individual stars in the ‘Andromeda Nebula’ (as it was then known) and in 1923, his observations of Cepheid variable stars<\/a> led him to conclude that the Andromeda Galaxy must be located beyond our own Galaxy.<\/p>

      \"The
      The Andromeda by Galaxy Lloyd Mainwaring, Barry, 9 October 2020. Equipment: Canon 600D DSLR, William Optics GT81 apo refractor, Sky-Watcher HEQ5 mount.<\/figcaption><\/figure>

      Life in the Andromeda Galaxy?<\/strong><\/h2>

      We know there is life in the Milky Way galaxy, in the shape of us!<\/p>

      But what about our nearest major galaxy, the Andromeda Galaxy?<\/p>

      Since life has not yet been confirmed beyond Earth, astronomers cannot say for sure whether there exists life elsewhere in the cosmos, the Andromeda Galaxy included.<\/p>

      But since the 1990s, the field of exoplanet<\/a> science – the study of planets beyond our Solar System – has exploded, to the point that now astronomers calculate there is on average at least one planet orbiting every star we can see in the night sky.<\/p>

      And considering the Andromeda Galaxy is thought to contain about 1 trillion stars, that means at least 1 trillion planets, some of which will be orbiting close enough to their stars for liquid water to form on the surface.<\/p>

      Since liquid water is a key condition for life as we know it here on Earth, it is an important part of the search for life beyond our planet.<\/p>

      For all we know, galaxies like the Andromeda Galaxy could be teeming with habitable worlds, some of which may even host intelligent life.<\/p>

      But until definitively detected, for now the question as to whether life exists in the Andromeda Galaxy remains unanswered.<\/p>

      Hubble image<\/strong><\/h2>
      \"The
      The sharpest ever view of part of the Andromeda Galaxy, captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. Credit: NASA, ESA, J. Dalcanton (University of Washington, USA), B. F. Williams (University of Washington, USA), L. C. Johnson (University of Washington, USA), the PHAT team, and R. Gendler. – NASA, ESA, J. Dalcanton (University of Washington, USA), B. F. Williams (University of Washington, USA), L. C. Johnson (University of Washington, USA), the PHAT team, and R. Gendler<\/figcaption><\/figure>

      In 2015, NASA released an amazing image showing part of the Andromeda Galaxy, captured by the Hubble Space Telescope<\/a>.<\/p>

      The image is the sharpest and largest ever taken of the galaxy.<\/p>

      The cropped version released by NASA contains 1.5 billion pixels, and over 600HD TV screens would be required to display the whole image.<\/p>

      The Andromeda Galaxy image is the biggest Hubble image ever released and shows over 100 mill stars and thousands of star clusters.<\/p>

      Pictures of the Andromeda Galaxy<\/strong><\/h2>

      Below is a selection of images of the Andromeda Galaxy captured by astrophotographers and BBC Sky at Night Magazine<\/em> readers.<\/p>

      If you would like to capture images like these, read our guide to deep-sky astrophotography<\/a> or our tutorial on how to photograph the Andromeda Galaxy<\/a>.<\/p>

      If you do manage to photograph the Andromeda Galaxy, don’t forget to send us your images<\/a> or share them with us on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>

      \"M31,
      M31, the Andromeda GalaxyHarshwardhan Pathak, IC Astronomy Observatory, Spain, captured remotely via Telescope Live, 15 July 2023Equipment: QHY600PH-M mono CMOS camera, Takahashi FSQ-106EDX4 astrograph, Paramout MIX mount<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
      \"The
      The Andromeda Galaxy, Yann Sainty, Lorraine, France, 22-23 August 2022Equipment: ZWO ASI2600MM Pro mono CMOS camera, Takahashi FSQ-106EDX4 refractor, Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro mount<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
      \"The
      The Andromeda galaxySteve Young, Liphook, Hampshire, 20 December 2022Equipment: ZWO ASI 2600MC-Pro camera, Askar FRA400 refractor, Celestron CGX mount<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
      \"The
      The Andromeda Galaxy, Davy Viaene, remotely via the E-EyE Observatory, Spain, 3 and 8 November 2022Equipment: ZWO ASI 6200MC Pro camera, Takahashi FSQ106ED III refractor, Paramount MyT robotic mount<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
      \"Andromeda
      Andromeda galaxyJelieta Walinski, Medicine Rock State Park, MT, USA, August 1 2022Equipment: ZWO ASI2600MCPRO camera, Celestron Nexstar Evolution 9.25 235mm f\/10 Schmidth Cassegrain, Sky Watcher EQ-6R PRO mount<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
      \"Andromeda
      Andromeda GalaxyHerschel, Planck, IRAS, COBE, 16 June 2022CREDIT: ESA\/NASA\/JPL-Caltech\/GBT\/WSRT\/IRAM\/C. Clark (STScI)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
      \"The
      The Andromeda GalaxyDrew Evans, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA, November 2021Equipment: ZWO ASI2600MM Pro camera, William Optics GT81 refractor, Celestron CGX-L mount<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
      \"A
      A cropped image of M31 taken with the AA24CFX camera and a Sky-Watcher Esprit 150ED refractor, using 3 hours of 10\u2019 and 15\u2019 exposures. Credit: Tim Jardine<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
      \"The
      The Andromeda GalaxyPaul Gordon, Rochford, Essex, 1 and 3 October 2021Equipment: ZWO ASI533MC camera, William Optics Zenithstar 73 apo refractor, Sky-Watcher HEQ5 Pro mount<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
      \"The
      The Andromeda Galaxy in ultraviolet, GALEX, 18 JULY 2021. IMAGE CREDIT: NASA, JPL-Caltech, GALEX<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
      \"The<\/figure><\/div><\/div>
      \"The
      The Andromeda Galaxy Lloyd Mainwaring, Barry, 9 October 2020. Equipment: Canon 600D DSLR, William Optics GT81 apo refractor, Sky-Watcher HEQ5 mount.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
      \"An
      An image of the Andromeda Galaxy taken using an iOptron SkyTracker and Canon 700D EOS DSLR camera with 135mm lens, made from a stack of 20x 30\u201d exposures. Credit: Stuart Atkinson<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
      \"The
      The Andromeda Galaxy Vicki Pink, Southampton, 21 September 2020. Equipment: Altair Hypercam 183C camera, Sky-Watcher 72ED Evostar refractor, Sky-Watcher HEQ5 Pro mount<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
      \"The
      The Andromeda GalaxyJames Downey, Ongar, Essex, 18 August and 9 September 2020Equipment: ZWO ASI 533MC-Pro camera, William Optics RedCat 51 apo refractor, Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer Pro mount<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
      \"The
      The Andromeda Galaxy Kush Chandaria, remotely via Telescope Live, IC Astronomy Observatory, Spain, 24 July 2020. Equipment: FLI PL16803 mono CCD camera, Takahashi FSQ-106EDX4 apo refractor, Paramount MX mount<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
      \"The
      The Andromeda Galaxy Tom Howard, Isle of Wight\/Crawley, December 2018 and August 2020. Equipment: Nikon D7000 DSLR camera, TS-Optics 65mm quadruplet refractor, Sky-Watcher EQ6 mount<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
      \"The
      The Andromeda Galaxy. Credit: Bernhardt Gotthardt \/ CCDGuide.com<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
      \"The
      The Andromeda Galaxy Nishant Revur, Washington, USA, 19 June 2020. Equipment: ZWO ASI 294MC Pro colour camera, William Optics RedCat 51 apo refractor, Celestron Advanced VX\u2060 mount<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
      \"A
      A Perseid meteor seen near the Andromeda Galaxy (the bright smudge on the left of the image, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, US, 12 August 2018. Credit: STAN HONDA\/AFP via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
      \"The
      The Andromeda Galaxy, captured from the Brecon Beacons. Credit: Martin Griffiths<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
      \"Andromeda
      Andromeda GalaxyNick Berry, Gloucestershire, 25 December 2019 Equipment: Canon 650D DSLR camera, SkyWatcher 72ED refractor, SkyWatcher HEQ5 Pro mount<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
      \"An
      An image of the Andromeda Galaxy by NASA’s Galaxy Evolution Explorer. – NASA\/JPL-Caltech – https:\/\/images.nasa.gov\/details-PIA15416.html<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
      \"M31
      M31 Andromeda Galaxy Tom Mogford, Goult, France, 20 August 2018. Category: Young Astronomer (highly commended). Equipment: Canon 750D DSLR, Sky-Watcher Esprit 80ED triplet apo refractor, Celestron AVX mount.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
      \"Andromeda
      Andromeda Galaxy Raul Villaverde Fraile, Ocentejo, Castile-La Mancha, Spain, 12 August 2018. Category: Galaxies (highly commended). Equipment: Canon 550D camera DSLR Takahashi FSQ 106ED apo refractor, Sky-Watcher EQ6 mount.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
      \"NASA's
      NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer detects dust in the Andromeda galaxy’s spiral arms.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
      \"This
      This image of the Andromeda Galaxy, M31, shows you the quality and detail that can be achieved with a CMOS camera. Credit Gary Palmer<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
      \"The
      The Andromeda Galaxy. Credit: Charles Thody<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
      \"The
      The Andromeda Galaxy imaged by Peter Kurucz, Wurmberg, Germany, 9 September 2018.Equipment: ZWO ASI1600 mono camera, homemade 8-inch Newtonian, Sky-Watcher EQ6 Pro SynScan mount, Astronomik HaLRGB Filter set.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
      \"The
      The sharpest ever view of part of the Andromeda Galaxy. – NASA, ESA, J. Dalcanton (University of Washington, USA), B. F. Williams (University of Washington, USA), L. C. Johnson (University of Washington, USA), the PHAT team, and R. Gendler<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
      \"Andromeda
      Andromeda Galaxy, Mariusz Szymaszek, Crawley, 23 July 2015. Equipment: Pentax K-5 DSLR camera, Sky-Watcher Evostar 80ED DS-Pro refractor, Sky-Watcher HEQ5 Pro GoTo mount.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
      \"The
      The Andromeda Galaxy, M31. Despite being our nearest galactic neighbour, its stars are only resolveable through a telescope, reminding us of the vastness of the Universe.Image credit: NASA\/JPL-Caltech<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div>