Found Andromeda for the first time.

[Startracker197]

I believe I found it as it did not look like a star but more like a group of tiny specks around one big one. I tryed going up a mag to get a better look but my telescope was just not getting enough light from it to see....

[Double Kick Drum]

Not sure what the sky was like where you were but M31 Andromeda appears like a large slightly elongated fuzzy ball. I find it is at its best with low magnification.

I have never seen it from the middle of a city with very poor skies and this could possibly explain what you saw but if i'm honest, it sounds like you found something else.

Try revisiting it when you can.

ps. What were you using to observe?

[Startracker197]

Lol I live in one of the largest cities in the US so that doesnt help.... I was using the celestron astromaster 70mm scope mag 40x. It may in fact have been something else though if it was im sure I was still close.... Im taking a trip to the country this weekend so hopefully ill be able to go back to it......

[Astro Imp]

To give you an idea of what you might see have a look at The Doc's sketch, link No.5. Exactly what you see will be dependent on sky conditions but this gives a very good guide. As has been said above use your lowest power eye piece.

Good Luck.

[ismangil]

I can see it on my 10x50 binoculars so definitely your magnification is enough.

It's huge, as galaxies go...

-- Perry Ismangil

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

try going down to lower magnification if at all possible. My best views of M31 are at around 10-20x (10x50 and 15x70 bins, and 12x and 22x in my 80mm scope). It should show up as a smudge, as noted before.

[tyler_jrb]

looks like possibly you could have been looking at the wrong thing but then again i do not know how bad your skies are. Pleiades can as you mention look like tiny specs in the sky because they are visable too see. Andromeda should look almost like a cloudy oval even through binoculars. There are a few factors as i say it could be bad conditions, looking at the wrong thing or even just too much magnification as it best viewed at around 20x. hope this helped. Forgot to mention that a star map or using the program stellarium would help you locate it better.

[Chris H]

Your description is more like a globular cluster rather than a galaxy.

[Startracker197]

K... ill give it a shot again tonight though 40 mag is my lowest power.... unfortunatly i havent been able to go and get more eye pieces.. Stellarium is the program I have... its pretty good... ive also got a program that came with the telescope but i havent looked at it....

[Karen]

Andromeda is very visible at this time of year. It is almost directly overhead. Last night I was also able to see it's much smaller companion galaxy M110.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Andromeda is very visible at this time of year. It is almost directly overhead. Last night I was also able to see it's much smaller companion galaxy M110.

M110 and M32 are indeed quite easily spotted as well. I have even seen them with 15x70 bins, under good conditions

[E621Keith]

'Tiny specs around a big one...'

That description doesn't sounds like Andromeda. Like others said, Andromeda should be a smudge. I was observing it the other night with a 80mm spotting scope at around 40x in a city and it was definitely a smudge. I don't think I can see M32 or M110. It's unlikely to be a globular either, because in a city that will appear as a smudge as well. It may be a open cluster.

You description sounds almost like Jupiter and its satellite, which is currently positioned similar distance to the south west of Pegasus square as Andromeda is north east. At 40x the planet's disc will be visible but it may not resolve any belts. The difference between the two are quite obvious, but if you are totally new to this hobby it is not an impossible mistake.

[Startracker197]

Maybe it was just a far off star but it wasnt jupiter though because I had spent a significant amount of time observing Jupiter that night which was far from where I was viewing. I was aiming almost directly overhead so I cant have been to far from it. Ill try and get it this weekend when I go out to the country... any one have any specific stars they use to find it?

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Maybe it was just a far off star but it wasnt jupiter though because I had spent a significant amount of time observing Jupiter that night which was far from where I was viewing. I was aiming almost directly overhead so I cant have been to far from it. Ill try and get it this weekend when I go out to the country... any one have any specific stars they use to find it?

Did you perhaps get the Double Cluster or M34? They are in a similar area of the sky, and seem to fit the description well.