Andromeda Galaxy

[Greg6498]

Having had such a great experience with the Orion Nebula, my next target will be the Andromeda Galaxy! My Sky Safari app tells me it should be to the west northwest near the zenith. I assumed it would be visible to the naked eye but I can’t find it. Am I just not looking hard enough?

 

[SIDO]

1 hour ago, Greg6498 said:

Having had such a great experience with the Orion Nebula, my next target will be the Andromeda Galaxy! My Sky Safari app tells me it should be to the west northwest near the zenith. I assumed it would be visible to the naked eye but I can’t find it. Am I just not looking hard enough?

 

This link contains the starhop to Andromeda https://www.space.com/7426-starhopping-101-find-andromeda-galaxy.html you will want to use your longest focal length widest field eyepiece for the task, it is a very large object. With your dark skies you should nail it without too much difficulty, have fun Greg...and Best of Luck ?

                      Freddie...

[Greg6498]

Thanks Freddie! That is a big help! Can’t wait to see it!

[Sunshine]

Hopefully you’re under some dark skies, andromeda is a smudge but, knowing what it is you’re looking at makes it an epic smudge. Fantastic to see you’re enjoying that scope so much, clear skies!.

[Astro Imp]

Good luck Greg.
How much of this huge object you will be able to see is dependent on the darkness of your skies. The upcoming new moon will give you an excellent opportunity to observe.
Enjoy.

[Andy R]

I managed to find it with a pair of binoculars a few nights ago. It’s the first galaxy (apart from milky) I’ve seen and located using the same app as you. It may of only been a smudge, but it felt fantastic to of found it. 

Good luck 

[Carbon Brush]

This smudge in the sky was well known to visual observers, long before the days of telescopes. Names like 'little cloud' being used by arabs a thousand years ago.

Now probably 99% of people in the 'advanced' parts of the world like Europe and North America have never seen Andromeda and probably won't ever see it.

The remaining 1% struggle to see it through the light pollution. With many having to resort to computer pointing aids of one sort or another.

Really sad? Or progress?

David.

[John]

Being able to look up at the night sky without any equipment and to see and wonder what things are has been a major spur to human curiosity over the centuries I think. It would be very sad if future generations are denied this

[R26 oldtimer]

It's not just light pollution. Hundreds of years ago, people spend more time outside and slept under the starry skies. Hell, even when I was a child, we used to drag a mattress out to the balcony, during the hot summer nights, to sleep under the stars while enjoying the occasional breeze.... Now we all stay inside our airtight - air-conditioned apartment....☹️

[George Gearless]

On 27/01/2019 at 00:45, Greg6498 said:

Having had such a great experience with the Orion Nebula, my next target will be the Andromeda Galaxy! My Sky Safari app tells me it should be to the west northwest near the zenith. I assumed it would be visible to the naked eye but I can’t find it. Am I just not looking hard enough?

 

I'm on the same page as you are Greg. Put the Orion nebula under my belt a couple of weeks ago. Great feeling isn't it? Andromeda is next.

If the "¤#%&#¤! clouds would get out of the bloody way!

[Demonperformer]

This was always a favourite of mine when I was only using 7x50s. Couldn't quite get it in the same field as Mirach, but it was just a nudge outside. It is one of those objects that find it once and you never have a problem again.

[John]

3 hours ago, Demonperformer said:

This was always a favourite of mine when I was only using 7x50s. Couldn't quite get it in the same field as Mirach, but it was just a nudge outside. It is one of those objects that find it once and you never have a problem again.

Talking of Mirach, there is a nice little galaxy right next to that star called Mirach's Ghost (NGC 404). A faint misty spot looking like a reflection from the star (hence it's name) in the same field of view with a scope of 5 inches aperture and above. That one is 10 million light years away !