Posted on 08/01/2013 7:27:04 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Explanation: The Great Spiral Galaxy in Andromeda (aka M31), a mere 2.5 million light-years distant, is the closest large spiral to our own Milky Way. Andromeda is visible to the unaided eye as a small, faint, fuzzy patch, but because its surface brightness is so low, casual skygazers can't appreciate the galaxy's impressive extent in planet Earth's sky. This entertaining composite image compares the angular size of the nearby galaxy to a brighter, more familiar celestial sight. In it, a deep exposure of Andromeda, tracing beautiful blue star clusters in spiral arms far beyond the bright yellow core, is combined with a typical view of a nearly full Moon. Shown at the same angular scale, the Moon covers about 1/2 degree on the sky, while the galaxy is clearly several times that size. The deep Andromeda exposure also includes two bright satellite galaxies, M32 and M110 (bottom).
(Excerpt) Read more at 129.164.179.22 ...
[Credit & Copyright: Adam Block and Tim Puckett]
If you’ve seen this through a telescope in the city, even a good telescope, you’d be lucky to see anything past the core, not even the diameter of the moon.
Oh, wait, it's a photoshop image from NASA, like the moon landing.
;’)
The other day I watched that DVD for the first time in perhaps five years, really enjoyed it.
With a good DLSR, 10 seconds F1.8, say ISO 800 you should be able to see most of the width.
Not that I have done this, yet.
Being an idiot about the night sky, how would you know where to point the lens?
Little early for Andromeda to be up isn’t?
How to find the Andromeda Galaxy: http://www.wikihow.com/Find-the-Andromeda-Galaxy
Monthly sky maps: http://www.stargazing.net/david/constel/skymapindex.html
It is south and therefore highest in the sky at 10 pm in mid November or around 4am now.
Constellations are like music to me, always been tone deaf, never could pick out the star arrangements. Big Dipper was about as far as my abilities went.
Constellations are like music to me, always been tone deaf, never could pick out the star arrangements. Big Dipper was about as far as my abilities went.
Here's one to try. In the early evening follow the handle of the Big Dipper to the first bright star. That star is Arcturus and the kite shaped constellation it's at the bottom of is Boötes, the Herdsman.
That’s quite interesting really...and well written for a scenario such as this. Thanks for posting.
Cassiopeia is my touchstone for most circumpolar objects. If it’s a “W”, the right-hand “V” points a little to the left of Andromeda.
I like things like this that show the actual size of objects in the sky. I never realized that all I was seeing of Andromeda was the core. I just assumed that at 2 million light years away, that was as big as it was.
A long time ago, a galaxy far, far away... :’)
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