How can we see the Andromeda Galaxy?

The Andromeda galaxy is the closest big galaxy to our Milky Way. Here are a couple of different ways to find it. Just be sure your sky is dark! read more

The Andromeda Galaxy, also known as Messier 31 or "the Great Spiral Galaxy" is one of the most distant objects that the unaided human eye can see. Use the constellations around the Andromeda Galaxy to help you pinpoint its location in the sky. read more

To get you started, we will talk you through two paths to the Andromeda Galaxy. The chart represents the sky as seen from a mid-northern latitude in late October, around 11 p.m. local time. You are facing south, but looking almost overhead. read more

If the whole galaxy were bright enough, this is what you’d see at night (with the moon as a reference) 1: Huge! And given that it’s 2.5 million light years away, the surprising amount of sky space Andromeda takes up speaks to just how ridiculously large a 140,000 light year diameter galaxy is. read more