Is M31 Andromeda Galaxy this smudge of light I see?
Hi all
I have always wanted to view the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) and last night had the clearest night for a while so went to have a look. Using
Stellarium I knew roughly where to look. The Square of Pegasus was above the horizon and resembled a 'diamond' due to its orientation. The lowest star in the 'diamond' was about half the height of the diamond above the horizon, so it was quite low.
I was using the 12.4mm and 25mm Plossls in my f1200mm 8" Optex dob. I'm observing from a point 25 km North East of Perth.
In the place that I expected to see M31 I saw a large faint 'smudge' of light that was vaguely ovoid in shape. Is this the Andromeda Galaxy?
I expect that the reason it is faint is due to it's low position above the horizon. At a guess I'd say it was about the same declination as the lowest star in the 'Diamond' of Pegasus.
Do I need to travel a bit further North, say to Lancelin (relies have a house there) to get a better view?
sounds to me that you have the right galaxy its naught but a smudge in my telescope too (8" f/6). no real structure to speak of but the core is brighter.
the reason its dim compared to what is stated for its magnitude is that that magnitude is spread over a large area.
I found it first time a month ago with my 12x60 bins. Exciting! Then I convinced myself I could see it by eye (OK, multifocal glasses-assisted ).
I've only had a smokey evening look with my new 20x80s last weekend, but, all being well, I'll try again tonight though I know it's getting harder - almost down to the horizon by the time it is dark enough
Hi Ving
Thanks for that. I think part of my confusion was that the only visual representations I had are the fantastic pictures of Andromeda and that M110 blob thingy next to it, so seeing the smudge was a surprise. It seemed to fill about a third of the 12.4mm Plossl eyepiece, so I knew that it was large. I was glad to have finally found it, and dragged my wife out of bed to see it. Iinitially M31 reminded me of a faint version of Tuc 47 that I also found last night for the first time. Hard to believe that I'm actually seeing Andromeda as it was 2,000,000 years ago. Fantastic!
Can't wait to get my Hyperion 8mm on it when it arrives. I'm also going to have to get a 10" Dob to get more light in to resolve it even more.
Thanks again.
Hi Peter,
It sure sounds like you found it.
The best view I have of it is with my 30mm ep. It more than fills the FOV.
The central core is quite bright, but if you look closer you'll notice the arms of the galaxy extend a long long way.
Check it out with binoculars, then, once you know where you're looking, you can see Andromeda naked eye.
PeteMo please dont be fooled by the mere smudge, this is a galaxy that can be seen almost with the naked eye, incredible!! it is about 2.5 million light years away, and a light year is only....... 9.46 trillion Km in photon travelling distance.. apologies if those figures are known.
The more time you spend at the eyepiece with this galaxy, and the other galaxies around it, the more detail and subtleties you will discern.
M31 is gonna take us out shortly anyhow..LOL
Congratulations on finding Andromeda and i hope you get the time to investigate the many other lovely but faint sights about it, showing others Andromeda galaxy M31 is usually rewarding on account of its true observable size and the reactions it gets.
I can see M31 with the naked eye from here. (lat -28.8d).
My best views are with 20x80 binoculars, (3.2d field) they show all of it well.
The 12" dob with a 30mm EP (50x, 1.5d field) shows the full length if you move back and forth. M32 is bright, M110 is fairly faint in a 12", but not difficult. Perth is further south and that makes M31 harder to see.
The "Great Smudge" is certainly remarkable, and I too was very excited about seeing it. Viewing was good from here (Bright, Vic - 36.75d S) a month or two back, when it was at its highest. Could see it with the naked eye, and it was beautiful with binoculars (12x50) as the FOV covered the whole object, with the faint ghost of the full extension showing. Disappointing when I put my (small) scope on it, as only the central brightness showed.
Thanks Guys
At the moment we have a lot of cloud cover over the Northern horizon most nights, so I've not been able to view it for the past view nights. Now I know where to look, I'll keep checking every night. This is my first Galaxy, so I'm up for more.
...... This is my first Galaxy, so I'm up for more.
Go for the easy ones - LMC, SMC - then you can say you've seen other galaxies! However, I'm the same - I found M31 before I really located LMC and SMC.
Hi Pete, sounds like you found it. Andromeda needs dark skies and low powers. An 8" scope is a good one for seeing detail: dust lanes and two satellite galaxies, although dust lanes are tough at such low altitude. Large aperture binos give the most pleasing views even if not the most detailed. You do see it better the further north you go.
I agree with Eric; LMC and SMC are much more interesting objects.
I managed to find the LMC but not the SMC as we have a fair bit of light pollution from Midland and Guildford when looking south. I only found Tuc 47 by chance.
You can normally see it with averted vision with the naked eye from a dark site, i know i can, but if you're unsure try sketching it exactly how you see it through the eyepiece.....then you will have something you can compare to a photo or another drawing!
M31 is best viewed through wide field scopes and binoculars. My best views of M31 and its companions have come from my tripod mounted 20x80LW's. The galaxy just seemed to stretch on forever. For more detailed closeups, try using at least a 6". One dust lane was readily visible from Leyburn, Brisbane (dark and tranparent night) in my Celestron /Vixen C6 (6" f/5 newtonian) and the core appeared starlike.
M31 is a naked eye object here too, I have to agree with Glen, best
viewed through large bino's (IMO) as it is so big! a 30mm SV in my 8" f/6
newt doesn't show it in it's entirity. if your were a lil further north you
might even nab NGC206 a cluster/star cloud located within M31. Which
is quite doable in a 8" reflector, we also nabbed it in Glens 10"
M31 is huge so if it only fills 1/3 of a 12mm eyepiece field it's likely you are only seeing the core of the galaxy.
Next to the LMC and SMC the next most impressive external galaxy by far is NGC 253 in Sculptor and it's riding high at the moment - about 60 degrees above the western horizon. Much more satisfying viewing for many than Andromeda and one of my favourite objects.
If you have dark skies, you might also like to try for M33 (Pinwheel Galaxy) in Triangulum, a face on spiral pretty close to M31, much fainter but a little higher above the northern horizon at the moment. Both of these can both be seen in an 8" from dark skies.
its naught but a smudge in my telescope too (8" f/6). no real structure to speak of but the core is brighter.
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