Here are 2 ways to find the Andromeda galaxy (earthsky.org)
Posted by Deborah Byrd
August 25, 2021
2 ways to find the Andromeda galaxy
Take a night to drive to a dark sky and find the glorious Andromeda galaxy. It’s the great spiral galaxy next door to our Milky Way and the most distant object you can see with your eye alone. It’s best seen in the evening at this time of year. Most people find the galaxy by star-hopping from the constellation Cassiopeia the Queen, a very noticeable M- or W-shaped pattern on the sky’s dome. You can also find the Andromeda galaxy by star-hopping from the star Alpheratz in the Great Square of Pegasus. Both methods will lead you to the galaxy. See the charts below.
Star-hop from Cassiopeia
Here’s the technique most people use to find the Andromeda galaxy. Just be sure you’re looking in a dark sky. Look northward for the M- or W-shaped constellation Cassiopeia the Queen. Now locate the star Schedar in Cassiopeia. It’s the constellation’s brightest star, and it points to the Andromeda galaxy.
The importance of a dark sky
Just be aware – bright moonlight or city lights can overwhelm the faint glow of this object. The single most important thing you need to see the galaxy is a dark sky.
What does the galaxy look like to the eye? Assuming you have a dark sky, it appears as a large fuzzy patch – bigger than a full moon in the sky – but vastly fainter and more subtle.
Binoculars enhance the view
Binoculars are an excellent choice for beginners to observe the Andromeda galaxy, because they are so easy to point. As you stand beneath a dark sky, locate the galaxy with your eye first. Then slowly bring the binoculars up to your eyes so that the galaxy comes into binocular view. If that doesn’t work for you, try sweeping the area with your binoculars. Go slowly, and be sure your eyes are dark-adapted. The galaxy will appear as a fuzzy patch to the eye. It’ll appear brighter in binoculars. Can you see that its central region is more concentrated?
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more: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/2-ways-to-find-the-andromeda-galaxy/?utm_source=EarthSky+News
Cassiopeia is a conspicuous, bright, W-shaped circumpolar constellation which is visible from the northern hemisphere all year round. If you can find the Big Dipper, and use the pointer stars in that to locate Polaris (the North Star, also the end of the handle of the Little Dipper), just draw a line from the pointers to Polaris and continue in a straight line to reach Beta Cass, which forms one end of the W at about the same distance on the other side of Polaris.
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Note the article is dated August -- it's actually a bit late in the season for this, unless you get up before dawn.
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