09/20/11 – Ephemeris – The constellation Andromeda

Tuesday, September 20th.  The sun will rise at 7:26.  It’ll be up for 12 hours and 17 minutes, setting at 7:44.   The moon, at last quarter today, will rise at 12:33 tomorrow morning.

In the east southeast at 9 this evening can be found a large square of stars, the Great Square of Pegasus the flying horse.  The square is standing on one corner.  What look like its hind legs stretching to the left from the left corner star is another constellation, Andromeda the chained maiden.  She is seen in the sky as two diverging curved strings of stars that curve upward.  She was rescued by the hero Perseus, a nearby constellation, riding his steed Pegasus.  Andromeda’s claim to astronomical fame is the large galaxy seen with the unaided eye just above the upper line of stars.  The Great Andromeda Galaxy is two and a half million light years away.  To the unaided eye the galaxy appears a a small smudge of light.  In binoculars the galaxy is a delicate spindle of light.

* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan.  They may be different for your location.

Addendum

The Constellation Andromeda. Created using Stellarium.

The Great Andromeda Galaxy (M31). Image taken by Scott Anttila.

Click on image for full size version.

Stellarium has it by its old name the Great Andromeda Nebula, before it was reclassified as an island universe (obsolete) or galaxy.