![]() ![]() ![]() The right V shape of the Cassiopeia constellation points vaguely in the direction of the galaxy. The Andromeda Galaxy, also known as M31, can be seen as a misty patch on the edge of the Andromeda Constellation to the right of the sprawled figure's right hip, which is right next to the bright star Mirach. The galaxy, located some 2.5 million light-years away from Earth, is barely visible to the naked eye but can be found with binoculars. The Andromeda Galaxy, the Milky Way's nearest major galactic neighbor, can be found within the Andromeda Constellation. New map created by AI reveals hidden links between Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies Watch stars drift and constellations change shape using mobile apps How the night sky constellations got their names Other stars in the Andromeda Constellation are Delta Andromedae, Iota Andromedae, Upsilon Andromedae, Adhil (or Xi Andromedae) and Mu Andromedae. ![]() Other stars in the Andromeda Constellation: The star's central giant is 2,000 times more luminous than the sun. The third brightest star of the Andromeda Constellation, Almach is about 350 light-years away from Earth. It is a multi-star system featuring a central giant orbited by a pair of white dwarfs. Close to Mirach, astronomers can observe two distant dwarf galaxies located some 10 million light-years from Earth.Īlmach, or Gamma Andramodae, is Andromeda's foot. Within the Andromeda Constellation, Mirach forms the chained figure's left hip. It is a giant star 1,900 times as bright as the sun, according to the Constellation Guide, and three to four times as massive. Mirach, also known as Beta Andromedae, is nearly as bright as Alpheratz and located about 200 light-years away from Earth. The smaller star of the Alpheratz binary system is about 10 times as luminous as the sun and orbits the larger star every 97 days, according to the Constellation Guide. A so-called subgiant, this star is 200 times brighter than the sun while being less than four times as massive. The bigger of those two stars has a unique chemical composition and is the brightest known star with high levels of mercury and manganese. Alpheratz is essentially Andromeda's head, but it's also part of the neighboring square of Pegasus.Īstronomers know today that Alpheratz is located 97 light-years from Earth and is, in fact, a binary star, a system of two stars orbiting a common center of mass. The brightest star in the Andromeda Constellation is Alpheratz, also called Alpha Andromedae. Andromeda is currently about 2.5 million light-years from the Milky Way, and the two galaxies are on a collision course a few billion years from now, they will smash into each other. The most famous one of these is the Andromeda Galaxy, the closest full-fledged galaxy to the Milky Way. In addition to the visible stars, one can find many intriguing objects within the Andromeda constellation that are only visible with telescopes or binoculars. Three of these stars are brighter than magnitude 3.00, which puts them into the top 100 brightest stars in the sky. The Andromeda Constellation contains nine main named stars, according to Constellation Guide. (Image credit: Stub Mandrel) Stars of the Andromeda constellation Mirach is one of the brightest stars of the Andromeda constellation. Fortunately, the charming prince Perseus flew past on his winged horse Pegasus and fell in love with Andromeda's beauty. So, the loving parents had their daughter chained to a rock by the sea, so that the sea monster could get her easily. It was said, however, that sacrificing Andromeda could save the country and its people. When her mother bragged that Andromeda was better-looking than the famously beautiful Nereid sea nymphs, the sea god Poseidon sent his pet sea monster Cetus to destroy Cepheus' kingdom. In ancient Greek mythology, Andromeda was a beautiful daughter of the king Cepheus and queen Cassiopeia. The figure's "head" connects the constellation to the neighboring square of Pegasus. The figure's feet point in the direction of the Perseus constellation, right next to Cassiopeia. With a bit of imagination, you can see the constellation as a sprawled figure with its arms extended. The pronounced W-shaped Cassiopeia constellation points directly at Andromeda. (Image credit: IAU) How to find the Andromeda constellationĪndromeda is part of a big prominent group of constellations named after mythological figures related to the Perseus and Andromeda myth. The position of the Andromeda constellation among the other constellations named after characters related to the Perseus myth. ![]()
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