View at EarthSky Community Photos. | James Lawton in his parents’ backyard in northern Wisconsin captured this photo of the Andromeda Galaxy on September 23, 2021. He wrote: “A great night for my alignment but not any guide camera. 3 minute exposure at a gain of 120. Not stacked, single image.” Thank you, James!
We’re in the midst of the best time of year to observe the wondrous Andromeda Galaxy, the large spiral galaxy next-door to our Milky Way. The constellations that help you find it are up in the east after dark. The Andromeda Galaxy is bright enough to be seen without optical aid from a dark-sky site. Binoculars or a telescope will improve the view. Enjoy these beautiful photos of the Andromeda Galaxy, from the EarthSky community! You can submit your own, too.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Mohd Nazam Anuar in Johor Naharu, Malaysia, captured this photo of the Andromeda Galaxy on October 10, 2021. Mohd wrote: “Located in a Bortle 3 sky, I was lucky enough to have a Draconid meteor along with the Andromeda Galaxy. Isn’t that beautiful, guys?” Yes, it is. Thank you, Mohd!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Basudeb Chakrabarti in Kolkata, India, captured this photo of the Andromeda Galaxy on October 6, 2021. He wrote: “The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) is the most distant object that unaided human eyes can see from Earth. I have captured this image from a heavily light-polluted area (Bortle 9 sky). We can also see two satellite galaxies (M32 and M110) in this image.” Thank you, Basudeb!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Soumyadeep Mukherjee in Kolkata, India, captured this photo of the constellation Andromeda with the galaxy and red star Mirach on September 30, 2021. He wrote: “The image contains at least 4 observable galaxies: M31 (Andromeda Galaxy) at the top-right corner, M33 (Triangulum Galaxy) at the bottom-left corner, M32 and M110 (both near the Andromeda Galaxy). Along with that, we also have an open cluster NGC 752/Caldwell 28 at the top-left corner. At the middle of the image, it is the red giant Mirach!” Thank you, Soumyadeep!
The Milky Way and Andromeda
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Chuck Reinhart in Vincennes, Indiana, captured this photo of the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies on October 25, 2021. He wrote: “After days of clouds and rain, we had a break in the weather, and I was able to photograph the Milky Way before it rained.” Thank you, Chuck! In this photo, we see a wide swath of the Milky Way as we look out from our own galaxy, while the distant Andromeda Galaxy appears as a fuzzy oval on the right.
Bottom line: Enjoy a photo gallery of the best Andromeda Galaxy images we’ve received from EarthSky readers!
Kelly Kizer Whitt has been a science writer specializing in astronomy for more than two decades. She began her career at Astronomy Magazine, and she has made regular contributions to AstronomyToday and the Sierra Club, among other outlets. Her children’s picture book, Solar System Forecast, was published in 2012. She has also written a young adult dystopian novel titled A Different Sky. When she is not reading or writing about astronomy and staring up at the stars, she enjoys traveling to the national parks, creating crossword puzzles, running, tennis, and paddleboarding. Kelly lives in Wisconsin.
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