December 19, 2024: The Andromeda Galaxy is high in the southern sky as twilight ends. Before sunrise look for the moon near the Sickle of Leo.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 7:14 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 4:22 p.m. CST. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program.
Andromeda Galaxy
At this season at the end of evening twilight, the Great Andromeda Galaxy, cataloged as Messier 31 or M 31, is high in the southern sky. With holiday travel occurring, sky watchers may be traveling to or at least through areas with reduced outdoor lighting than they may have at their homes. An opportunity to see the galaxy is at hand.
This spectacular spiral galaxy is very large, so much that it spills outside even a lower power telescopic eyepiece. It is best viewed from a region without outdoor light without an optical assist or up close through a binocular.
The century mark of the announcement that the Andromeda Galaxy is a separate island of stars in the universe occurs at year’s end. Before that, astronomers were not sure what the thousands of spiral nebulae represented – gas clouds in spiral patterns inside the Milky Way or separate amalgamations of stars like our own home galaxy.
Galactic Dimensions
Edwin Hubble found a special class of stars in two spiral nebula that varied in brightness in a rhythmic pattern known as Cepheid variables.
These stars were found in the Magellanic Clouds – now known as the Milky Way’s companion galaxies visible in the southern hemisphere – by Henrietta Levitt early in the last century. Since the stars were about the same distance, their periods that were longest had the greatest intrinsic brightness. Levitt’s detailed tracking of these stars, yielded the period-luminosity relationship, now fundamental to determining distances to nearby galaxies.
E.E. Hertsprung calibrated Levitt’s concept to these Cepheid variables – named for the prototype Delta in Cepheus – to the nearby variables in the Milky Way.
The principle was used to determine distances to stars in the galaxy and those globular clusters that revolve around the galactic center outside the galactic plane.
Century after Announcement
Hubble found Cepheids in Andromeda and another galaxy cataloged as M 33. His initial calculations showed that Andromeda was at least 975,000 light years away, far beyond the known edges of the Milky Way. While he was cautious to announce these measurements made in 1923, Hubble was convinced to announce this distance at an astronomy conference that began on December 30, 1924. Refined observations placed it around 2.2 million light years.
The Andromeda galaxy can be found during late autumn and early winter high in the southern sky. Look for the Great Square of Pegasus, four stars that make a large box. Apheratz, at the northeast corner of the square, belongs to Andromeda, a constellation of two lines of stars extending from this corner.
Find Mirach, about 15° northeast (to the upper left) of Alpheratz. The galaxy is 7.7° west of that star. Place the star at the center of the binocular field and move it to the upper right. A large fuzzy glob of light moves into the field – the Andromeda Galaxy!
Gibbous Moon, Sickle of Leo
An hour before sunrise this morning, the gibbous moon, 81% illuminated, is over halfway up in the southwest and 10.9° to the right of Regulus, Leo’s brightest star. While the moon is bright, look for the Sickle of Leo, a backwards question mark that outlines Leo’s head. The haunches and tail, marked by Denebola are to the east of the sickle.
LATEST ARTICLES
- 2026, October 25: Full Hunter’s Moon and Planet Almanac
October 25, 2026: Find the Full Hunter’s Moon near Saturn, Jupiter and Mars before sunrise, and observing details for Mercury, Venus, Uranus, and Neptune. - 2026, October 24: Jupiter, Mars, and Regulus Line Up; Hunter’s Moon Near Saturn
October 24, 2026: Find Jupiter, Mars, and Regulus lined up before sunrise. After sunset, the nearly full Hunter’s Moon appears near Saturn. - 2026, October 23: Venus Changes from Evening Star to Morning Star
October 23, 2026: Venus reaches inferior conjunction as Mars approaches Jupiter before sunrise. After sunset, find the bright Hunter’s Moon near Saturn. - 2026, October 22: Morning Mars and Jupiter, Evening Hunter’s Moon and Saturn
October 22, 2026: Watch Mars close the gap to Jupiter before sunrise, then find the Hunter’s Moon near Saturn after sunset. - 2026, October 21-24: Hunter’s Moon Passes Saturn
October 21-24, 2026: The bright Hunter’s Moon approaches Saturn. Follow the Moon’s changing position and view Saturn’s slightly-tilted rings through a telescope.
Andromeda can be seen every winter in Pegasus. The only problem is that without a telescope, it’s just a small blurb that will be obscured by ground light pollution. These celestial events are almost always disappointments.
Didn’t write that it was easy and pointed out that it is best scene from a dark area through a binocular. Holiday travel provides an opportunity to visit or travel through a dark area. This sight is not for city dwellers. Thank you for your comment to addd further clarification.
Its said in the article that Andromeda galaxy is is visible in the southern sky. While it should read as “Northern sky”
Correct me if im wrong.
It is south of the zenith or overhead point. So, while high, it is in the southern sky. Face south and look up high. Thanks for the comment and opportunity to add clarification.
why in the world would you use an AI image as the header for this?
Because I can. (I have been using AI for featured images for several months, partly to show the absurd images it generates. Some are not close, such as the one here. This particular source almost always includes the moon in every image it makes.)The other graphics are from NASA as credited or they are mine.
Thanks Jeffrey, photos are excellent!
Question: Just purchased a Celestron 114AZ telescope, do you think I’ll be able to see Andromeda or any of these planets / stars and I live in the Pacific NW??
Yes, in a darker location, the galaxy is visible at the lowest power, although it will spill out of eyepiece. This is best viewed with a binocular. Yes, the planets show some details with this scope. At about 80x, Jupiter appears about the size of a #2 pencil eraser held at arm’s length. Saturn with its rings is about the same size. Venus’ phase appears – although no other details. Mars appears as a red-orange globe, perhaps with some shading at the higher powers.