The Andromeda Galaxy is a large spiral galaxy which is located at 2.5 million light years away from earth. It is the largest galaxy in our neighborhood. The Andromeda galaxy is observable for the most part of the year. You can find this galaxy in the Andromeda constellation.
How to locate the Andromeda galaxy?
The best and easiest way to locate the Andromeda galaxy is to download any one of the apps mentioned in this article. These apps are superb for your stargazing night.
Now to see this galaxy what kind of telescope do you need?
If you are expecting, you will see Andromeda as shown in the photo below taken by the Hubble Telescope. Then you will definitely need some advanced instruments, which we will see in the later part of this article.
Image by Daviddayag / CC
The Andromeda galaxy is huge and one of the brightest deep sky objects. You can spot the Andromeda galaxy with naked eyes. You do not need a telescope. However, when you observe this galaxy just with your naked eyes, you will see its bright center and that’s it. All the other beautiful colors of this galaxy is the magic of post processing of astrophotography.
You can also use the Binoculars to see the. There are some good binoculars you can find on amazon.
If you just want to see the galaxy through the telescope, buy any telescope above 4-inch aperture and you can see this galaxy.
But I am guessing most of you do not want just the plain view of this beautiful galaxy. You are most probably looking to see the beautiful version of this galaxy. If that is the case then you are entering into the realm of astrophotography.
Camera to see Andromeda Galaxy
To capture Andromeda then you will need a camera, a lens and a tracker. A good tracker is very important to capture deep sky images. As this tracker will allow to capture the good photos and in post processing the stacking of these photos will bring out the sharpness and the beauty of this galaxy.
The camera you can use are as follows:
You will also need a telephoto lens and tracker with a good tripod stand.
Using these equipment you can easily capture this galaxy and many other bright deep space objects. With naked eyes the galaxy will look like just a hazed patch in the sky. With binoculars you can see the galaxy but there are no details. Any beginner telescope will show you this galaxy. But for visual observation it is better if you go with a telescope with a minimum 4-inch aperture.
Image by Robert Couse-Baker / CC
Telescopes to see Andromeda Galaxy
Below are some good telescopes which can be used to see and capture the Andromeda galaxy.
There are also some good refractor telescopes you can use but you will also need to buy a mount to use these telescopes.
Theses are some of the instruments you can use to see the Andromeda Galaxy. If you are looking for the best telescope for stargazing then check out our telescope suggestion tool.
