Sky Maps Database: Pegasus, Andromeda, and Cassiopeia

Toogle Constellation and Nebula Picture

Toogle Natural Image

Again, a lot of interesting objects are found in these constellations. The best months to get them are October and November. You'll be seeing the farthest object you can with no instrument, the Andromeda Galaxy, Messier 31, located at 2.3 million light years (the light you see from it left the galaxy at the time of the dinosaurs!), our closest neighbour.

The Triangulum Galaxy, M 33 is tricky, because it's very spread out and has a relatively low surface brightness. Theoretically, you can see it with no instrument at all, but only certain very experienced amateurs say they have on an extremely clear night.

Cassiopeia's, or rather Perseus' wonder is the Perseus double cluster, definitely one of the best pair of objects you'll ever observe. Very easy to spot, even on a not-so-clear night. It gets breathtaking in a small refractor of telescope.

One last thing I was willing to point out: Pegasus houses the first exoplanet ever discovered. In case you don't know, an exoplanet is a planet rotating around a star that isn't our sun. In 1995, a group of astronomers were able to detect an exoplanet (a very large one) around a star in Pegasus: 51 Peg. This star is visible with the unaided eye, but you won't see the planet. Detecting an exoplanet is like trying to detect a butterfly on a lighthouse 200 km away. Anyway, it's shown on the first map by the cursor just below the label 'pegasus'.