SkyEye: Andromeda

The Chained Lady

Abbreviation:	And
Genitive:	Andromedae
Origin:	[antiquity]
Fully Visible:	37°S – 90°N

In Greek mythology, Andromeda was the daughter of King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia of Æthiopia (the Upper Nile region). Cassiopeia boasted that she and her daughter was more beautiful than the Nereids, the sea nymphs who often accompanied Poseiden, god of the seas. As punishment, Poseiden sent a sea monster, Cetus, to ravage the coast of Æthopia. In desperation, Cepheus consulted an oracle who informed him that to appease Poseiden, Cepheus must sacrifice his daughter Andromeda to the sea monster. Thus, Andromeda was stripped naked and chained to the rocks on the coast of the sea. Fortunately for her, Perseus was passing by, having just slain the Gorgon, Medusa. He killed the sea monster and set Andromeda free, claiming her as his bride.

The constellation of Andromeda is one of the 48 constellations listed by Ptolemy in his second-century astronomical treatise Almagest. The obsolete constellation Honores Friderici is comprised of stars now assigned to Andromeda.

The constellation of Andromeda

Notable Features

Visible Named Stars
α And	Alpheratz	Once also identified as δ Peg, this second-magnitude star forms part of the asterism called the 'Great Square of Pegasus'. It sometimes appears as Sirrah (from the Arabic surratu l‑faras meaning 'the navel of the mare') in older star atlases and catalogues. It also appears as Shimalih al Muchir (from the Arabic shamāliy al‑fargh al‑muʾakhkhar meaning 'the northern posterior spout of the water bucket') in Mohammad Al Achsasi Al Mouakket's calendarium.
β And	Mirach	This fourth-magnitude star sometimes appears as Al Batn Al Hut (from the Arabic al‑baṭn al‑ḥūt meaning 'the belly of the fish') in older star atlases and catalogues. It is also known as Al Rascha (from the Arabic al‑rishāʾ meaning 'the cord') in Mohammad Al Achsasi Al Mouakket's calendarium.
γ¹ And	Almach	A telescope reveals this second-magnitude star to be colourful double. This star appears as Khamis al Naamet (from the Arabic hāmis al‑naʿām meaning 'the fifth ostrich') in Mohammad Al Achsasi Al Mouakket's calendarium.
ξ And	Adhil	The name of this fifth-magnitude star is derived from adh‑dhayl, Arabic for 'the train of a garment'.
υ And	Titawin	This fourth-magnitude star is an F-type main sequence star, accompanied by a red dwarf star and at least three exoplanets.
14 And	Veritate	This fifth-magnitude star is known to have at least one exoplanet.
51 And	Nembus	Although Johann Bayer catalogued this fourth-magnitude star as υ Per in the early seventeenth century, it is now one of the brighter stars of Andromeda.
Other Interesting Stars
GQ And, GX And		These red dwarf stars are two of the closest stars to Earth. GX And is eighth magnitude and GQ And is eleventh magnitude. They are found a little north of the Andromeda Galaxy.
HH And		This variable star is just over 10 light years distant, but at twelfth magnitude, is not visible to the naked eye. It is located right next to κ And.
HD 16175	Buna	This seventh-magnitude star is known to have at least one exoplanet and is found close by the Silver Sliver galaxy.
HAT‑P‑6	Sterrennacht	This tenth-magnitude star is located just south of ι And and is known to have at least one exoplanet.
Deep Sky Objects
M31	Andromeda Galaxy	This large spiral galaxy lies approximately 2.5 million light years away and is said to be the most distant object that can be seen with the naked eye. It is on a collision course with our galaxy; the two will meet in 4–5 billion years.
M32		A telescope may reveal this compact elliptical companion galaxy of M31.
M110		This dwarf elliptical galaxy, also visible only through a telescope, is another satellite galaxy of M31.
C22	Blue Snowball	A telescope is necessary to see this planetary nebula, possibly one of the better examples of this class of object to observe. It is also catalogued as NGC 7662.
C23	Silver Sliver	NCG 891 is an edge-on spiral galaxy and is visible even in small telescopes. Supernova SN 1986J was discovered in this galaxy.
C28		This open cluster, first discovered by Caroline Herschel in 1783, is readily observable through binoculars. It is more commonly known as NGC 752.
Meteor Shower Radiants
018 AND	Andromedids	There are no major meteor showers associated with this constellation. The radiant of the minor shower known as the Andromedids is actually located south of Andromeda in the constellation of Pisces. The Andromedids are associated with the defunct comet 3D/Biela and peak in November.