YOU can see the Andromeda galaxy in the night sky this week with the naked eye.
The galaxy is estimated to have as many as a trillion stars – and will one day collide with our own Milky Way.
Getty – ContributorThe Andromeda galaxy is the small bright smudge to the right of the centre of this image, which shows the Milky Way spanning upwards into the night sky[/caption]
GettyAndromeda can be seen near Cassiopeia (look for the constellation’s pointing arrow) or close to Alpheratz, a star in the Great Square of Pegasus[/caption]
Andromeda is the nearest galaxy to us in space, located around 2.5million lightyears away from Earth.
It’s the most distant object humans are able to see unaided – due to its immense size and brightness.
The galaxy spans more than 150,000 lightyears in diameter, and it appears as a smudge of light in the sky even bigger than a full Moon.
And that means you can easily spot it on a clear night this week.
Of course it’s better if you have a pair of binoculars or even a telescope, but the naked eye will do just find if you’re trying to find it.
How to see Andromeda in the night sky
The Full Moon has come and gone, making it much easier to spot distant objects in the night sky.
There are several ways to spot Andromeda, but one is far easier than others.
The fastest way is to simply use a smartphone app – like Night Sky on your iPhone.
This uses your phone’s sensors to instantly direct you to where Andromeda is.
If you want to find it manually and you’re familiar with constellations then you have a few options.
One option is to identify the Great Square in the Pegasus constellation.
Then head out from the middle of the Great Square left to the Andromeda galaxy.
Another option is to look for the Cassiopeia constellation, which is shaped like a W.
The constellations brightest star is Schedar, which works like the tip of an arrow pointing towards the Andromeda Galaxy.
As always, your location may impact how well you can see Andromeda – if at all.
Clouds will obviously obscure the galaxy, so look out on a clear night.
You may also struggle to see Andromeda’s glow if you’re in a city – so head out to the countryside if you can.
What is Andromeda?
Andromeda – also known as Messier 31, or M31 – is a spiral galaxy and the Milky Way’s closest galactic neighbor.
It is sometimes visible to the naked eye so will have been seen countless times throughout history, but was first formally described in 964 CE by Persian astronomer Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi.
Due to its smudged appearance, it has historically been known as the “Little Cloud”.
Due to its distance, you are looking far into the past when you gaze at Andromeda.
That’s because the light takes around 2.5million years to reach your eye.
Andromeda is currently headed towards the Milky Way around nearly 190 miles per second, scientists estimate.
It’s expected that the two galaxies will collide in around 4.5billion years.
This may move our Solar System much farther out inside the Milky Way – and could even eject us from the galaxy entirely.