How to identify planets and stars in Milky Way? And to see Andromeda Galexy.?

Question

Hi everybody! I am interested in identifying planets of Solar system on clear sky nights. I am also interested in seeing Andromeda galexy, which is the only galexy which can be seen from naked eye from earth. Can somebody also help me in identifying stars in Milky way?

Answer 1

Thank you for your interest in my galaxy. You need a star map and you need to navigate by the brightest stars and the contellations they are in to find it. Find Orion or Ursa Major and work from there.

Answer 2

I highly recommend you download/buy a star chart program such as Sky Map or Starry Night. These will aide you greatly. You can also find a star chart with the location of the planets in magazines such as Astronomy or Sky and Telescope.

If you are in the Northern Hemisphere, the planets will always be somewhat south so they will never be straight over you. In the early part of the evening you should be able to see Jupiter near the horizon to the west. Other planets easily visible with the naked eye are Mars, Saturn, and most definatly Venus, which has often been mistakenly cleared for landing as it's the brightest object in the sky (when it's there) aside from the sun. Mercury is visible just after sunset or before sunrise at certain times of the year.

You will not be able to see the Andromeda galaxy with the naked eye unless you have good vision and are out in the middle of nowhere with lights around. It's near the constellation Cassiopeia. The best way to find it is using a star chart and hop from star to star until you get to it...it's fuzzy.

Answer 3

Good advice from people above.

But to see Andromeda galaxy you need to be in a really dark place. Get to a dark place and then let your eyes get accostomed to the dark for 15-30 minutes. Your dark receptors on your retina need time to get their act together.

You'll need to identify Andromeda constellation first, but she hangs onto Pegasus which is a great big square in the sky, and easy to recognise.

Just get to recognise the most common constellations - once they are as easy to recognise as your mother's face, you will be able to find anything else with no trouble.

PS - not sure how much cash you have, but if you could get a pair of 7x50 binoculars you will find Andromeda galaxy much easier.

Answer 4

There is a free download available called Celestia..... I highly recommend it. It lets you view the stars from all angles and even zoom to the star quickly, plus it has features like constellation overlays and gives you the ability to speed up time so you can watch Neptune zip around the sun as fast as you want.


http://www.shatters.net/celestia/

Answer 5

http://www.skymaps.com/


Doug