Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog

Ephemeris for Friday, October 12th.  The sun will rise at 7:54.  It’ll be up for 11 hours and 7 minutes, setting at 7:02.   The moon, 3 days before new, will rise at 5:42 tomorrow morning.

In the east at 9 this evening can be found a large square of stars, the Great Square of Pegasus the flying horse.  The square is standing on one corner.  What look like its hind legs stretching to the left from the left corner star is another constellation, Andromeda the chained maiden.  She is seen in the sky as two diverging curved strings of stars that curve upward.  She was rescued by the hero Perseus, a nearby constellation, riding his steed Pegasus.  Andromeda’s claim to astronomical fame is the large galaxy seen with the unaided eye just above the upper line of stars, the Great Andromeda Galaxy, nearly 2 and a half million light years away.  To the unaided eye the galaxy appears as a small smudge of light.  In binoculars the galaxy is a delicate spindle of light.

Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan.  They may be different for your location.

Addendum

Andromeda at 9 p.m. with the Great Andromeda Galaxy. Created using Stellarium.

The Great Andromeda Galaxy (M31). Image taken by Scott Anttila.