Ephemeris: 10/08/2026 – Finding the Great Andromeda Galaxy
This is Ephemeris for Thursday, October 8th. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 20 minutes, setting at 7:10, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:50. The Moon, 2 days before new, will rise at 6:44 tomorrow morning.
The closest large galaxy to our Milky Way is the Great Andromeda Galaxy, seen high in the eastern sky when it gets dark. It is barely visible to the naked eye. Locate it by star-hopping: First find a large square of stars high in the east-southeast at 9 PM, standing on one corner, the Great Square of Pegasus. The left star of the square is the head of the constellation Andromeda. Follow two stars to the left and a bit downward, then two stars straight up. The galaxy is near that last star as a small smudge of light. Binoculars are the best way to see it as a thin spindle of light, which is the galaxy’s nucleus. Using a telescope, one can see, besides its nucleus, its two satellite galaxies.
The astronomical event times given in this blog are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (Lat 44.7° N, Long 85.7° W; EDT, UT – 4 hours) unless stated otherwise. Times will be different for other locations.
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