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Observation Settings

Or select it on the map:
This Earth map fragment is intended to illustrate celestial motion across the sky, emphasizing both bearing and elevational perspectives. The map's center point corresponds to the transit, showcasing celestial objects at their highest point, while elevation gradually decreases towards the map edges. This dynamic representation offers insights into the changing positions of celestial bodies with a focus on their bearing and elevational trajectories.
Your location: Santa Clara, United States
Timezone:
Latitude:
37.3541
Longitude:
-121.955

Andromeda Galaxy (M31) Observation Details

M31

M31 Daily Motion

M31 will rise before twilight begins, at 13:58, and will reach 32° elevation by the time twilight commences at 17:39. It will reach its transit at 86° by 22:45 and gradually fade away as the night ends at 04:12, maintaining an elevation of around 29°.
M31 will be visible until March, 10, when it will move too close to the Sun. During this time, its proximity to the Sun will cause it to disappear from the night sky, making it unobservable for a while.

M31 Visibility Timetable on October 07

M31 Rise and Set Timetable

TimeElevation
M31 rise13:58
Moon Rise, 99.9% illuminated16:2520°
Sunset16:4123°
Civil sunset17:0827°
Astrosession begin18:0938°
M31 transit22:4586°
Astrosession end03:4234°
Civil sunrise04:4224°
Sunrise05:1019°
Moon Set05:4814°
M31 set07:32

Track M31 Position Throughout the Night

← Tue, 7 October 2025 →

Elevation (degrees)
Time
Altitude
Azimuth
Shift the map to change the time and observe M31 changing position in the night sky.

Where is Andromeda Galaxy right now?

Andromeda Galaxy (M31) is located in the constellation Andromeda, at right ascension 00h 42m 44s" and declination 41° 16' 08s. At the current time, it is below the horizon and not visible from your location.

Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31): The Nearest Spiral Neighbor to the Milky Way

The Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31 or M31) is the closest large spiral galaxy to the Milky Way and one of the most distant objects visible to the naked eye. Located about 2.54 million light-years away in the constellation Andromeda, it stretches across more than 220,000 light-years, making it twice the size of our own Galaxy. With an estimated one trillion stars, Andromeda is the largest member of the Local Group of galaxies, which also includes the Milky Way, the Triangulum Galaxy (M33), and about 50 smaller dwarf galaxies.

Appearance and Structure

The Andromeda Galaxy is a barred spiral galaxy, featuring a bright central bulge and beautifully defined spiral arms filled with star-forming regions, nebulae, and dust lanes. When viewed through a telescope or long-exposure photograph, Andromeda displays a glowing core surrounded by faint spiral arms that extend across more than 3 degrees of the sky — roughly six times the apparent width of the full Moon.

Distance and Brightness

At a distance of 2.54 million light-years, Andromeda’s light takes more than two million years to reach Earth. Its apparent magnitude of 3.4 makes it visible even without a telescope under dark skies. In binoculars, it appears as an elongated fuzzy patch; with small telescopes, observers can spot its two companion galaxies, M32 and M110.

A Future Collision with the Milky Way

Astronomers have determined that the Andromeda Galaxy is moving toward the Milky Way at a speed of about 110 km/s (68 miles/s). In roughly 4 to 5 billion years, the two galaxies are expected to collide and merge, forming a giant elliptical galaxy sometimes called “Milkomeda.” Despite the dramatic name, individual stars are so far apart that few, if any, will collide directly — the event will be a graceful gravitational dance on a cosmic scale.

Scientific Importance

Studying Andromeda provides crucial insights into galaxy formation, dark matter distribution, and star evolution. Because it’s similar in structure to the Milky Way, astronomers use M31 as a cosmic mirror to understand our own galaxy’s history and future.

M31 Image Gallery

DSS Blue

M31 photo taken with blue filter
These images are valuable for highlighting the presence of younger, hotter stars, which emit more light in the blue wavelengths.

DSS Red

M31 photo taken with red filter
These images are excellent for detecting older, cooler stars, as well as emission nebulae, which glow primarily in the red due to hydrogen alpha emissions.

DSS Near-Infrared

M31 photo taken with Near-Infrared filter
These images can penetrate dust clouds that obscure visible light, revealing structures and objects hidden within.

DSS Composite image

M31 color image
DSS Color images are composite images created by combining the blue, red, and often near-infrared images to produce a full-color representation.

The photos are taken from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2), which was produced at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) under NASA contract, using data from the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), the European Southern Observatory (ESO), and the National Geographic Society-Palomar Observatory Sky Survey (POSS II).

Special thanks to the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, and the California Institute of Technology for their significant contributions.

Finder Chart for M31

Double-click to unlock the map.
Object nameM31
Field of view
Limiting magnitude
M31 coordinates0.71232, 41.26906
Center coordinates0.71232, 41.26906

How to Find the Andromeda Galaxy

You can locate Andromeda in the autumn and winter skies of the Northern Hemisphere. Find the W-shaped constellation Cassiopeia, which points downward toward Andromeda. The star Schedar (α Cassiopeiae) marks the lower tip of this deep V (↓) shape. From Schedar, follow the direction of the V downward toward the bright star Mirach (β Andromedae) in the constellation Andromeda. The galaxy lies slightly above and to the left of Mirach, appearing as a faint, misty oval under dark skies. It’s best observed on moonless nights far from city lights.

M31 Passage Through Night

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Current position of M31

Time10:32
Latitude37.3541
Longitude-121.955
M31 elevation-11°
M31 Azimuth3°
Here you can see the current position of the M31 on the map, as well as its positions for rise and set. This tool allows you to track the M31's movement throughout the night, providing you with accurate and up-to-date information.

Annual motion of M31

Time
DateTue, 7 October 2025
Twighlight start18:05
Twighlight end03:35
Twighlight duration10h 31m
Rise13:58
Set07:32
Elevation at transit86°
Transit time22:45
Equatorial coordinatesRA: 00h 42m 44s", Dec: 41° 16' 08s
Magnitude3
ConstellationAndromeda
The graph illustrates the annual visibility pattern of a M31, providing a comprehensive overview of its daily appearances and transit times throughout the year.
The graph is structured with the vertical axis showing the hours of the day, ranging from 12 AM to 12 AM the next day, while the horizontal axis spans each day of the year.
The reddish shaded area indicates the periods when the M31 is above the horizon, visible to observers. The white line marks the times when the celestial object reaches its highest point in the sky each day, known as the transit.

Astrometric & Physical Parameters of M31

Coordinates & Visibility

Right Ascension0.71232°
Declination41.26906°
Magnitude3.44
ConstellationAndromeda
Elevation-11.3°
Azimuth2.9°

Data Credits

The nebulae information on this page is sourced from the OpenNGC project, developed by Matteo Verga. OpenNGC provides detailed data on the NGC catalog, which is a valuable resource for exploring deep-sky objects such as nebulae.

For more details or to contribute to OpenNGC, visit the official GitHub repository: OpenNGC on GitHub.