                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2022 October 21

                         Andromeda in Southern Skies
            Image Credit & Copyright: Ian Griffin (Otago Museum)

   Explanation: Looking north from southern New Zealand, the Andromeda
   Galaxy never gets more than about five degrees above the horizon. As
   spring comes to the southern hemisphere, in late September Andromeda is
   highest in the sky around midnight though. In a single 30 second
   exposure this telephoto image tracked the stars to capture the closest
   large spiral galaxy from Mount John Observatory as it climbed just over
   the rugged peaks of the south island's Southern Alps. In the
   foreground, stars are reflected in the still waters of Lake
   Alexandrina. Also known as M31, the Andromeda Galaxy is one of the
   brightest objects in the Messier catalog, usually visible to the
   unaided eye as a small, faint, fuzzy patch. But this clear, dark sky
   and long exposure reveal the galaxy's greater extent in planet Earth's
   night, spanning nearly 6 full moons.

                      Tomorrow's picture: light-weekend
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
                NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

