How Far Can You See? - Try Andromeda

Most of what we can see with the unaided eye from Earth is stars inside the Milky Way Galaxy. But there's one thing you can spot that's much further away. Find out what it is, and how to find it, on today's episode of Astro Minute!

What is Astro Minute?

Welcome to the Astro Minute! I'm Lauren Smyth, and with the help of astronomer and teacher Kelli Smyth, I'll be your tour guide as we explore the secrets of the night sky sixty seconds at a time.

Welcome to the Astro minute, where we’re exploring the universe sixty seconds at a time. I’m Lauren Smyth, and today we are looking for the most distant object visible with unaided eyes.

The universe contains some two trillion galaxies, each containing billions of stars. Mostly what we see at night with just our eyes are objects within our own Milky Way Galaxy. But we can also see our neighbor, the Andromeda Galaxy, two point five million light years away.

To find this faint oval smudge, look for the five brightest stars in the constellation Cassiopeia which form an asterism shaped like a “w.” The narrower side of the w forms an arrow which points a little way across the sky to the Andromeda Galaxy. Find it first with your eyes, then take a look with binoculars. You’ve now looked outside our galaxy to the farthest object your unaided eyes can see!

That’s your astro minute!