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36
Celestial Observing
Star Hopping
Another way to find deep sky objects is by star-hopping. Star hopping is
done by using bright stars to "guide" you to an object. Here are directions
for two popular objects.
The Andromeda Galaxy, M31, is an easy first target. To find M31:
1.
Locate the constellation of Pegasus, a large square visible in the fall and
winter months.
Start at the star in the northeast corner. The star is Alpha (0)
Andromedae.
Move northeast approximately 7°. There you will find two stars of equal
brightness — Delta (5) and Pi (1) Andromedae — about 3° apart.
Continue in the same direction another 8°. There you will find two stars
— Beta (B) and Mu (11) Andromedae — about 3? apart.
Move 3° northwest — the same distance between the two star — to the
Andromeda galaxy. It is easily visible in the finder.
Figure 6-2
Star hopping to the Andromeda Galaxy is a snap to find since all the
stars needed to do so are visible to the naked eye. Note that the scale
for this star chart is different from the one on the following page which
shows the constellation Lyra.
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