How to Find the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) with a Telescope: Star-Hop Guide for Beginners
Telescope Advisor Logo Telescope Advisor
The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) as seen through a telescope — a bright oval core surrounded by spiral arms against a black star field

Observing Guide · Deep Sky

How to Find the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) with a Telescope

The Andromeda Galaxy is the most observed deep-sky object in the northern hemisphere, and for good reason: it is the only galaxy beyond the Milky Way visible to the naked eye from moderately dark skies. But many beginners struggle to find it because it spans a huge area and looks nothing like the photographs. This guide gives you a reliable star-hopping sequence and explains exactly what to expect through different instruments.

Object typeSpiral galaxy
Apparent magnitude3.4
Best seasonAugust – February
ConstellationAndromeda
By Telescope Advisor Editorial Team Published: Updated: Editorial Standards

Quick Answer: How to Find the Andromeda Galaxy

Find the constellation Cassiopeia (the W shape). Follow the wide end of the W southward to the star Mirach (Beta Andromedae). From Mirach, move northwest past two fainter stars (Mu Andromedae and Nu Andromedae). The Andromeda Galaxy appears as a faint, elongated grey smudge just past the second star. In binoculars or a finder scope at low power, it fills about one-third of the field of view. In a telescope, use the lowest possible magnification — the galaxy is larger than the full Moon on the sky and will not fit in a high-power eyepiece.



🔭

Not sure which telescope actually fits your goals?

Answer 5 quick questions about your budget, observing targets, and experience level — our Telescope Finder Tool recommends a specific model in under 2 minutes.

Find My Telescope →

What Is the Andromeda Galaxy?

The Andromeda Galaxy (also known as M31 or NGC 224) is a barred spiral galaxy approximately 2.5 million light-years from Earth. It is the largest galaxy in the Local Group (the cluster of galaxies that includes our own Milky Way), containing an estimated one trillion stars — roughly twice the stellar population of the Milky Way.

Andromeda and the Milky Way are on a collision course. Current measurements indicate the two galaxies will begin merging in approximately 4.5 billion years, eventually forming a single elliptical galaxy sometimes nicknamed "Milkomeda." This will not be a violent collision in the star-destroying sense — the spaces between stars are so vast that most individual stars will pass unaffected — but the gravitational interaction will dramatically reshape both galaxies over hundreds of millions of years.

Under dark skies (Bortle 4 or better), the Andromeda Galaxy is visible as a faint, elongated smudge to the naked eye. It was first recorded by the Persian astronomer Al-Sufi in 964 AD, who described it as a "small cloud." Charles Messier catalogued it in 1764, mistakenly classifying it as a nebulae without resolved stars. It took until 1923 for Edwin Hubble to measure its distance and confirm it was a separate galaxy outside the Milky Way — a discovery that fundamentally changed humanity's understanding of the scale of the universe.

The Star-Hop Sequence: Finding Andromeda Step by Step

This is the most reliable method for finding M31 from suburban skies. It works with any finder scope, binoculars, or low-power telescope eyepiece.

1

Find Cassiopeia — the W

Cassiopeia is directly overhead in autumn and early winter evenings. It consists of five bright stars forming a distinctive W or M shape (depending on its orientation in the sky). The W shape is unmistakable and is the best starting point for all Andromeda star hops.

2

Use the W to point south

Identify the wider, more open side of the W (the right side when Cassiopeia is right-side up). The two stars on this wide side point roughly south-east toward the constellation Andromeda. Follow that line for about 20 degrees — approximately two fist-widths held at arm's length.

3

Land on Mirach (Beta Andromedae)

Mirach is a moderately bright star (magnitude 2.1) that forms the top-left of the Andromeda constellation's stick-figure. It is reddish-orange in colour when viewed through binoculars — one of the few stars that shows obvious colour without a telescope. This is your primary landmark.

4

Hop northwest past two guide stars

From Mirach, move your finder scope or binoculars in a straight line toward the north-west (away from the Cassiopeia direction). You will pass two fainter stars in a nearly straight line: first Mu Andromedae (magnitude 3.9), then Nu Andromedae (magnitude 4.5). Each hop is about 2–3 degrees.

5

There it is: a grey ghost

Just past Nu Andromedae — about one degree further in the same direction — you will see a large, faint, oval glow. That is the Andromeda Galaxy. In binoculars or a finder scope, it looks like a grey football-shaped cloud, roughly the size of the full Moon. In a telescope at low power, the core appears brighter, and the outer regions fade into the background sky. Congratulations — you have found the most distant object visible to the human eye.



What Andromeda Looks Like Through Different Telescopes

Andromeda changes dramatically with aperture. The description that follows is based on what observers actually see — not idealized images.

50–70mm refractor / small binoculars (10×50)

A large, elongated grey patch. The core region appears brighter and slightly oval, fading gradually into the background. No spiral structure visible. The two companion galaxies (M32 and M110) are difficult or invisible. This view is historically significant — it matches what the first telescopic observers saw.

114–130mm reflector (4.5–5 inch)

The core appears distinctly brighter and more condensed. Under reasonably dark skies, the galaxy extends noticeably beyond the field of view of a 1-degree eyepiece. M32, the smaller elliptical companion, becomes visible as a faint star-like point near the edge of Andromeda's core. M110 remains challenging.

150–200mm (6–8 inch Dobsonian)

Dark lanes become visible — the dust bands that cross the galaxy's face. The core is sharply concentrated, and the galaxy's disc extends across about 3 degrees (six full-Moon widths). Both M32 and M110 are clearly visible as distinct objects. Under excellent dark skies, averted vision reveals hints of the spiral structure as subtle brightness variations.

250mm+ (10-inch and larger)

The spiral structure becomes unmistakable — the galaxy appears as a three-dimensional disc tilted at about 77 degrees to our line of sight. Multiple dark dust lanes cross the brighter inner regions. The core is intensely bright and slightly elongated. M32 and M110 are easy, and smaller H-II regions in the outer disc become visible with careful observation.

Andromeda in Binoculars: The Best First View

For most observers, the single best instrument for Andromeda is a pair of 10×50 binoculars. The galaxy's large angular size (about 3 by 1 degrees) means it fits neatly in a typical binocular field of view, and the low magnification shows the entire structure in context — the bright core and the fainter outer regions fading into the surrounding star field.

The view through 15×70 binoculars on a tripod is genuinely spectacular: the core appears sharply concentrated, the galaxy hangs in the star field like a three-dimensional object, and under dark skies, the companions M32 and M110 begin to show as tiny glows adjacent to the main galaxy. Many experienced observers consider the 15×70 view of Andromeda one of the finest sights in the northern sky — comparable to the Orion Nebula in emotional impact.

For binocular recommendations suited to deep-sky observing, see our best astronomical binoculars guide.

Best Season and Time of Night

Andromeda is visible from the northern hemisphere from August through February. It reaches its highest point in the sky — and therefore its best position for observation — in November and December, when it passes nearly overhead at mid-northern latitudes.

The best time to observe is during astronomical darkness, at least two hours after sunset and two hours before sunrise, when the sky is fully dark and the galaxy is well above the horizon. Andromeda is visible all night during autumn and early winter, setting in the west in the early morning hours. In spring and summer, it is a morning object, climbing above the eastern horizon before dawn.

Photographing Andromeda

Andromeda is one of the most rewarding deep-sky objects for beginner astrophotographers because it is bright, large, and responsive to short integration times.

The easiest way to image Andromeda is with a DSLR on a star tracker (such as the Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer) using a 135mm to 200mm telephoto lens at f/2.8 to f/4. Take 30–60 second exposures for 30–60 minutes of total integration. The result will show the bright core, the dusty spiral arms, and both companion galaxies. This is achievable on your first night with a star tracker — see our star tracker guide for setup advice.

Through a telescope, Andromeda is a challenge because it does not fit in a typical eyepiece field of view. To image the entire galaxy, you need a short focal length refractor (400mm or less) with a large camera sensor — or take a mosaic of overlapping images and stitch them together in software. Most imagers choose to frame Andromeda with a camera lens rather than a telescope.

M32 and M110: Andromeda's Satellite Galaxies

The Andromeda Galaxy has two bright satellite galaxies that are visible in moderate-sized telescopes and add significantly to the view.

M32 (NGC 221) is a small, bright elliptical galaxy that appears as a fuzzy star-like point about 22 arcminutes south of Andromeda's core — well within the same low-power field of view. It is visible in 70mm telescopes under dark skies and easy in 114mm and larger apertures. M32 is one of the most compact galaxies known, with most of its stars concentrated in a sphere only about 200 light-years across.

M110 (NGC 205) is a larger, fainter elliptical galaxy about 36 arcminutes northwest of the core. It is more diffuse than M32 and requires at least a 114mm telescope and reasonably dark skies to detect. In 200mm+ telescopes, M110 shows as a soft, round glow with a slightly brighter centre — a rewarding target once you have mastered M31 itself.



Frequently Asked Questions

Can I see the Andromeda Galaxy from the city?

The core of Andromeda is visible from suburban skies (Bortle 5–6) through binoculars or a small telescope — it appears as a faint grey smudge. From heavily light-polluted city centres (Bortle 7+), it becomes very difficult and may be invisible through anything smaller than 114mm aperture. A narrowband or light-pollution filter does not help with galaxies because their light is spread across the full spectrum.

Why can't I see Andromeda like the photos?

Because your eyes are not long-exposure cameras. Photographs of Andromeda accumulate light for minutes or hours, revealing colours and details that are invisible to the human eye in real time. Visually, Andromeda appears grey because our colour vision (cone cells) does not function at low light levels. The galaxy's spiral arms and dust lanes require at least 150mm aperture under very dark skies to detect visually. What you see through a 70mm scope — a grey oval — is exactly what every visual observer before the photography era saw.

What magnification should I use for Andromeda?

The lowest possible magnification. Andromeda spans about 3 degrees on the sky (six full Moons). At 20× through a typical telescope, the galaxy already overflows a 1-degree eyepiece field. Use the widest-field, lowest-power eyepiece you own — typically a 25mm or 32mm Plössl in a 1.25-inch format, or a 2-inch wide-field eyepiece if available. In binoculars, 7× to 15× is ideal.