SkyEye - Andromeda

The Chained Lady

Abbreviation: And
Genitive: Andromedae
Origin: [antiquity]

The constellation of Andromeda

In Greek mythology, Andromeda was the daughter of King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia of Æthiopia (what we call the Upper Nile region). Cassiopeia boasted that she and her daughter was more beautiful than the Nereids, the sea nymphs who often accompanied Poseiden, god of the seas. As punishment, Poseiden sent a sea monster, Cetus, to ravage the coast of Æthopia. In desperation, Cepheus consulted an oracle who informed him that to appease Poseiden, Cepheus must sacrifice his daughter Andromeda to the sea monster. Thus, Andromeda was stripped naked and chained to the rocks on the coast of the sea. Fortunately for her, Perseus was passing by, having just slain the Gorgon, Medusa. He killed the sea monster and set Andromeda free, claiming her as his bride.

The obsolete constellation Honores Friderici is comprised of stars now assigned to Andromeda.

Notable Features

Designation	Name	Description
α And	Alpheratz	Once also identified as δ Peg, this star forms part of the asterism called the 'Great Square of Pegasus'. It sometimes appears as Sirrah (from the Arabic surratu l‑faras meaning 'the navel of the mare') in older star atlases and catalogues. It also appears as Shimalih al Muchir (from the Arabic shamāliy al‑fargh al‑muʾakhkhar meaning 'the northern posterior spout of the water bucket') in Mohammad Al Achsasi Al Mouakket's calendarium.
β And	Mirach	This star sometimes appears as Al Batn Al Hut (from the Arabic al‑baṭn al‑ḥūt meaning 'the belly of the fish') in older star atlases and catalogues. It is also known as Al Rascha (from the Arabic al‑rishāʾ meaning 'the cord') in Mohammad Al Achsasi Al Mouakket's calendarium.
γ¹ And	Almach	A telescope reveals this star to be colourful double. This star appears as Khamis al Naamet (from the Arabic hāmis al‑naʿām meaning 'the fifth ostrich') in Mohammad Al Achsasi Al Mouakket's calendarium.
ξ And	Adhil
υ And	Titawin	This star is known to have at least three exoplanets.
14 And	Veritate	This star is known to have at least one exoplanet.
51 And	Nembus
GQ And, GX And		These red dwarf stars are two of the closest stars to Earth. GX And is eighth magnitude and GQ And is eleventh magnitude.
HH And		This variable star is just over 10 light years distant, but at twelfth magnitude, is not visible to the naked eye.
HD 16175	Buna	This seventh-magnitude star is known to have at least one exoplanet.
HAT-P-6	Sterrennacht	This tenth-magnitude star is known to have at least one exoplanet.

M31	Andromeda Galaxy	This large spiral galaxy lies approximately 2.5 million light years away and is the most distant object that can be seen with the naked eye.
M32		A telescope may reveal this elliptical companion galaxy of M31.
M110		This elliptical galaxy, also visible only through a telescope, is another companion of M31.
C22	Blue Snowball	A telescope is necessary to see this planetary nebula, possibly one of the better examples of this class of object to observe.
C23		This is an edge-on spiral galaxy and is visible even in small telescopes.
C28		This open cluster is readily observable through binoculars.