Spark and Perl go looking
A smudge.
You brought me all this way for a smudge.
That smudge is an entire galaxy, with more stars in it than our own Milky Way.
How far?
The light you are looking at set off before there were any people at all.
So I am looking at the past?
Always.
And it is heading slowly our way, so do not get too comfortable.
Then we should move house before it arrives.
Sorry.
It really is coming very slowly.
It will meet the Milky Way in four billion years.
If it meets it at all. Some scientists think the two galaxies will pass each other by.
…The light is old and the news is slow.
Everything out here is telling me what already happened.
Everything. Always.
Yes, on a dark autumn night.
You can see this from almost anywhere — but not the very far south.
Where to find the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), and when
Where the Earth is clear, it climbs high in the sky. The darker it gets, the lower it stays. Where it is black, it never comes up. No shading at all: it does not matter where you live.
What do I need to see the Andromeda Galaxy (M31)?
You can see it with just your eyes.
The furthest thing your eyes can reach.
Look slightly to one side of it and it comes up clearer.
Binoculars with 10× magnification show it, if you rest them on a fence or a wall.
A 150 mm telescope is what shows it properly. This picture is about 25× — which is what that telescope gives on a good night.
It is so wide that a telescope shows one piece of it at a time — binoculars hold the whole thing at once.
Space
Eyes, binoculars, or telescope?
Read on
Go and look