November 26
The Galaxy Guide
Sun Position
The Sun is in Sagittarius at about -22° declination. Northern Hemisphere days are approaching their shortest; Southern Hemisphere is in the warmest, brightest stretch of the year.
Sky Highlight
The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) is well-placed throughout November evenings, but from northern mid-latitudes it reaches its highest point on the meridian around 8–9 p.m. this time of year, then gradually descends. Mirach in Andromeda serves as a reliable naked-eye guide star to M31's position: star-hop from Mirach about two degrees north and then west to the galaxy's core.
Deep Sky Object
M31, the Andromeda Galaxy, 2.5 million light-years away. Mirach, tonight's featured star, sits at the bend of the chain of stars leading to M31 and is the classic star-hop waypoint for finding it. The full extent of M31 stretches over 3°, roughly six full Moon diameters, though the outer disk is so dim that most observers see only the bright central regions.
Featured Star
Mirach (β Andromedae) is a red giant 197 light-years away, spectral class M0IIIab, and it is haunted by a ghost: NGC 404, a small lenticular galaxy, sits so close to Mirach in projection that it is nearly impossible to observe without the giant star's glare overwhelming it. Astronomers call it 'Mirach's Ghost.' Mirach itself is also used as the anchor star for navigating to M31 and M33.
Around This Date
- November 26, 2011NASA launched the Mars Science Laboratory, carrying the Curiosity rover, which landed in Gale Crater in August 2012 and is still operating.
- November 28, 1659Christiaan Huygens made his first recorded sketch of Syrtis Major on Mars, establishing that Martian surface features could be tracked across rotations.
Mirach is bright enough to obscure a galaxy sitting practically beside it, a lesson in how the nearby and the luminous can hide the distant and faint.