CONSTELLATIONS
                                    OF THE MONTH

                                ANDROMEDA and PERSEUS

                                   by Rick Raasch

     The constellations we'll be examining this month are richly intertwined in
     mythology, but are vastly divergent in the objects they present to amateur
     astronomers. While Perseus lies along the Milky Way, and offers many
     sparkling open clusters and diffuse nebulae, Andromeda lies away from our
     galaxy's plane, and lets us see the inhabitants of intergalactic space.
     Some of the finest objects of their respective classes reside in these
     constellations, and it is well worth braving cold weather to observe them.

                                      ANDROMEDA

     M-31, 32, & 110     The Great Galaxy in Andromeda and its companions. M-31
     is the closest large spiral galaxy to our own Milky Way galaxy, and
     therefore presents us with a wealth of details. Numerous dust lanes are
     evident, and large telescopes can even identify individual members of its
     system of globular clusters. I find the best view of this galaxy trio to be
     through large binoculars. At this magnification, the complete extent of the
     main galaxy can be seen, and the fuzz, star-like M-32 and the elliptical M-
     110 can be glimpsed quite easily in the same field of view.

     NGC 891   This is a large galaxy, 12-15'x3', extended NNE-SSW. Using
     averted vision, one can see a dust lane bisecting it at its center.
     Although it is large, it appears rather faint, so time is needed to extract
     detail in this beautiful object.

     Gamma And      One of the prettiest double stars in the sky. It is easily
     split, and shows a golden-orange primary and a fine blue companion. A must
     see.

                                       PERSEUS

     M-34      This is a fine open cluster, easily seen in binoculars as
     somewhat box shaped, with many bright stars resolved. Through a telescope,
     it is almost 40' in diameter, made up of primarily bright and some
     relatively faint stars, and has a coarse appearance.

     M-76      The Little Dumbell planetary nebula resembles M-27 as seen though
     a small telescope. It is bi-lobed, with the southern lobe the brighter of
     the two, and the northern being somewhat rectangular. Some dark lanes or
     patches are seen with averted vision. This object holds up to magnification
     well.

     NGC 869 & 884       The Double Cluster. This is one of the finest sights in
     the sky. These two open clusters are both large and bright, and fall in the
     same low power field of view. NGC 869 is the brighter and more concentrated
     of the two, and is dominated by two bright orange stars near its center.
     NGC 884 is slightly larger, and has many more orange-red stars. Both
     clusters contain over 100 stars each.

     Alpha Persei Group       When you look at Alpha Per, it is easy to see
     granulation or condensation of the Milky Way in its region. Try looking at
     this area with binoculars, and you will be stunned by the wealth of stars
     in this area. This is actually a large open cluster having the designation
     Melotte 20, and contains over 100 stars. Give this area a peek.

     Eta Per   This double star is an easy split, and shows a pretty yellow-gold
     primary and a fainter blue companion.

     Epsilon Per    A difficult split, but a fine yellow-white and blue double
     star.

     Algol (Beta Per) This famous variable star dips almost 1.5 magnitudes every
     2.86 days. Its variability is due to a faint star eclipsing a brighter
     star. The eclipses last about 10 hours, so a significant brightening or
     dimming can easily be observed in one night. Its minima are listed in Sky
     and Telescope magazine every month, so if you haven't observed a variable
     star yet, give this one a try.