Astronomy Series-Andromeda

This is the first of hopefully many looks at one of my favorite subjects: Astronomy. I am a big nerd when it comes to learning about the stars and mythology so I figure I'd go into depth on a few of the constellations. I will focus on the summer/fall sky right now for the Northern Hemisphere and start off with my favorite constellation: Andromeda.

A triangle-shaped constellation, it doesn't seem special until you look at it's lowest star. It shares a star with the box in the picture, also known as the constellation Pegasus. The mythology behind this story will be explained more as I get into more summer sky constellations but legend has it that Pegasus saved Andromeda from despair which would explain their connection. The only other notable thing about Andromeda is the galaxy in which it is named after. Located around it's lower arm, the Andromeda Galaxy is the closest galaxy to our own and has the same spiral shape.

Credits: http://www.domeofthesky.com
http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov