Light Pollution And Fainter Objects.

THIS IS THE LIGHT POLLUTION THAT I HAVE TO DEAL WITH.

As you can see from this image, taken at 21:30, observation is extremely tricky. You can just make out Casseopia in the top right. Only the brightest stars of Andromeda are visible too. This is why star-hopping to locate M31 has been so challenging!

As you can see below; the galaxy, in theory, should be clearly visible through binos or a small telescope.

M31 under ideal conditions.
Instead of this it's totally invisible to the naked eye and is merely a very faint smudge (like a fingerprint but smaller) which can only be seen using averted vision.

This is why I'm totally addicted to viewing our galaxy's twin sister!

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