You can see galaxies and constellations throughout October from London - here's how

The Pinwheel Galaxy sits 21 Million Light Years from Earth and can be seen through a telescope
-Credit: (Image: Steven Robinson/Getty)


As winter rolls in, a new set of constellations and galaxies will grace our night skies in London. Despite the massive light pollution in London - the bane of stargazers' existence - there is still plenty to be seen out above the skyscrapers and flashing lights.

Astronomy expert Jessica Lee, 30, from the Royal Observatory Greenwich has outlined the special constellations and galaxies floating above our heads. She told MyLondon tips about how, when and where they can be seen from the capital.

October in London has been filled with stargazing delights like the northern lights, the Comet A3 being seen for the first time in 80,000 years, the biggest supermoon of the year and now this. Next week we will also be seeing the Orionid Meteor Showers on October 21-22.

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Autumnal and winter constellations

Cassiopeia constellation on the starry sky
Cassiopeia constellation on the starry sky -Credit:Getty

Stargazing in the autumn and winter is generally better than in the summer with longer nights. It also reveals a new set of familiar star patterns littering the sky with ancient constellations.

A good one to start with is Cassiopeia which is shaped like a big W or M with five bright stars. Jessica said: "Cassiopeia is nice and easy from London - it's one I see quite often - and it's really high up. If you imagine the night sky as a dome, at the highest point of the dome, if you crane your neck 90 degrees from the ground, Cassiopeia is near that point in the sky"

Andromeda is next to her mother Cassiopeia in the sky
Andromeda is next to her mother Cassiopeia in the sky -Credit:User:Keilana, derived from User:Roberto Mura, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

In Greek mythology, Cassiopeia was the queen of Aethiopia and the mother of Andromeda. She was known for her vanity and arrogance, which led to her downfall. Poseidon sent sea monsters to destroy her kingdom after she boasted of her and her daughter's beauty. To appease the monster Andromeda had to be chained to a rock but was later rescued by Perseus.

The gods were pleased and elevated all the characters to the heavens as stars but as one final slap on the wrist, Cassiopeia was placed in the sky in such a way that she would appear upside down for part of the year.

Orion is one of the most recognisable constellations
Orion is one of the most recognisable constellations -Credit:Getty

The Andromeda constellation is near her mother Cassiopeia but the stars are "not the brightest", Jessica said, so you might not be able to see all of them from London. It's shaped almost like a floating stick figure. This is the constellation which the Andromeda Galaxy is named after as it is found inside it, but more on that later.

Orion, many people's favourite with the bright three stars of his belt, is also visible this month but only quite late. "It's in the sky but only sort of after midnight or 1am depending on how high the trees around you are," Jessica said, "We normally tell people to wait until November or December to look for Orion."

Pegasus - the immortal winged horse born from the blood of Medusa who was slain by Perseus - can also be seen high up in the sky too

Galaxies

Andromeda is the furthest object you can see with the naked eye and appears blue because it is moving towards us and will eventually collide with our galaxy the Milky Way in billions of years
Andromeda is the furthest object you can see with the naked eye and appears blue because it is moving towards us and will eventually collide with our galaxy the Milky Way in billions of years -Credit:Getty

Two galaxies can also be seen in the night sky at the moment. The first is the Andromeda Galaxy which you can see with your naked eye from Earth - the furthest object where this is the case. "It's named the Andromeda Galaxy because it's in the same area as the constellation, but it's got nothing to do with the constellation," Jessica explained, "The Andromeda Galaxy is a whole separate galaxy to us - it's about two and a half million light years away from us which makes it the closest galaxy to us.

"If you go somewhere dark you can see it with your eyes, so its the furthest most distant thing you can see with your eyes without a telescope which is pretty cool. It looks a bit like a comet - a bit like a smudge on the sky because it's not a star, it's a trillion stars really far away."

Sadly, with it being so far away it is quite faint in the sky and, "You have to go somewhere properly dark to be able to see it." Jessica said, "I can't think of anywhere in London that I've seen it. But if people are outside of London - for example, I live in Reading - if you walk out of the bounds of Reading into the field behind, I can see it from those fields."

The Pinwheel galaxy sits in the Ursa Major constellation. Blue oxygen and pink hydrogen gas are visible inside it
The Pinwheel galaxy sits in the Ursa Major constellation. Blue oxygen and pink hydrogen gas are visible inside it -Credit:Getty

The Pinwheel Galaxy is also visible in the sky. This is actually visible at any time of the year inside the Ursa Major constellation (more commonly known as the Plough) which is always above the horizon at night but you do need a telescope to see it sadly. "It's a really nice galaxy through a telescope because it's a spiral galaxy that we're looking at fave on so you can see the spiral pattern in it."

To use a telescope and be able to see it you can go to Royal Greenwich Observatory's Evening with the Stars event on Fridays and Saturdays from November 2024 to January 2025 at Greenwich Observatory. you can use their onsite telescope and learn about the night sky.

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