• This evening, try star-hopping to the famous Andromeda galaxy - the large spiral galaxy next-door to our Milky Way - from the Great Square of Pegasus. Ready?
• Look westward for the four stars of the Great Square. You'll find them in the west at nightfall and early evening. Keep in mind that our sky chart covers a larger portion of sky than it usually

does. The Great Square is so large that your hand can slip in between any two Great Square stars. Hold your hand at arm's length whenever measuring distances on the sky's dome.
• Focus on the top star of the Great Square on the above sky chart. If you look carefully, you'll see the constellation Andromeda as two streamers of stars jutting up from this uppermost Great Square star. To me, the two streamers make the shape of a cornucopia or a bugle.
• Go to the second star upward on each streamer: Mirach and Mu Andromedae (abbreviated Mu on the sky chart). Draw an imaginary line from Mirach through Mu, going twice the Mirach/Mu distance. You've just landed on the Andromeda galaxy!
• On a dark night, the Andromeda galaxy looks like a faint, blurry patch of light. If you can't see it with the unaided eye, your sky might not be dark enough. Try binoculars.
• By the way, Comet Panstarrs (C/2011 L4) will pass by the Andromeda galaxy in early April 2013. In the meantime, see if you can star-hop from the Great Square of Pegasus to the Andromeda galaxy tonight!
•