This image shows the Andromeda and two satellite galaxies: Messier 32 (M32), the blue dot just above Andromeda, to the left and centre; and Messier 110 (M11), the hazy blue oval below the central spiral of Andromeda. The image was taken by NASA; JPL-Caltech University of California, Los Angeles.  Andromeda is a barred spiral galaxy and is the nearest major galaxy to the Milky Way. It is categorized at Messier 31, M31, and NGC 224. It has a diameter of 152 000 light years, and is 2.5 million light years from Earth.  Messier 32 is a dwarf "early-type" galaxy about 2 490 000 light years from the Sol Solar System. It is a satellite galaxy of the Andromeda Galaxy and was discovered by Guillaume Le Gentil in 1749. It has a radius of 330 light-years.  Messier 110 is a dwarf elliptical galaxy that is also a satellite of the Andromeda Galaxy. Charles Messier first saw the object in 1773. It was also independently discovered by Caroline Herschel in 1783, and her brother William He...

Johanna from Middelburg send me a neat card of the night sky over the Netherlands during the winter.  In a European winter the Winter Hexagon (Wintersechseck) is visible. It consists of six fixed stars that are parts of other constellations. Pollux, Procyon, Sirius, Rigen, Aldebaran, and Capella make up the Winter Hexagon. Also visible is the Germinids and Quadrantid meteor showers (sternschnuppen). The Big Dipper (Plough Grosser Wagen) is also visible. The Milky Way (Milchstrasse) is also visible is areas of low light pollution.