The Way I See It > Almaak Observing Log

Common Names:	Gamma Andromedae
Position (J2000):	02h03m54s +42°19'47"
Finder Charts:	30° \| 15° \| 5°
Other Identifiers:	Almach, Almak, Alamak, Alamaak, Gam And, γ And, 57 And, Σ 205, STF 205, ADS 1630, BD+41 395, CCDM J02039+4220, HD 12533, HIP 9640, HR 603, SAO 37734, WDS 2039+4220

Almaak means "The Foot" in Arabic, because it is the foot of Andromeda. This multiple star system is said to be one of the most striking star systems in the sky. The members are 2nd and 5th magnitude separated by 10", which I have always seen as yellow and bluish colored. Almach is actually a triple system, having two greenish-blue companions of magnitudes 5.5 and 6.3 separated by less than one arcsecond. It is the contrast of the yellow and greenish-blue color that makes this system so beautiful in a telescope.

Double/Multiple Star Components

Discoverer	Comp	Mag 1	Mag 2	Sep	PA	Year
STF 205	A-BC	2.31	5.02	9.6	63	2004
BAR 22	AD	2.31	15	27.9	245	1898
STT 38	BC	5.1	6.3	0.4	103	2000

Learn more about Almaak on the web, browse the observing lists containing Almaak, or review the references used to gather information regarding Almaak.

Sketches

Gamma Andromedae at 74x (Sep 3, 2010)

Observations

ID	Description
2083	Earth, Wind and Sky Star Party 2008 - August 30, 2008 06:11 UT At 167x with the 11mm eyepiece in the 368mm reflector, Almaak appears as a closely spaced pair of stars with a very bright yellow colored primary star and a much fainter blue colored secondary star. The colors in each of the stars are very brilliant.
238	First light for the ETX90 - November 4, 2001 03:50 UT With the 17mm (74x) eyepiece in the ETX-90, Gam And is easy to split even with the very bright primary and the small separation. The quality of the ETX optics really shines through here, as I was able to focus the bright primary star to a fine point with minimal diffraction making the fainter secondary very easy to see. This is another double with stars of contrasting color. The bright primary appears yellow, while the secondary is a blue color.

Description

2083

Earth, Wind and Sky Star Party 2008 - August 30, 2008 06:11 UT

At 167x with the 11mm eyepiece in the 368mm reflector, Almaak appears as a closely spaced pair of stars with a very bright yellow colored primary star and a much fainter blue colored secondary star. The colors in each of the stars are very brilliant.

238

First light for the ETX90 - November 4, 2001 03:50 UT

With the 17mm (74x) eyepiece in the ETX-90, Gam And is easy to split even with the very bright primary and the small separation. The quality of the ETX optics really shines through here, as I was able to focus the bright primary star to a fine point with minimal diffraction making the fainter secondary very easy to see. This is another double with stars of contrasting color. The bright primary appears yellow, while the secondary is a blue color.