Mythology and History
Andromeda was one of the earlier constellations. There have been studies showing it starting at the civilizations in the Tigris-Euphrates region. In Greek mythology, she was going to be sacrificed by her mother Cassiopeia and her father Cetus to one of Poseidon's creatures, Cetus. This is because an oracle told the parents that this would save them from the fate that Poseidon had sealed for them because of Cassiopeia boastfulness. Perseus the hero then came and saved Andromeda by pulling the face of the Medusa in front of Cetus, who immediately turned to stone.
Stars
Alpha-Alperatz/Sirrah= This star is shared with Pegasus. The names are Arabian. The former name means horse's shoulder and the latter means horse's navel. Spectral Type=A0 V Magnitude=2.1 Distance-72ly
Beta-Mirach= This is meant to mean girdle in Arabic. Spectral Type-M0 III Magnitude-2.1 Distance-72ly
Gamma-Almach/Almak= This multiple star can be seperated with binoculars and further seperated with a telescope. The brighter golden star is of spectral type K2 III, magnitude 2.2. The pair of binary blue-white stars that need a telescope to seperate are of spectral type A0, magnitude 5.0. All of these are 120ly away.
Delta-Spectral Type-K3 III Magnitude-3.9 Distance-160ly
Mu-Spectral Type-A5 V Magnitude-3.9 Distance-82ly
Pi-Spectral Type-B5 V Magnitude-4.4 Distance-390ly
Phi-Spectral Type-B8 III Magnitude-4.3 Distance-390ly
Star Cluster
2 faint star clusters are visible. NGC 752 is located south of the line that joins beta and gamma Andromadae and NGC 7686 is located in the Northwest corner of the constellation.
Nebulae
NGC 7662 is a faint planetary nebula located south of NGC 7686 (see Star Cluster)
Galaxies
M31, the great Andromeda Galaxy, is the most distant thing that can be seen with the naked eye. It is a spiral that looks a lot like our own. It is about 2 million light years from the Earth. To find this place, draw a line Nothwest from beta to mu Andromedae. M32 adn M110 is a faint round companion to the Andromedae Galaxy. These galaxies need telescopes to see them. NGC 404, 891, 7640 are galaxies in Andromeda, but they only look like smudges in moderate-size telescopes.