That outlines Andromeda the Princess, hitching a ride on the horse’s rear end. In the traditional view of the upside-down flying Pegasus, both curved lines of stars attached to Alpheratz make up ...

For thousands of years, humanity has looked up to the sky every August to watch the Perseids meteor shower streak through it in brilliant fashion.

The fainter upper arc outlines Princess Andromeda. The best way to find Andromeda is to follow the lower line or wing of the horse two stars to the left of Alpheratz.

Also known as Andromeda, the Milky Way’s most immediate neighbor is about 2.5 million light-years away, and provides an excellent option for studying how spiral galaxies form and evolve over time.