# Are any "stars" in constellations outside our galaxy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 14, 2002, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-stars-in-constellations-outside-our-galaxy/132288 "2002-10-14T22:51:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2002, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-stars-in-constellations-outside-our-galaxy/132288/1 "2002-10-14T22:51:08Z")
I’m given to understand that most of the stars we see at night are within our galaxy. I also believe that a few of the “stars” we see in the sky are, in fact, other galaxies, but that the primary location of most celestial objects within our naked eye view are part of the Milky Way. If these basic beliefs are correct, then I’m wondering if any of the basic objects we associate with constellations are, themselves, distant galaxies. ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2002, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-stars-in-constellations-outside-our-galaxy/132288/2 "2002-10-14T23:20:24Z")
I believe the only galaxy outside of the Milky Way that is visible to the naked eye is the Andromeda galaxy, in the constellation Andromeda. One of the barely visible objects in Orion is a nebula, but it is within our galaxy. A decent telescope will show you many galaxies outside ours, but they aren’t considered part of constellations. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2002, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-stars-in-constellations-outside-our-galaxy/132288/3 "2002-10-14T23:20:50Z")
The star S Doradus is in the Large Magellenic Cloud, a companion galaxy to the Milky Way. However, it is one of the fainter stars in a faint constellation. Aside from the Magellanic Clouds, I believe the only galaxy visible to the unaided eye is the Andromeda Galaxy. ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2002, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-stars-in-constellations-outside-our-galaxy/132288/4 "2002-10-14T23:28:04Z")
I believe that the only extra-galactic objects that can be seen with the naked eye are the Greater and Lesser Magellanic Clouds and the Andromeda Galaxy. The G&L MC’s are seen from the southern hemishere and are nearby satellite galaxies of the Milky Way. I have never seen them but I believe they are quite large and easy to see. The Andromeda Galaxy is magnitude 3.4, which means it would be easy to spot outside the city, although not particular bright. So, the answer to your question is no, with a few special exceptions. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2002, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-stars-in-constellations-outside-our-galaxy/132288/5 "2002-10-16T01:51:47Z")
Omega Centauri was named as a star, but is actually a globular cluster. Globular clusters orbit the center of the galaxy (as do the Magellanic clouds) but usually their orbits are not in the main disk of the galaxy. Omega Centauri is the largest known globular cluster in our Galaxy, containing well over a million stars. Another globular cluster named like a star is 47 Tucanae, which is the second largest known cluster. Some of the others are technically visible, but are rather dim to the unaided eye. So they didn’t get named as a star. They either have a Messier number or a NGC number. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2002, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-stars-in-constellations-outside-our-galaxy/132288/6 "2002-10-16T02:22:03Z")
I don’t think you need to qualify your answers in this thread with proviso “with the naked eye”. I’d be willing to bet that _even with a telescope_ (at least a “backyard” amateur one) you can not see individual stars that lie outside our galaxy. The only exception (other than ultra-rare supernova) would be the brightest stars that comprise some of the nearest globular clusters. And even those are ‘almost’ part of our own galaxy anyway, i.e. the globulars are halo objects themselves. I’d love to be proved wrong. Am I? ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2002, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-stars-in-constellations-outside-our-galaxy/132288/7 "2002-10-16T04:16:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KarlGauss \* > \*\*I don’t think you need to qualify your answers in this thread with proviso “with the naked eye”. I’d be willing to bet that _even with a telescope_ (at least a “backyard” amateur one) you can not see individual stars that lie outside our galaxy. > > The only exception (other than ultra-rare supernova) would be the brightest stars that comprise some of the nearest globular clusters. And even those are ‘almost’ part of our own galaxy anyway, i.e. the globulars are halo objects themselves. > > I’d love to be proved wrong. Am I? \*\* Ok… As **Colibri** said, **S Doradus** is in the Larger Magellanic Cloud. It can be as bright as 8.6 magnitude which means that even a small telescope could pick it out. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2002, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-stars-in-constellations-outside-our-galaxy/132288/8 "2002-10-16T04:24:35Z")
As I understand the OP, it’s asking if some of the things that look like stars to us are really galaxies. Not stars in other galaxies. The answer is no, because galaxies do not look like point objects whether in a telescope or the naked eye. Generally, they look too fuzzy to be mistaken for stars. The closest you can come is the globular clusters that I mentioned above. They are compact enough that they look like stars if you do not have enough power in your instrument. BTW there’s no “almost part of the galaxy” for globular clusters. All the ones known are part of some galaxy, our own or some other galaxy. The fact that they aren’t in the main galactic disk does not divorce them from the galaxy. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2002, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-stars-in-constellations-outside-our-galaxy/132288/9 "2002-10-16T04:45:58Z")
Oops. Pardon my Northern hemisphere chauvanism. I keep forgetting about the Magellanic clouds (and the fact that they’re galaxies). [sub][sup]And also that I should _read_ the thread before posting.[/sup][/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2002, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-stars-in-constellations-outside-our-galaxy/132288/10 "2002-10-16T13:59:35Z")
Not only does the Andromeda galaxy (the only galaxy visible to the naked eye) not look like a star, it doesn’t even look like a point source of light. The Andromeda galaxy as seen from the Earth is two and a half times as wide as the full moon. It’s easier to see with binoculars than with the naked eye. To the naked eye it’s a barely perceptible smear.