Almach: how to find it and when to see it
Almach ranks 60th of the 74 bright stars on our list, at magnitude 2.10, in the constellation Andromeda.
You can see it from anywhere north of 48° S, and it's highest in the evening sky in December.
Almach at a glance
- Constellation
- Andromeda
- Magnitude
- 2.10
- Rank on our list
- 60 of 74
- Hemisphere
- Northern
- Right ascension
- 2 h 4 min
- Declination
- 42.3° north
- Visible from
- north of 48° S
- Never sets
- north of 48° N
- Best evening
- 7 December
- Name from
- Arabic
Where Almach is in the sky
Almach sits 42.3° north of the celestial equator, the line in the sky directly above Earth's equator, so it's in the northern half of the sky. Its right ascension is 2 h 4 min.
Right ascension works like longitude on the sky. It's counted in hours, and about one hour of it turns past you each hour of the night.
When and where to see Almach
From the northern hemisphere
From 40° N, the latitude of New York, Madrid and Beijing, Almach rises in the north-east, climbs to 88° above the horizon in the north and sets in the north-west.
It's in the evening sky from August to March, and it's highest in the evening around 7 December, in winter.
From the southern hemisphere
From 34° S, the latitude of Sydney, Cape Town and Buenos Aires, Almach rises in the north-east, climbs to 14° above the horizon in the north and sets in the north-west.
It's in the evening sky from November to December, and it's highest in the evening around 7 December, in summer.
How high Almach climbs from each latitude
The evening is about 9 pm local time, or 10 pm in summer time, and later when the sky is still too bright. A star counts as in the evening sky when it's at least 10° above the horizon.
| Latitude | Visibility | Highest point | Evening sky |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60° N | Never sets | 72° in the south | All year |
| 50° N | Never sets | 82° in the south | Aug to Apr |
| 40° N | Rises and sets | 88° in the north | Aug to Mar |
| 30° N | Rises and sets | 78° in the north | Sept to Mar |
| 20° N | Rises and sets | 68° in the north | Sept to Feb |
| Equator | Rises and sets | 48° in the north | Oct to Feb |
| 20° S | Rises and sets | 28° in the north | Oct to Jan |
| 34° S | Rises and sets | 14° in the north | Nov to Dec |
| 45° S | Rises and sets | 3° in the north | None |
What the name Almach means
Almach comes from the Arabic ʿanāq al-arḍ, the caracal, a small wild cat of the desert.
Keep the sky of a night that matters
Our star maps show the stars above any place, at the minute you choose, with the constellation lines drawn in. If Almach was above the horizon that night, it's on your map, and we print it on museum-grade paper.
Questions about Almach
Almach is in Andromeda. It sits 42.3° north of the celestial equator, at a right ascension of 2 h 4 min.
Almach is highest in the evening sky around 7 December. That's winter in the northern hemisphere and summer in the southern hemisphere.
Yes, from anywhere north of 48° S. From 34° S, it climbs to 14° above the horizon in the north.
Almach has a magnitude of 2.10, which ranks it 60th of the 74 bright stars on our list. Sirius looks about 26 times brighter.
Almach comes from the Arabic ʿanāq al-arḍ, the caracal, a small wild cat of the desert.