re: M31
Great pictures, Steve, thank you!
When it's a dark night and I look at Cassiopeia, I follow the arrow formed by the lagest of the "V"s from the "W" and I also go to Alpha Andromedae (Sirrah) and draw an imaginary line to interesect the first one and it's there.
It depends on the light pollution and also on the state of our eyes.
And with a little imagination, I can see something different from the immediate surroundings.
Raoul