The focus of this image is our neighboring galaxy, Andromeda. The Andromeda Galaxy is known as M31 (Messier 31) or NGC224 (New General Classification). Andromeda is a barred spiral galaxy located a mere 2.5 Million light years from Earth. The diameter of the Andromeda Galaxy is ~152,000 light years, and if it is dark enough, with limited moon light, it can actually be visible with the naked eye (although, it would be very difficult to see in LA with the light pollution here). The Andromeda galaxy takes up about 1 x 3 degrees in the night sky – In comparison, the full moon measures about 0.5 degrees. The Andromeda Galaxy is estimated to contain 1 Trillion stars, and in about 4 to 5 billion years, Andromeda is expected to collide with our Milky Way galaxy.
In the photo, you will also see 2 much smaller un-named galaxies M32 (NGC221) is a dwarf elliptical galaxy, containing between 1.5 to 5 million stars, and M110 (aka NGC205) is a another dwarf elliptical galaxy.
I was able to capture this image over 2 nearly moonless nights on November 19th and 20th, 2022, for a total imaging time (also called integration time) of 5 Hours and 30 minutes. This is my second attempt to image Andromeda, and my best effort so far to process it. I want to give a big shout out to Patrick Cosgrove @ Cosgrove’s Cosmos for some really great processing tips.
Picture Details: M31, M32, and M110 Galaxies
My Astrophotography Setup:
- Mount: EQ6R-Pro
- Telescope: Williams Optics 81 mm Zenithstar doublet
- ZWO-ASI224MC color camera for guiding with the Zenithstar guide
- Hotech Corporation 2” Field Flattener
- ZWO ASI2600MC Pro; Camera cooled to -10 deg C, with ZWO Duo-Band Narrowband Light Pollution Reduction Filter
- Bortle-9 – South Los Angeles shot from my backyard
- Integration Time: 5 Hours 30 Minutes; Lights (66 @ 300 seconds); Darks (30 @ 300 seconds); Flats (30); Bias (30)
- Image Processing: Pixinsight – Mainly using the RGB workflow from Chaotic Nebula (Chaotic Nebula - Your guide to astrophotography) and some new techniques from #Cosgroves Cosmos.
#astrophotography #backyardastrophotography #highpointscientific #Andromeda #andromedagalaxy #APOD #skyandtelescopemag
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