M31

[xelasnave]

M31 with more data and a 2x drizzle. The colour is off I know but I was trying to really being out detail.
alex

[casstony]

I like that Alex, another northern object I might be able to squeak in.

[muletopia (Chris)]

That is good Alex,it is also good to watch your progress with your photography/processing.


Chris

[Startrek (Martin)]

That’s a really nice M31 image Alex
Well done !!
M31 is too low for me at both sites
One day I might have to buy a battery and go Bush like a lot of you guy do instead of being grounded in the backyard

[Nikolas (Nik)]

That's a very nice m31 Alex, hard to see from Melbourne thats for sure

[xelasnave]

Thanks for all the encouragement as I do appreciate it.
I look forward to the day that it all comes together, the observatory finished auto guide doing what it should and my new 115mm triplet refractor doing all I hope from it..it is beautiful.
I have some more Eagle Neb data that I am about to process adding to what I have...so I hope the extra effort was worth it.
The processing takes such a long time and I am not even doing darks and flats...which reminds me I have to build that light box.
Alex

[Saturnine (Jeff)]

Fine effort Alex, I like the field and framing, just goes to show that even northern objects that skim the horizon for us are still doable if you have dark skies and clear horizons.
Imaged this about 2 years ago from a dark site NW of Goulburn which is a few degrees further south than you.

[Paulyman (Paul)]

Wow Alex, that’s awesome. Road trip to Goulburn Jeff?

[Ant0nio (Tony)]

Looking good Alex, that's a very credible M31. Plenty of detail there to reward your effort too. Well done.
Tony

[ChrisV (Chris)]

That's a ripper Alex. I'm gearing up for this - so give us some acquisition details

[Sunfish (Ray)]

Lots of detail. Great. Was that LRGB?

[LostInSp_ce]

I'm still jealous that you're able to get this target Alex. I guess I'll just have to live through your images. Nice one and thanks for sharing.

[mynameiscd (Andy)]

Great image Alex,
Getting heaps of detail especially for this low attitude target. You must have a clear view of andromeda.
I can see it here at night around 12:30am with my my eyes but it only about 10 degrees above the north horizon. I might give it a go in the next few weeks before it starts warming up.
Anyway you have some good data there, cant wait until its colour balanced.
Cheers
Andy

[xelasnave]

Thanks for all the encouragement.
Details....I don't know how long the total exposure to be honest given I dropped many frames...but probably three hours here.
Gear. HEQ 5 unguided mount, 80 mm espirit triplet, zwo 1600 cooled 15 degrees, exposures 30 to 69 seconds, filters RBGL and ha although I used them to get detail as opposed to colour, if that makes any sense, no darks or flats, stacked DSS, startools, Photoshop and Gimp taken at Tabulam with reasonable seeing. I think the 80 mm is perfect for this object and short exposures perhaps help given its a low object and the sky can be a bit bouncey.
Thanks again.
Alex

No drizzle with this one as I don't have enough space on the lappy it seems.
Alex

[morls (Stephen)]

Beautiful image Alex. I think the foreground stars in your image give it great depth.
I still struggle to comprehend galaxies - my brain wants to see them as clouds of gas rather than stars.

Stephen

[JohnF (John)]

Looks great I thought M31 was too low for us down under. And without a Goto mount makes this more impressive.

[xelasnave]

Thank you Stephen and thank you John.
John...the mount is a Goto but was just tracking as opposed to being auto guided. You will be able to see M31 if you can find a spot up your way that does not have trees. Try finding it with some vino as you will get a good view.
Alex

[Fernando]

Beautiful Alex!!! I am in Brasil and never tried M31. Have to try someday!!!