[AstroFest] Andromeda Galaxy, M31

[Camelopardalis]

My first real foray into galaxy capturing, besides our own of course, naturally I chose one I was familiar with which just happens to be big and bright, so be gentle with me ;)

WO Zenithstar 71mm with 0.8x reducer/flattener
Unguided NEQ6
Canon 1100D (standard)

25x 4 minute exposures at ISO1600 before dawn stopped play, 20 darks, 10 bias, temperature hovering in the very low single digits. Stacked with DSS then very minor tinkering afterwards to bring out the whole galactic disc, the stacked image is the lowest noise result I've ever processed :D

As always, any suggestions for how to improve my skills in any way appreciated!

[troypiggo]

That's really nice. On my monitor it looks like some purple fringing on the stars, but my eyes are tired and could be playing tricks.

[sungrazer]

Hi Dunk

Ihis is a terrific shot and great contrast in the processing. 4 mins unguided - you must have good polar alignment. The EQ6 is quite good isn't it.
cheers
Ka:)ren

[Camelopardalis]

Thanks Troy - I don't think your eyes are playing tricks, the scope is an ED doublet, so it's not perfect but it's what I've got...once I've got some more experience under my belt, I'll no doubt be looking for a better corrected scope :D

[Camelopardalis]

Thanks Karen! I'm really pleased with how it came out. For the polar alignment, I had help from an expert :D apparently I was close, and the drift alignment was a learning experience in itself! The scope has a pretty short focal length with the reducer on, about 340mm.

[Spookyer]

Nice work!

[Camelopardalis]

Thanks Brett!

[cometcatcher]

Really nice M31 Dunk! I need to image this again one morning with the ED80. It's been 24 years since last time!

There are ways to reduce the CA a bit in processing but it's not too bad in this pic.

[RB]

Dunk that's a very nice M31.
Well done.

RB

[killswitch]

Very nice Dunk, well done. How high did Andromeda get over there?

[jjjnettie]

Beautifully processed. :)

[RickS]

Very nice work!

[geoffw89]

Nice work mate. I think many would agree that you seem to be moving along well with the photography and no longer need the 13mm Ethos, and I know just the guy to take care of it for you. I'll see what I can salvage after the Mac arrives. Probably junk but I had a great time.

[AG Hybrid]

Nice one. How many hours did it take to get your eq6 polar aligned? :P

[RobC]

Good one Dunk. Congratulations

Cheers

Rob

[Camelopardalis]

Thanks for your kind comments everyone, I really had a lot of fun with this one, the scope had ice on it by the time it was done :D Andromeda is really photogenic and did me proud!



A smidgen under 22 degrees... at 41*N declination it's really a good northern object, and I thought it would be a bit of a stretch but the atmospheric tainting at the site was really minimal, just beautiful. It'd be interesting to take a few shots with the same parameters from the airfield for comparison.



OK cool, I'll ship it up to you for safe keeping... oh wait... Australia post is quoting $650 :confused2: :lol:



I had a good stab and did take some not-total-junk subs the first night, but on the second night I called in "the management"...and now owe them a debt that cannot be repaid :P

[Camelopardalis]

Felt like a little repro today, so here's another try, same data but different process. This one has less of the cold blue and more of a warm dirty feel to it, that I'd expect for a galaxy not too dissimilar from our own, and there's a little more contrast squeezed out of the dust lanes. It's lacking the blue fringe around the edge of the galactic disc that I've seen in other folks images, perhaps that only comes through with much longer exposure time :confused2:

[AstroJason]

These look great mate, real nice work!

[Camelopardalis]

Thanks mate! Need more data...does it ever end? ;)

[Ross G]

My favourite object.....nice looking capture!

Ross.

[Camelopardalis]

Thanks Ross!

[tilbrook@rbe.ne]

Very nice Dunk!:thumbsup:

What altitude was it when imaged?

Cheers,

Justin.

[Camelopardalis]

Thanks Justin!

Would have been a few arc seconds shy of 22 degrees at transit, which would have been the last half an hour or so of my images, before the dreaded Sun spoiled play :sadeyes: