M31 - Andromeda's great vortex

[JD2439975]

OK so I've been itching to get this one for awhile now but haven't been having much luck with the scope regarding mounts and hand controllers(please note both are in plural). :mad2:
Also the ASCOM/autoguider/laptop link has failed for some reason I haven't figured yet...this hobby has it's moments...at both extremes.

So last night was a bit rushed in drift aligning (bit rushed, HA! insert "lazy"), just part of the dissapointment of being stuck with 30 sec unguided subs I guess.

Drifted through the night with visits to M28, NGC6781, M27, NGC253 and last but not least the big fellas, M31/32 and finally M33.
Anyway at around 2:00am with the southern tripod legs sinking into the soft wet lawn I gave the altitude adjust a quick crank to compensate..."She'll be right mate" I muttered in my best aussie accent, worried more about the horrendous dew problem that set in as early as 11:00pm.

So this is what I was given as reward for my suffering...personally, I'm stoked! :D
And just for the hell of it I'm going to do it all again tonight. :rolleyes::screwy:

10" newt - unmodded 40D - unguided - 100x30sec - ISO3200 - 26 darks - mild crop(stacking edge) - finally done over in PS.

Hope you like it,
JD

[renormalised]

Nice piccie there, Justin. Quite a bit of detail in the image.

[DavidU]

Oh NICE !!!!
Great effort unguided:thumbsup:
I can't see that from Melb:(

[lesbehrens]

very nice.:thumbsup:

[jjjnettie]

Isn't it HUGE!
Great pic too.
I'm going to try to nab it myself this weekend!

[RobF]

You did well to persevere Justin, and got the rewards for your effort. There's certainly plenty of us "down here" looking forward to Andromeda season - you must be about first in for Oz this year!

[AlexN]

Outstanding! :) Looks really nice!

I too am targeting this one this weekend... Hopefully this year I can fit it all into my field of view!! :D

[JD2439975]

Thanks guys :thumbsup:

You're right this thing is huge, even the ED80 crops the edges off it.
I'd have to go for the 250mm Tamron to frame it nicely. :eyepop:

I am lucky to see so far into the northern hemisphere.
I even have hopes of one day capturing a complete set of Messier objects, but with M81/82 reaching a maximum of 7/8 degrees above the horizon it's a slim hope of getting something blurry.

JD

[Alchemy]

it has come up nicely, i deemed it too low on the horizon for me here. there are several patches of nebulosity showing up within the overall star brightness. 100 is a lot of frames nice and smooth. given you are keen to do it again, how about a mosaic ?

[sheeny]

I like it!

It's not one I can see or capture myself. Too many trees to the north and its very low in the sky.

Thanks for sharing.

Al.

[Hagar]

Very nice capture, I am jealous. This beautiful galaxy never gets high enough here to image.

Well done.

[JD2439975]

A mosaic!! :scared:
That's a scary thought for a noob like me but something I certainly aspire too.
A 3x3, 9 panel jobby would look stunning...with better data than I've got. :whistle:

I promise to share my northern targets with you all, I'm sure there'll be something to photograph in the "celestial backyard". :lol:

JD