Andromeda via Coonabarabran

[Ross G]

Hello,

The Andromeda Galaxy from my latest trip to Coonabarabran last New Moon.

My favourite object from my favourite spot.

What do you think?

Thanks for looking.

WO M110 REFRACTOR
WO FF II
HEQ5PRO MOUNT
QHY8L CAMERA

DSS & PHOTOSHOP


Ross.

[multiweb]

:bowdown: That's what I think.

[DavidTrap]

One of the best examples I've seen taken from the southern hemisphere!!

DT

[Sarge]

Absolutely amazing. Fabulous shot Ross.
:party2:

Well done.
:2thumbs:

Rod
:D:D

[strongmanmike]

A purler mate, lovely shot :thumbsup:

Mike

[bokglob]

Superb image Ross! Absolutly fantastic effort from 30 + degrees S. The seeing must have been steady and clear, looks like it was shot on the meridian! Beautiful:thumbsup::thumbsup:

[mill]

That is just magnificently done :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

[DavidU]

Fantastic stuff:thumbsup:

[koputai]

Lovely shot Ross, beautiful stuff.

Cheers,
Jason.

[ozstronomer]

Ross That's a beautiful shot, the colours are rich and vibrant and there's so much detail. Well done

[midnight]

Stunning Ross!

A delight to see and one that doesn't come up often.

Darrin...

[atalas]

Nice work Ross!

[mswhin63]

It is very nice, would be a good target for my 80mm if i can see it. My house blocks it and light pollution takes the rest.

[RB]

Lovely shot Ross.
I love the Andromeda Galaxy.

Well done.

:thumbsup:

[Rigel003]

I'd have to agree about the "favourite object" part and that's a superb image of it. Not easy from down here. Well done.

[Alchemy]

Nicely processed, and a difficult target for southern hemisphere dwellers.

[CoolhandJo]

Wow. Beauty! Nice capture :)

[Ross G]

WOW...Moving smiley faces...my first!

From someone with your skills, this means a lot.

Thank you.

Ross.

[Ross G]

Thank you David, very high praise but not deserved.

I produced many, many versions of this photo with Photoshop before I got lucky.

Thanks.

Ross.

[Ross G]

Thank you very much Rod.

I'm glad you like it.


Ross.

[Ross G]

Thanks for the kind comments Mike.

Coming from you, they are a real encouragement.


Ross.

[Ross G]

Thanks Darrell, I'm glad you like the photo.

I was lucky with the weather. Three and half clear nights out of four.
I photographed it each night from when it rose above the trees at 1am until it was past the meridian at 4am.


Ross.

[Ross G]

Thanks for your kind comments Martin. I'm glad you like it.


Ross.

[Ross G]

Thanks for the high praise Dave.


Ross.

[Ross G]

Hi Jason,

Thanks for the kind comments.
I think I'm finally starting to get the hang of Photoshop processing.

Ross.

[Ross G]

Thank you Geoff.

I'm glad you like it, especially the colours. I love rich colours in all my photos and was worried I might have overdone it in this shot.

Ross.

[Ross G]

Hi Darrin,

I'm glad you like.
It is a difficult object to catch. From Sydney it barely rises above my back fence (..if you could even see it through the lights and pollution..).
So I await it eagerly and drive 6 hours west to catch it.


Thanks

Ross.

[Ross G]

Hi Louie,

Thanks, but I actually have to praise you.
I went back through your excellent tutorials and with their help finally managed to get it right in Photoshop.
Before that, I had some horrible, overdone shots that looked ok to me at the time.

Your a genius!

Thank you.


Ross.

[gregbradley]

Thats a ripper Ross. The best one I have seen taken in the Southern Hemisphere.

Where do you image at Coonabarabran - someone's place or just an open are somewhere
like a football field or something?

Greg.

[Ross G]

Thanks Malcolm,

Yes, I'm lucky to even see the moon from where I live.

That's why I have to pack the car to the hilt and drive 400 odd kms west of Sydney to get a decent photo.

Ross.

[Ross G]

Hi Andrew,

Thanks for your kind comment.

I have had a fascination with the Andromeda Galaxy since I was a boy (...way back in the days of "Lost In Space"!..).

To be able to get a good photo of it is such a buzz.

Ross.

[Ross G]

Thank you, I'm glad you like my photo.

It is an object that I will continue to photograph during it's brief appearance every year.

Ross.

[Ross G]

Thanks Clive,

It is difficult to capture.

To be in the Northern Hemispehere and have it overhead...what a luxury!


Ross.

[Ross G]

Hi Paul,

How are things?

I'm glad you like the shot.

I think I'm finally starting to get the hang of processing with Photoshop.



Thanks.

Ross.

[Ross G]

Thank you Greg,

Wow!....praise like that from you is the icing on the cake.
Talk about encouragement!!

At Coonabarabran, we go to a motel called the Warrumbungle Mountain Lodge. It is about 10km out of town on the road to Siding Springs. It has a huge cleared area behind it about the size of 3 football fields so great views of the whole sky. The nights are very dark and the owners Sarah and Michael are very obliging. They switch off all lights and try to put any other guests away from us. They also request all guests draw their curtains fully at night.
So we have the best of both worlds. Dark, clear nights and the convenience of your motel room only 100 metres from you for ac power, rest and refreshment.

We try and get there every couple of months and usually try and stay 3 or 4 nights.
It makes up for the hopeless conditions we have in Sydney.

Thanks.

Ross.

[iceman]

This one smacked me in the face this morning, Ross.

A beautiful image - not often we see such great shots of Andromeda from the Southern Hemisphere. I always remember RB's beautiful shot from 10deg altitude.

I really enjoyed this one. It's now IOTW (http://www.iceinspace.com.au).

[cybereye]

Ross,

A fantastic image! God I need to get my QHY8L out to a dark site, then I might at least have a small chance of producing such a wonderful image. I am in awe - well done! :thumbsup:

Mario

[multiweb]

Whohoo! Congrats on IOTW mate. Best Andromeda from the SH for sure. :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

[Ross G]

Thank you very much Mike.

The help, advice and encouragement I have received from your excellent site has been a major factor in my astroimaging improving from zero to this.


Ross.

[Ross G]

Thanks Mario,

Go for it. The improvement in the quality of my photos just by switching from a DSLR to the QHY8L has been amazing. I am getting colour in the stars and a huge drop in noise compared to the DSLR shots.

Ross.

[spacezebra]

Stunning, absolutely stunning Ross!

Cheers Petra d.:)

[Ross G]

Hi Marc,

Very high praise, especially coming from you.

Thank you very much.

Ross.

[kinetic]

Awesome shot Ross!:thumbsup:

words fail me......

Steve

[spacezebra]

Hi Ross

This is a great site - we head up there in Feb each year and join up with the 3RF group from Australia/Texas. I agree its a brilliant location.



Cheers Petra

[RB]

Ross, congrats on IOTW, well deserved mate.
whoohoo !!,

:thumbsup:

[Ross G]

Hi Petra,

Thank you very much.

Yes. it is a great spot. We were there February last year and the 3RF group from the USA was there with Lachlan from ASNSW. We had a great time.


Ross.

[Ross G]

Hi Steve,

Thank you.
It is such a beautiful object.

Ross.

[Ross G]

Thank you very much Andrew.


Ross.

[gregbradley]

Congrat on IOTW Ross.

Greg.

[atalas]

Congrats on IOTW Ross! well deserved.

[Osirisra]

Awseome Shot!!!

I'm itching to grab a few photons of rommie with my QHY8L myself, hopefully this weekend.

What settings did you use for yours, frames etc?

[Poita]

That is a stunner, and only 10kms out from Coona? Nice!

[RickC]

Hi Ross

fantastic image and congratulations for IOTW

well done!!!!

[steve000]

Amazing image mate, Andromeda has always been an elusive favorite of mine, I have trees on the lower northern sky, its a nice challenge.

I always feel images of it look fake and almost painted

[gary]

Hi Ross,

Great shot from one of our favorite observing locations which is ideally located between
the Andromeda Galaxy, some 2.5 million light years away, and one's room at the
Warrumbungles Mountain Motel, only a 100m shuffle away across the lawn, where one can
retreat for a hot cup of coffee.

[spacezebra]

I was there too! Sadly I missed this year, but looking to be there in 2012. hope we catch up.




Cheers Petra d.

[spacezebra]

Ditto - would be interested in your settings.



Cheers Petra d.

[ChrisM]

Ross - congratulations on achieving a very pleasing picture (plus IOTW). Not sure how you could improve it. A fine effort.

Chris

[batema]

Beautiful image. Can you tell me how long the subs were. Well done.

Mark

[Ross G]

Hi Greg,

Thank you very much, but I still have a long way to go.


Ross.

[Ross G]

Thanks Louie.

It means a lot coming from you.


Ross.

[Ross G]

Thank you Ken,

I used 41 frames at 10 minutes each, captured over three and a half nights.
The QHY8L was at -20c.

Ross.

[Ross G]

Thanks Peter.

Yes, it is a perfect spot. Pretty good in the daytime as well.


Ross.

[Ross G]

Thanks Richard (.....where's my smiley face?.....).


Ross.

[Ross G]

Thanks Steve.
It is elusive, but it feels so good when you get a photo of it, no matter what quality.

Ross.

[Ross G]

Thanks Gary.

Yes, at 4am in the middle of winter after a night of imaging, that Warrumbungles Mountain Motel room is more inviting than the New York Hilton! (...and with a view a million times better...).

Ross.

[el_draco]

That's one seriously impressive shot from this far South! :thumbsup: :cool: :clap:

[Ross G]

Hi Petra,

We also missed this year. Hopefully we can catch up next February.

I used a QHY8L osc camera set at -20c.
All my frames were 10 minute exposures shot over three and a half nights.
I stacked 41 frames in Depp Sky Stacker, then I processed the image in Photoshop CS2.


Thanks.

Ross.

[Ross G]

Thanks Chris.

Ross.

[Ross G]

Hi Mark,

Thank you, I'm glad you like it.

I used 41 x 10 minute subs.


Ross.

[Ross G]

Thanks Rom.

I was very lucky with the weather and the seeing.


Ross.

[jase]

Congrats on IOTW Ross. Well deserved. More please...

[Ross G]

Thanks Jase,

There are a few more shots from the Coonabarabran trip still to come.


Ross.

[Hagar]

Very Nice Ross, a wonderful target if it only got high enough to see let alone image from here.

Well done.

[Ross G]

Thank you Doug. I'm glad you like it.

Yes, even here in NSW it is too low.

It would be nice to be up in Queensland.

Ross.