Attached are two recent images. M31, being only about 20 degrees above the northern horizon, suffers a fair degree of blue extinction that wasn't helped by a smokey atmosphere when most of the sub-images were taken. (It would be great to be able to image this galaxy from the northern hemisphere where it is high overhead and the outer details could be brought out. Imaging details were: Takahashi TOA-130F telescope at f5.8 using a focal reducer, Tak. EM-200 mount, Lodestar autoguider, STL 11000M camera. Exposure: LRGB = 60,40,40,40 minutes with R, G, and B binned 2x2. All 10 minute subs.
The very faint Witch Head Nebula used exactly the same setup. Exposure was LRGB = 90,60,60,60 minutes with R, G and B binned 2x2. All 10 minute subs.
Thanks for the comments. I should make one correction - the images were autoguided with the STL 11K's internal guide chip, not a Lodestar. I use the Lodestar with a guidescope only when I image with my Starlight Xpress SXV-H9.
Yep that Witch head is a real stand out shot! Some of the brighter stars look a touch bloated, but considering the overall quality of the image, I'd let that slide!
The M31 is a real stunner too, showing great detail for what is largely considered a Northern Hemisphere target.
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