M31 - Andromeda's great vortex

JD2439975 (Justin) · #1 24-07-2009, 06:35 PM

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).

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!

And just for the hell of it I'm going to do it all again tonight.

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

Hope you like it,
JD

renormalised (Carl) · #2 24-07-2009, 06:50 PM

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

DavidU (Dave) · #3 24-07-2009, 07:00 PM

Oh NICE !!!!
Great effort unguided

I can't see that from Melb

lesbehrens (Les) · #4 24-07-2009, 07:08 PM

very nice.

jjjnettie (Jeanette) · #5 24-07-2009, 08:41 PM

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

RobF (Rob) · #6 24-07-2009, 08:54 PM

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 · #7 24-07-2009, 10:47 PM

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!!

JD2439975 (Justin) · #8 24-07-2009, 11:17 PM

Thanks guys

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.

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 (Clive) · #9 25-07-2009, 07:10 AM

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 (Al) · #10 25-07-2009, 07:44 AM

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 (Doug) · #11 25-07-2009, 08:48 AM

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

Well done.

JD2439975 (Justin) · #12 26-07-2009, 04:28 PM

A mosaic!!

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.

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

JD