Manhattan Andromeda
This summer I joined the stargazing crew from the Amateur Astronomers Association of New York at their weekly viewing sessions from the High Line park on the west side of Manhattan. In the last few weeks, I was able to coax a live view of the Andromeda galaxy from my ultra-portable imaging rig. The live view is much less distinct than this fully processed image but the core of the galaxy and adjacent dust lanes plus companion galaxy M110 were certainly recognizable after about 10-20 minutes of stacked exposures. Conditions were good this past week so I was able to collect an hour's worth of usable 2 minute exposures for more complete processing back home. The observing season is now over but I expect to start up again in April to see what other deep sky objects can be teased out from NYC's light pollution.
The Andromeda Galaxy, M31, is the closest galaxy to our Milky Way at 2.5 million light years distance. Although it contains a trillion stars, it cannot be seen with the naked eye from the city.
Tech stuff: 200 mm f/4 Super Takumar lens on Starlight Xpress SX-694C camera; mounted on Sky Watcher Star Adventurer drive guided with SBIG STi guider and PHD. The 33 X 2 minute exposures using an,Astronomik CLS broadband filter were stacked and processed with PixInsight. The somewhat peculiar appearance of the stars are an artifact from the standard quality camera lens used instead of a telescope, for portability.
Manhattan Andromeda
This summer I joined the stargazing crew from the Amateur Astronomers Association of New York at their weekly viewing sessions from the High Line park on the west side of Manhattan. In the last few weeks, I was able to coax a live view of the Andromeda galaxy from my ultra-portable imaging rig. The live view is much less distinct than this fully processed image but the core of the galaxy and adjacent dust lanes plus companion galaxy M110 were certainly recognizable after about 10-20 minutes of stacked exposures. Conditions were good this past week so I was able to collect an hour's worth of usable 2 minute exposures for more complete processing back home. The observing season is now over but I expect to start up again in April to see what other deep sky objects can be teased out from NYC's light pollution.
The Andromeda Galaxy, M31, is the closest galaxy to our Milky Way at 2.5 million light years distance. Although it contains a trillion stars, it cannot be seen with the naked eye from the city.
Tech stuff: 200 mm f/4 Super Takumar lens on Starlight Xpress SX-694C camera; mounted on Sky Watcher Star Adventurer drive guided with SBIG STi guider and PHD. The 33 X 2 minute exposures using an,Astronomik CLS broadband filter were stacked and processed with PixInsight. The somewhat peculiar appearance of the stars are an artifact from the standard quality camera lens used instead of a telescope, for portability.