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The Andromeda Galaxy M31 23 September 2011

Well wonders will never cease - we got a clear moonless night last night :)

 

This is Andromeda (well, some if it), and its two satellite galaxies M32 and M110. 2.5 million light years away and on a collision course with our galaxy, so don't worry too much about your pension ;)

 

This is my first serious attempt at M31, apart from a rather weak effort with the scope when I first started indulging in this masochistic activity. Considering how close it is (relatively speaking), the outer details of this thing are infuriatingly faint. This is 2 hours, so, in my ignorance, I expected a little bit more - the outer lanes would have been nice. We live and learn :)

 

Nikon D70 modded, 55-200 Nikkor at 200mm (cropped, a lot), f5.6, 800iso, Baader Neodymium filter.

30 x 4 min, unguided EQ5

Darks, flats and bias

Stacked and processed in DSS and CS5, with a little help from Noel's tools.

 

Reprocessed

 

 

 

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Uploaded on September 23, 2011
Taken on September 23, 2011