M33 HaRGB

Here is the Great Galaxy in Triangulum, catalogued as Messier 33 or M33, found surprisingly enough in the constellation of Triangulum. This is a spiral galaxy 2.73 million light-years from Earth. The Triangulum Galaxy is the third-largest member of the Local Group of galaxies, behind the Andromeda Galaxy and the Milky Way. It is one of the most distant permanent objects that can be viewed with the naked eye.

 

This is a true color image taken through Red, Green, and Blue filters, and with an added channel for Hydrogen Alpha. This addition to the data enhances all the magenta colored nebulae inside the galaxy itself. These pockets of gas and dust glow deep red, and are easily captured through the H-Alpha filter.

 

Image Info

This was taken with the travel astrophotography kit from the KPO field in Saint Cloud, FL.

 

Camera : ZWO ASI1600MM pro

Lens: Canon 100-400 f/5.6L lens, set to 400mm

Mount: iOptron SmartEQ Pro

Hydrogen Alpha: 24 subframes of 300s = 120min integration

Red: 24 subframes of 300s = 120min integration

Green: 24 subframes of 300s = 120 min integration

Blue: 24 subframes of 300s = 120 min integration

Total integration time: 480min = 8 hours.

Captured via ASIAir Pro automation

Optical tracking via ASIAir automation, currently using ST4 mount control via the ASI120MM-S guide camera

Separate channels stacked and RGB integrated in Astro Pixel Processor

Processed and cropped in Nebulosity

Final processing in Aperture

Done