Messier M31 - NGC 224- Andomeda Galaxy 04/10/2010 (Processed JPEG Stack)

The Andromeda Galaxy is a large naked eye spiral galaxy approximately 2.5 million light-years from Earth in the Andromeda constellation.

First test 'stacked' and guided image of this magnificent object, however low to my northern horizon in the city light glow. 2 images stacked using DeepSkyStacker 3.3.2 and cropped and colour adjusted by Adobe Photoshop CS5. Taken through the Apogee 80 on the SkyWatcher NEQ6 mount. Guided for 30sec @ISO 400 in-camera JPEG with no in-camera dark and with no light pollution filter or field flattener.

Things to note in the processed image are the complete lack of spiral arms! Cropping has avoided the spherical aberration from the outer edges of the original image. Focused using a Bahtinov Mask. Post processing has accentuated the colour and contrast a little but much more exposure and from a dark location is required for finer details in the spiral arm structure. My home location is not suitable.

Telescope - Apogee OrthoStar LOMO 80/480 without Field Flattener or light polution filter, Canon 400D DSLR, Ambient xxC not noted. Mount - Skywatcher NEQ6 Pro. Guidescope - Orion ShortTube 80 with Star Shoot Auto Guider.

MessierM31 Andomeda GalaxyNGCNGC224 M31 Andromeda GalaxyGalaxy

From 2010 A New Beginning