M31, The Great Andromeda Galaxy

M31, NGC 224, Andromeda Galaxy,  Magnitude 3.0, Size 178' x 63'', Constellation: Andromeda

Image Details:

• Scope: William Optics f/7 66m APO Refractor piggybacked on Celestron C8 SGT..
• Mount: Celestron AS-GT (goto CG5).
• Camera: Meade DSI Color.
• Configuration: ATIK .5 focal  reducer.
• Exposure:  30 images @35 seconds.
• Filter: Meade IR blocking filter.
• Acquisition: Meade Envisage.
• Guiding: None.
• Location: Mobile Astronomical Society Dark Site near Tanner-Williams, Alabama.
• Date: 30 October 2005.
• Post Processing: Meade IP.
• Photoshop: Unsharp Masking, Levels, JPG conversion.

Comments: For once a deep sky object lives up to its integrated magnitude. Well, almost. Yes, it's so huge that Andromeda's light is really spread out. But it's so bright, nevertheless, that this Sb galaxy is often visible to the naked eye under surprisingly poor conditions.

M31 is our closest neighbor among the local group galaxies, and it appears that it and the slightly smaller Milky Way are destined to collide and merge someday.

Given the short focal length of the refractor, I was able to take in a fair amount of M31. And yet, due to the small size of the DSI's chip, I still need MORE. This is, I believe a job for the ST2000! .

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