Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Andromeda (And)  ·  Contains:  Andromeda Galaxy  ·  M 110  ·  M 31  ·  M 32  ·  NGC 205  ·  NGC 221  ·  NGC 224  ·  The star νAnd
M31 (NGC224) Andromeda Galaxy in the constellation of Andromeda, Phil Swift
M31 (NGC224) Andromeda Galaxy in the constellation of Andromeda
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M31 (NGC224) Andromeda Galaxy in the constellation of Andromeda

M31 (NGC224) Andromeda Galaxy in the constellation of Andromeda, Phil Swift
M31 (NGC224) Andromeda Galaxy in the constellation of Andromeda
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M31 (NGC224) Andromeda Galaxy in the constellation of Andromeda

Equipment

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Acquisition details

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Description

This is my 1st attempt at imaging a 4 panel monochromatic mosaic. It involved taking 4 images in 4 filters (LRGB) and combining them in Pixinshght.
This was quite a lenghty process and at one point I was manipulating 38 separate images on one screen. Fortunatly the process I was following was well documented and gave good instruction on planning for this (which was essential).
The final image is not of the highest quality as I only took a minimum number of Lights to be able to try out the 4 panel merge.
Despite the many steps in the process I think it went quite well and the result is not to bad.

The Andromeda Galaxy, also known as Messier 31, or NGC 224 and originally the Andromeda Nebula is spiral galaxy approximately 2.5 million light-years (770 kiloparsecs) from Earth and the nearest large galaxy to the Milky Way.
The galaxy's name stems from the area of Earth's sky in which it appears, the constellation of Andromeda, which itself is named after the Ethiopian (or Phoenician) princess who was the wife of Perseus in Greek mythology.
The Andromeda Galaxy contains, in the order of, 1 trillion stars. It was long thought that the Andromeda Galaxy was more massive than the Milky Way by a margin of some 25% to 50%. This has been called into question by a 2018 study that cited a lower estimate on the mass of the Andromeda Galaxy, combined with preliminary reports on a 2019 study estimating a higher mass of the Milky Way. 
The Andromeda Galaxy has a diameter of about 220,000 ly (67 kpc), making it the largest member of the Local Group in terms of extension.
The Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies are expected to collide in around 4-5 billion years, merging to form a giant elliptical galaxy or a large lenticular galaxy.
With an apparent magnitude of 3.4, the Andromeda Galaxy is among the brightest of the Messier objects, making it visible to the naked eye from Earth on moonless nights, even when viewed from areas with moderate light pollution.

Imaging Details
Panel 1
L 12 x 120s g75
R 12 x 120s g75
G 12 x 120s g75
B 12 x 120s g75

Panel 2
L 12 x 120s g75
R 12 x 120s g75
G 12 x 120s g75
B 12 x 120s g75

Panel 3
L 12 x 120s g75
R 12 x 120s g75
G 12 x 120s g75
B 12 x 120s g75

Panel 4
L 12 x 120s g75
R 12 x 120s g75
G 12 x 120s g75
B 12 x 120s g75

Total integration time (all 4 panels):  6 hours 24 Mins
Effective integration time (per panel): 1 hour 36 mins

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M31 (NGC224) Andromeda Galaxy in the constellation of Andromeda, Phil Swift