Exploring Andromeda
Captured using 2 telescopes at Grand Mesa Observatory. System 1 the Takahashi FSQ 130 (available on our subscriptions) with the QHY367 full frame One Shot Color CMOS camera and System 1a the William Optics Redcat 51mm APO with a QHY16200A monochrome CCD. The Redcat was used to capture the very wide field in LRGB as well as H-Alpha to reveal the very faint Galactic dust from our milky way galaxy (first photographed in high resolution and color by Rogelio Bernai Andreo and S&T's Sean Walker), the TAK 130 was used and blended into the image for the finer detail in M31
Here is a link to the narrower field image of Andromeda captured using the Takahashi 130 FSQ and QHY367
https://www.flickr.com/photos/terryhancock/48487426216/in/dateposted/Captured over a total of 9 nights in 2019
Field Of view: 6d 13' 48.6" x 4d 59' 2.9"
Total acquisition time of 23.3 hours.
Rogelio's amazing "Clouds Of Andromeda" and all of the technical details relating to the galactic dust can be seen here:
http://www.deepskycolors.com/archive/2017/01/01/Clouds-Of-Andromeda.htmlWilliam Optics Redcat 51mm APO
Technical Details
Captured and processed by: Terry Hancock
Location: GrandMesaObservatory.com Purdy Mesa, Colorado
Dates of Capture July 29th, August 2nd, 24th 2019
HA 225 min 15 x 900 sec
LRGB 400 min 40 x 600 sec
Camera: QHY367c
Gain 2850, Offset 76 with Dark, Bias and Flat Frames
Optics: William Optics 51mm APO Refractor @ F4.9
EQ Mount: Paramount ME
Image Acquisition software Maxim DL6 Pre Processing in Pixinsight Post Processed in Photoshop CC
Takahashi 130 FSQ
Technical Details
Captured and processed by: Terry Hancock downunderobservatory.com
Location: GrandMesaObservatory.com Whitewater, Colorado
Aug 6, 7, 20, Sep 7, 8, 11
RGB 83 x 2 min, 40 x 4 min, 45 x 10 min 5nm Chroma H Alpha Filter
Camera: QHY367C
Gain 2850, Offset 76 with Dark Frames no Flat.
Optics: Walter Holloway's Takahashi FSQ 130 APO Refractor @ F5
Filters by Chroma
EQ Mount: Paramount ME
Image Acquisition software Maxim DL5
Pre Processing in Pixinsight
Post Processed in Photoshop CC
Drifting through the cosmos a mere two and a half million light-years distant, the Andromeda Galaxy is the most voluminous of the galaxies in the Local Group, which includes our own Milky Way galaxy. Visible to the unaided eye in a dark location, the central core can be seen as a tiny smudge. In a moderate telescope, M31 can be seen with its two largest satellite galaxies; M32 and M110. Visible in this photograph are the dusty lanes of stellar debris visible as the dark bands. The remnants of stellar deaths, this material will be recycled into new stars and planets as gravitational forces compress the matter within the chaotic environment. M31 and our own Milky Way Galaxy are on a collision course. Expected to collide in roughly four and a half billion years, it should certainly provide a spectacular show for anyone around to witness its approach
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