Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Andromeda (And)  ·  Contains:  32 And  ·  35 nu. And  ·  Andromeda Galaxy  ·  M 110  ·  M 31  ·  M 32  ·  NGC 205  ·  NGC 206  ·  NGC 221  ·  NGC 224  ·  The star 32And  ·  The star νAnd
Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
42 minutes at a dark site., Andrew Burwell
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42 minutes at a dark site.

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
42 minutes at a dark site., Andrew Burwell
Powered byPixInsight

42 minutes at a dark site.

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Description

I've made it out to New Mexico for a week getaway. Dark skies, the best kind of social distancing you can do. This is my first night at a dark sky. The temps are 28-30 degF. I managed to get the portable rig set up and under the stars for about 50 minutes before snow flurries came in. But I've got a couple of clear nights ahead and the moon is almost full which is contributing some LP, but not a whole lot as I'm aimed more than 40 deg away from it.

I've imaged my whole career in Astrophotography from the confines of my back yard in Bortle 7/8 skies south of Houston. I've imaged M31 a few times, and put 10+ hours into each one to get the results I have in the past. This image is only 42 minutes, and easily rivals my 10 hour images from home. I knew there was a major difference in sky quality, but didn't think it would be this profound. Thankfully I have two more nights to hopefully capture a few objects that I can't from home.

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42 minutes at a dark site., Andrew Burwell