Michael A. Stecker
mastecker@gmail.com



 
Home    Sky-Watcher Quattro 250P images   Galaxies    Astronomy Index    My Astrobin Gallery
 


Andromeda Galaxy (M31) -- central region
 This is a joint project of James Foster who photographed it and me who did post-processing.  The photo here shows the central portion of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31).  It is a composite photo of Red-Green-Blue light from a Sky-Watcher Quattro 10-inch f/4 Newtonian telescope and Hydogen-alpha light from a Celestron 14-inch SCT.  M31 is relatively close to us at 2.5 million light-years and is on a collision path toward our Milky Way.  It is thought to have a mass of about 1 trillion suns.
file: M31JRF-55min-17Sep23-RGB2B&HA-a.jpg


Photographic Data
telescopes:
Sky-Watcher Quattro 250P (10-inch f/4 Newtonian telescope with coma corrector) for RGB
and
Celestron 14-inch SCT for H-alpha light
 
mount:
Astro-Physics 1200 GTO
Guiding hardware:
SVBony 60 mm f/4 guide scope (fl=240 mm)
Guide Camera: ZWO ASI120MM Mini monochrome camera (2.97 micron pixels)
imaging camera:
ZWO AS12600MC-Pro. color camera

exposure:
55-minutes in RGB from Sky-Watcher Quattro 250P

photographic site:
James Foster observatory in Frazier Park California:
September 2023
(Bortle 4 at 5,500 ft elevation)
 
 
 

This is a crop of the photo above.  One can see the dark dust lanes and bright red star forming regions in the foreground.
file: M31JRF-55min-17Sep23-RGB2B&HA-a-rcr2.jpg