Russell Croman Astrophotography  

 

 

The Andromeda Galaxy


About This Photograph

At a distance of "only" about 2.5 million light-years, the Andromeda Galaxy is the nearest major galaxy to our own. It has roughly the same mass as the Milky Way, around the equivalent of one trillion times the mass of our sun. As deep-sky objects go, it is a big, beautiful sight easily visible to the naked eye from dark locations. It is a good example of a spiral-type galaxy, with regions of dense dust and gas adjacent to reddish star forming regions and clusters of hot, bright new blue stars, all forming spiral arms that wind out from the bright core.

Click here for an annotated photograph.

 

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The Andromeda Galaxy with Hydrogen
 

Technical Details

Optics:Takahashi FSQ-106 EDX4
Camera:SBIG STX-16803
Mount:Paramount MX+
Filters:SBIG Standard RGB
Dates/Times:July-August 2020
Location:RC-Astro North Observatory at New Mexico Skies
Exposure Details:16.5 hours total through R, G, and B filters
Acquisition:MaxIm DL 6, ACP Expert
Processing:PixInsight, Photoshop