The Andromeda Galaxy – M31, M32 & M110

This is the Andromeda Galaxy, taken 14th/15th September 2013.  The image consists of 6 x 30 minute subexposures.  Read on below for technical details.

Imaging: Sky-Watcher Evostar 80ED DS-Pro, Canon EOS 500D, Hutech IDAS LPS P2 2″, Sky-Watcher 0.85x, APT
Mount: Sky-Watcher NEQ6, AstroTortilla, EQMod
Guiding: ST80, QHY5, PHD guiding
Processing: PixInsight
Dates: Sept. 14-15, 2013
Lights: 6×1800″ ISO400 bin 1×1 (3.0 hours)
Darks: 109
Flats: 101
Bias: 330

This was shot when the moon was slightly over half full, but it was low in the sky and more than 90 degrees away from the target.  Helpfully a front was clearing out and the moon was behind the cloud bank for the first couple of exposures. Guiding proved tricky with this image.  I got six good subs, but one other was rejected as it had trailing and I had to abandon three others about a third of the way in due to run-away guiding in declination.  I don’t yet know the cause. All processing was performed in PixInsight, and will be posting a series of updates explaining my workflow over the coming weeks, the first of which is Part 1, Bias Frames.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *