M31 the andromeda galaxy

[moonshinegnomie]

now that andromeda is back in the night sky at a reasonable hour i figured id try out my new equipment on it

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. Looks to me like you've figured out your new equipment very well, my dear moonshinegnomie!

It's stunning!
Thank you.

[alfredo]

2. Good image. If you are in a dark area, you might be able to see a faint smudge with

Your eyes.
What equipment do you use?

[moonshinegnomie]

3. equipment list

sony a6000 camera
astrotech 72 II telescope with a field flattener. (it makes it a 344mm f5 lens
zwo AM5 mount (just got it a 2 weeks ago to place my old celestron avx)
30mm guide scope
zwo 120mm guide camera
asair plus (a small box to control everything)

this is about 3 hours of exposure. an hour of 30 second exposures and 2 hours of 90 second exposures at iso 400
stacked and processed in pixinsight and photoshop

[alfredo]

6. Thanks. Quite a rig.

I just had a Ten inch dob. I wasn’t ready to spend the money for equipment I could no longer carry.

[mike_c]

4. stunning!

[AndyS]

5. When my daughter was about 5 we saw Andromeda through a

4 inch reflector. Just barely identifiable beyond a smudge.

We talked about distances and how this was our nearest neighbor in the universe. Not sure she comprehended the magnitude of the numbers but she simply said, "Daddy, it makes my heart hurt. I want to go there."

[alfredo]

7. My first was a 4" reflector. It was enough for this pre-teen.

[moonshinegnomie]

8. i use a 2.8" refractor

[alfredo]

9. I had one, but I dropped it and cracked the lens