M31 – Andromeda Galaxy

M 31

The Andromeda Galaxy

Clouds of Andromeda

_______

What are those red clouds surrounding the Andromeda galaxy? This galaxy, M31, is often imaged by planet Earth-based astronomers. As the nearest large spiral galaxy, it is a familiar sight with dark dust lanes, bright yellowish core, and spiral arms traced by clouds of bright blue stars. A mosaic of well-exposed broad and narrow-band image data, this deep portrait of our neighboring island universe offers strikingly unfamiliar features though, faint reddish clouds of glowing ionized hydrogen gas in the same wide field of view. Most of the ionized hydrogen clouds surely lie in the foreground of the scene, well within our Milky Way Galaxy. They are likely associated with the pervasive, dusty interstellar cirrus clouds scattered hundreds of light-years above our own galactic plane. Some of the clouds, however, occur right in the Andromeda galaxy itself, and some in M110, the small galaxy just below.

The Andromeda Galaxy in Andromeda

_______

Technical card

_______

ObjectM 31 / M 32 / M 110
Imaging telescopesCelestron Rowe-Ackermann Schmidt Astrograph 11″
Imaging cameraQHY268M
Mount iOptron CEM60
GuidingSkywatcher Evoguide 50ED, QHY174M
FilterBaader 3.5 / 4nm f/2 Ultra-Highspeed-Filter-Set 50mm² (H-alpha / O-III / S-II), Baader R, G, B (50mm²)
AccessoriesBaader UFC, Baader UFC-Tilter,  Celestron Focus Motor for SCT
Integration80.3 hours (H-alpha: 1140×120″, Luminance: 1200×60″, Red: 330×90″, Green: 272×90″, Blue: 292×90″)
Dates of recording26 nights between September 2022 and January 2023
AstroBinLink

ANDROMEDA PRINT & RAW DATA

Now available for purchase in 3 different sizes. Premium Fuji Crystal prints with a gloss finish. Fuji C-Type paper guarantees excellent detail, contrast and color accuracy.

Download of the fully calibrated data set now available!

Download my full resolution astrophotos here: astrobin.com/users/dotexplore/
en_US