Messier 31 in Andromeda, the Andromeda Galaxy

NGC 224, M31, the Andromeda Galaxy in Andromeda, is a barred spiral galaxy.

A Cephied variable in the Andromeda Nebula (M31-V1) was identified by

Edwin Hubble on October 6, 1923 which ended the great debate in astronomy;

M31 was no longer the Andromeda Nebula, but was a galaxy much like our own.

Of course, M32 and M110 are also in the picture.

Hover over the picture for an annotated version

Date:  3 and 5 September 2024

FOV:  approximately 4° 30' × 3° the major axis of M31 is about 3°

Telescope:  Askar FRA300 pro (300mm f/5 Petzval)

Guiding:  ZWO ASI120MM mini mono guide camera,

Stellarvue F050G 50mm guide scope

Computer:  ASIair pro Raspberry Pi

Mount:  ZWO AM5 harmonic drive

Camera:  ZWO ASI6200MC Pro Cooled (-10°C) Color CMOS with gain 100

Pixel size:  3.76 μm

Resolution:  2.594 arcsec/pixel

Filter:  Optolong UV-IR cut

Frames:  4 September 2024 18 × 240 seconds

5 September 2024 89 × 240 seconds

Stacking:  one hundred and seven 240 second frames using Pixinsisght

Calibration frames:  20 dark, 20 flat, and 20 bias each session

Total Time:  7 hours and 8 minutes

Processing:  Pixinsight – SPPC, DBE, SPCC, BlurXT, NoiseXT, DynCrop → Linear

MStr, GHS, HST, PMath MStr + GHS + HST → Stars, Sat,

StarXT, MStr, GHS, HST, PMath MStr + GHS + HST → Starless,

HDR6488PhLm, Sat, PMath ~(~Stars*~Starless) → Blend, scale

Location:  Darling Hill Observatory near Vesper, NY