Andromeda Galaxy Two Pane Mosaic

[The-MathMog]

You could call this my first proper attempt at andromeda, thought I've imaged it quite a few times now. But this is the first time I've managed to get most of it in one picture, which required me to do a two-pane mosaic.
The left side of the mosaic is stitched 27 subs of 2 minutes ISO 3200, while the right side is 28 subs, + 1 sub of 8 minutes ISO 800 (just to test what difference exposure contra ISO does to details).

I am very pleased with the result of it, but I also discovered some of the pains of doing mosaics, as getting an even background was very hard. Gradient X-terminator would do a decent job, but couldn't quite nail it, so I used it in conjunction with a few other techniques. The stitching was easy and painless, as I just used Microsoft ICE.

Some feedback on the processing would be lovely, as I am not sure if this is my final version. I've starred myself blind processing it..
2-pane mosaic
56 subs (ISO 3200 and 800)
2 minute exposure (+one 8 minute)
1.96 hours Total Exposure
Skywatcher 150pds
Celestron Advanced VX Mount
Nikon D5200
Explore Scientific HR Coma Corrector
7235x5838 pixels
Stacked with DSS, stitched with Microsoft ICE, processed in Photoshop CS2

[juusom]

Great picture!

[MarsG76]

fantastic.... hubble move over...  who needs the hubble ?

[MilwaukeeLion]

Agree, stars colors are tops, great image you have here.

[Hayduke27]

Nice image!!

 

[The-MathMog]

Thank you very much. This session went a lot better than I had ever anticipated, when I first pulled out the scope. It is the first time I try doing a mosaic and using AstroTortilla to line it up. All programs behaved well, and the guiding was spot on for once. On top of that, it was a quite cold night, so the telescope was covered in ice, but I guess my DSLR was just loving that