M31, first of the season

[tomato]

This is 146 x 2 mins with the RASA8/QHY268c/Mesu 200, captured in less than ideal conditions, low elevation and a dusty atmosphere from the recent heatwave. Calibrated and stacked in APP, processed in APP, PI and Affinity Photo, finished off in, of all things, Win 10 Photo Editor, with a subtle application of the NAPA filter(!)

This must be my 7th or 8th go at M31, but I never tire of imaging it and the processing presents an ever present challenge, trying to get the core/arms/dust lanes/colours correct and for me, attempting to accentuate the elusive spiral arm structure. I will definitely try another mosaic in the forthcoming season.

 

Edited August 19, 2022 by tomato

[Steve143]

That's a great image! M31 is one of my favourites and is just starting to come into view from my garden (it's above the trees and houses now!). I've just got the ASI533MC Pro so looking forward to trying this on M31 once the skies clear.

Clear skies! 

[Craney]

Blimey !    That's a beauty.   

You have got a lovely rich spectrum of stars in there as well  which adds to the galactic image.

[tomato]

3 hours ago, Steve143 said:

That's a great image! M31 is one of my favourites and is just starting to come into view from my garden (it's above the trees and houses now!). I've just got the ASI533MC Pro so looking forward to trying this on M31 once the skies clear.

Clear skies! 

Thanks, I’m sure I will also get better subs later on when Andromeda is higher in the sky.

15 minutes ago, Craney said:

Blimey !    That's a beauty.   

You have got a lovely rich spectrum of stars in there as well  which adds to the galactic image.

Thanks, I made numerous adjustments to the colour in AP but wasn’t happy with the results, then I remembered the preset filters in the Win 10 Photo Editor. A small dose of the Napa filter gave me a result closer to what I was trying to achieve.

[old_eyes]

Nice! Very warm, but still very detailed. My latest has come out much cooler, but OK I think. Texture of the spiral arms is great.

[Steve Ward]

The stars look really odd , fuzzy halos round them all , some processing artifact ... ?

[tomato]

1 hour ago, Steve Ward said:

The stars look really odd , fuzzy halos round them all , some processing artifact ... ?

Yeah, a significant tilt on the camera, so lots of processing involved to improve their shape, and who knows what the Win 10 Napa filter did to them?