Widefield M31, Andromeda galaxy

[EA2007]

Messier object no.31

Taken mid January in North Yorkshire, mild light pollution (1-10 scale 10 being bad, probably about a 6)

Canon EOS 450D 18-55mm lens

(N)EQ-6 Pro

Approx 4 x 40secs

ISO800

Stacked with DeepSky Stacker

[EA2007]

depending on your screen this may look rubbish...

[ako]

hi, hav u processed the image at all?

where abouts in north yorkshire r u??

clear skies matt

[EA2007]

hello, thanks for the reply.

no processing...other than some tweaking in DSS to make it non-gray and non-grainy : )

I'm near Northallerton, waiting for some clear skies!!

: )

[jgs001]

There's potential there for this to work out as a very good image, putting M31 in context. You need a lot more subs though. Also, there's quite a gradient running across it from the lower left. GradientXterminator will deal with that nicely.

[EA2007]

such as ?? : )

[jgs001]

100 or so ?? With sub lengths of that order I was aiming for 100 to 150 subs, a bit ott for some targets, but better on the fainter ones.

[EA2007]

Cheers,

Sorry think my last entry sounded a bit rude. Was not meant to be.

Well I would of made a load more subs but the clouds rolled in. I shall have another go sometime soon, proving its clear early in the night to get M31 in view.

I was rather impressed with it to be honest, using the standard lens, fully zoomed in, only took 4 images, the tracking on my mount was great so stayed with stuff for ages.

[jgs001]

For the small number of short subs it's come out nicely. I'm glad the mount is working well. No worries...

[EA2007]

Need to get a remote shutter release for it then I can go past 60 seconds.

Don't know if you know but does the official Canon RC-1 remote have a switch holder on it, i.e. on manual remotes (those with a cable) then you can press the shutter release then lock it into place and it will expose for however long you want, so you can go off and make a cup of tea etc!

Does the Canon infra-red remote have this feature or do you have to hold the shutter release button down for the exposing duration?

[Beyond_Vision]

You will need a timer remote there are many available on EBay which are a lot cheaper than the canon product and work well.

Timer Remote Shutter f/ Canon G10 G11 500D 450D 400D @ on eBay (end time 27-Feb-10 12:36:27 GMT)

I have not used this company but there are several others too.

Regards

[EA2007]

Thanks,

can you get wireless ones though?

[Beyond_Vision]

Not seen one but there is no need. The unit can be set to delay the first exposure then can do upto 99 or possibly more exposures of a programable length with a programable gap between them.

You can just walk away and let it carry on.

Regards

Kevin

[steve_bham]

Looking good gives me an idea what to expect from a DSLR. look forward to seeing your other pics

[EA2007]

Thanks Kevin, good to have the info on that, seems like a useful feature.

Will keep you posted Steve.

[sheri_barri]

That looks very promising! Nice work! Even the light pollution looks 'forgiving' in this image.