M31, The Andromeda Galaxy
(Click
here for full sized image)
Spiral
Galaxy
Magnitude
3.4
Size:
Approximately 160' by 40'. (The diagonal of the mosaic spans 2.25 degrees)
Constellation:
Andromeda
The
Andromeda galaxy is a twin of our own Milky Way Galaxy. It is roughly 125,000
light years in diameter and is about 2 million light years from us. It spans over
3 degrees of sky, making it as wide as six moons stacked side-by-side!
To
shoot this picture, a short focal length telescope was used to shoot two
separate side-by-side images that were combined into this 2-pane image. Five hours
of exposures were used to produce this image.
Imaging
Equipment:
Exposure
Information:
White-light: |
26 exposures @ 3 minutes each |
Red-light: |
8 exposure @ 3 minutes |
Green-light |
8 exposure @ 3 minutes |
Blue-light: |
8 exposure @ 3 minutes |
Total exposure time: |
150 minutes, each of two panes |