Object data: M31 (NGC 224, the famous Andromeda Galaxy) is the nearest large galaxy to the earth. It is so bright that it is easily seen by naked eye as a faint fuzzy patch of light in the northern part of Andromeda. It forms part of the Local Group of galaxies along with our Milky Way, M33, and some others. Also seen in this photograph are M31's companion galaxies M110 (below) and M32 (above). M31 is an 'island universe' - a gigantic collection of billions of stars estimated to be 2.9 million light years distant. It has been observed since ancient times and was first catalogued as long ago as 905 AD. Charles Messier recorded it in his famous Messier catalogue in August 1764.
Date: 4/9/99, 7/9/99, 9/9/99
Location: Wiltshire, UK
Conditions: calm, transparency=5-7, seeing=5-6 (~4-5 arc seconds)
Optics: AP 155 EDF f/7 with 4" focuser and integral field flattener
Mount: AP 900 GTO on Portable Pier
Autoguiding: SBIG ST-4 tracking AP 80mm f/11 guidescope
Camera: Pentax 6x7
Film: Kodak GPY 400 120 format (unhypered)
Filtration: None
Exposure: 6x 50 minutesEnhancement: Six negatives were scanned by Photo CD and digitally stacked in Picture Window, then further enhanced in Photoshop.
Notes: The stack of six images was to compensate for poor transparency.
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