M31 (Fall 2015)

Here is M31, the nearest large galaxy, so large and so close that it overspills the view of the Kodak KAF-8300 chip through the FSQ.  M31 is near in size to our own galaxy but more mature, so it has more stars, a larger central black hole, and a more developed core.

But there is still much going on in M31.  Two satellite galaxies, M32 and M110 (above and below M31 in this image) orbit M31 and perhaps have passed through it.  A ring of relatively new star creation circles M31 and frames in blue its older, yellower core.  If you look very closely in the blue of the ring, you may see patches of red or magenta, which are clouds of hydrogen emission nebulae and the places of current star formation.  M31 is also ringed by clouds of dark dust; these represent star formation potential.

Two really fun things about this image:  1) M110 shows dust clouds near its center, one on each side of its core.  2) In the lower right, a very distant spiral galaxy shows through the arm of M31.  It is not obvious in the large picture, so here is a close-up.  I have no idea how far the galaxy is; pretty far, but I could not find a catalog designation in any of my maps,  Nor could I find it marked on any of my maps.  You can find it in this picture by its non-stellar shape and its dull color (which is similar to M31's core).

This image is RGB 24;28;16 x 900"; the data comes from DSW's FSQ.

M31, the Andromeda Galaxy, with M32 and M110 (Sept. 19, 2012)

Full resolution image link.

Behold the great Andromeda Galaxy!  In this image, you also see galaxies M32 (the small one, upper left) and M110 (the larger one, lower right).  M32 and M110 are satellite galaxies of M31.  Also visible at lower left is a large group of young stars in the spiral arm or ring of the large galaxy.  That group and the outer areas of the galaxy are bluer because the stars in them are younger and hotter than the stars in the galaxy's central bulge.

Telescope: SV80ED (and William Optics 0.8x II fr/ff (eff. at f/5.6))
Camera and Exposure: SXVF-H9C (47x420"), Alnitak Flat-man flats
Filter: Hutech IDAS-LPS2
Guiding: Meade DSI Pro & Hutech 50mm
Mount: Takahashi NJP
Software: Nebulosity, Maxim DL, Photoshop CS3
Location: The Woodlands, TX

M31, the Andromeda Galaxy, and Sixty-four Globular Clusters with the SV80ED (Nov. 30, 2011)

This image may be best observed by clicking on it, then right-clicking on the pop-up image and selecting "View Image."  You should be able to read the labels and see each individual, marked cluster.

This image of a central portion of the Andromeda Galaxy is only a combined 36 minutes of exposure (9x4').  I was testing to see what kind of exposures I will eventually need to take a real image of this amazing galaxy, the nearest major galaxy to our Milky Way.  After I calibrated and combined the images and began to stretch the histogram of the combined frame, I wondered if I might see some globular clusters around the galaxy.  I know that amateurs with large scopes often hunt them down.  Perhaps I could see a few, too?

A web search led me to Robert Gendler's amazing image of M31 in which he has labelled a bunch of globs.  I compared my image with his and found quite a few matches.  Going to the source of his labels, Paul W. Hodge's Atlas of the Andromeda Galaxy, I realized that I could see not just a few but very many.  I have not labelled all of those that I found, actually.  Some are too faint to see unless the image is blown up, and some are located near the center of the galaxy where Hodge's plates, or at least those found on the website, are too blurred or noisy to read.  But I have labelled sixty-four, many more than I thought I would find.

Not bad for 36 minutes through an 80mm scope.

Telescope: Stellarvue SV80ED NHNG f/7 w/WO ff/fr 0.8 II (so effectively at f/5.6)
Camera and Exposure: SXVF-H9C, 9x4'
Filter: IDAS-LPS2
Guiding: Borg 50mm, Meade DSI Pro, PHD
Mount: Takahashi NJP
Software: Nebulosity, Maxim DL, Photoshop CS3
Location: The Woodlands, TX