| Designation |
Messier 31
(NGC 224)
The Great Andromeda Galaxy
Also pictured NGC 205 (lower)
& M32
|
| Type | Spiral bar galaxy Type SA(s)bI-II |
| Constellation | Andromeda |
| Coordinates | Telescope centered at RA '00 37 42' - Dec '+42 54 48' |
| Magnitude | 3.4 |
| Size | 150,000 light years across (contains about 300 billion stars) |
| Distance | 2.2 million light years |
| Dimensions | 185' x 75' |
| Image Field | 197 x 197 arcminutes |
|
Notes:
|
M31 is our closest galactic neighbor. It has an absolute magnitude of -21.6 equivilent to about 40 billion suns and is visible as a bright hazy patch to the unaided eye from fairly dark skies. |
| This galaxy has many similarities to our own Milky Way, so it gives us a good idea of what our galaxy would look like to our galactic neighbors. | |
|
|
Because it is so bright, it was first recorded by a Persian astronomer in 905 AD. M31 is our own Milky Way are moving towards each other, so are destined for a collision sometime in the next several billion years. |
| Telescope | Takahashi FS60C f/5.9 on Losmandy G-11 with Gemini L3 |
| Focal Length | 264 mm @ f/4.4 with Takahashi focal reducer |
| Guiding | Starlight Xpress SXV guidehead through 8" Mak/Cass@ f/6 |
| Telescope Control | Maxim DL (V4.5) |
| CCD Camera |
Starlight Xpress SXV-H16 - USB 2 2048 x 2048
(7.4 uM) pixel array (15.15mm x 15.15mm active area)
|
| Image Scale | 5.77 arcsec/pixel |
| Filters |
1.25" Astronomik Type II Dichroic IR blocking
filters in Astronomik filter drawer - Clear, Red, Green, Blue
|
| Exposures | Total exposure time: 170 minutes Luminance 80 (16x5) minutes unbinned, RGB 30 minutes each binned 2x2 |
| Calibration | No darks, flats or bias |
| Processing Software | Maxim DL, Photoshop CS 2 - Sigma combined |
| Location | Chiefland Astronomy Village, FL - 29.393 N , - 82.863 W |
| Date/Time | 10/16/06 |
