June 2014 revision
M31
Andromeda Galaxy
An early DSLR-era attempt at our nearest giant spiral
An older Andromeda attempt from the archive, kept beside the newer mono-camera revision for comparison.
- What am I looking at?
- The Andromeda Galaxy is the nearest large spiral galaxy to the Milky Way and the most distant object easily visible to the naked eye.
- How far away is it?
- About 2.5 million light-years away.
- Where is it in the sky?
- In Andromeda, rising in the northeast during autumn evenings.
- Why does it matter?
- Our closest major galactic neighbor and a benchmark for understanding spiral structure.
- When is the best time to photograph it?
- Autumn nights when Andromeda climbs high before midnight.
Capture summary
Galaxy in Andromeda
Natural color
Broadband DSLR
Summer target / wide composition
- Integration 30m 30 x 60s
Same target, different years.
Older revisions stay in the archive so you can see how the target changed with different equipment, processing, and experience.
When to image this target
Galaxy in Andromeda; best planned for June through August from New Jersey.
Summer targets often improve later at night as the Milky Way climbs higher.
Assumes a New Jersey backyard horizon and evening imaging.
Prioritize transparency, darker skies, and long broadband integration.
M31 is listed here in Andromeda.
Current frame: Natural color / Broadband DSLR.
Live altitude, moon, and filter guidance
Calculating target altitude and moon context.
Use the full planner to enter a ZIP code, choose a date, and compare the target from your sky.
Based on the current time.
Green marks usable dark-sky altitude.
Next upper transit.
Approximate horizon crossing.
Moon phase and altitude.
Acquisition & processing notes
Filter channels, integration times, and capture dates for this frame.
- Integration 30 x 60s, 30m
Field notes for this target.
Browse all capture notesHow I captured this
| Channel | Frames | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Integration | 30 x 60s | 30m |
- Equipment used
- From my current rig
- Mount
- iOptron CEM60
- Telescope
- Explore Scientific FCD100 127mm Carbon Fiber Triplet APO
- Camera
- ZWO ASI2600MM Pro
- Filters
- Chroma 36mm Ha, OIII, SII, and LRGB (ZWO EFW 7×36mm)
- Focuser / rotator
- MoonLite NiteCrawler
- Reducer
- Starizona Apex ED 0.65×
- Guiding
- ZWO off-axis guider + ASI290MM Mini
- Control / power
- PrimaLuceLab Eagle 4S, Powerwerx PSU, Bioenno field battery, and MEGAbox
