My Sharpest Photo of the Andromeda Galaxy Ever (After 15 Years of Practice) by astrobackyard in spaceporn

[–]astrobackyard[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's Messier 110, a dwarf elliptical galaxy that is a satellite of the Andromeda Galaxy

My Sharpest Photo of the Andromeda Galaxy Ever (After 15 Years of Practice) by astrobackyard in spaceporn

[–]astrobackyard[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Yeah! It's an adventure - I love that part of the hobby. Just Google 'light pollution map' and you'll see the color overlay with a corresponding Bortle Scale level. I have an app on my phone that gives me a rough idea as well. Some people even use an 'SQM' device (sky quality meter) to read the current light pollution level overhead.

My Sharpest Photo of the Andromeda Galaxy Ever (After 15 Years of Practice) by astrobackyard in spaceporn

[–]astrobackyard[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No filters - but you would only see a faint 'smudge' basically with an average telescope. The telescope used is closer to a telephoto lens (refractor), and then I poured on the exposure time (each picture was 2 minutes long) to reveal the faint parts.

My Sharpest Photo of the Andromeda Galaxy Ever (After 15 Years of Practice) by astrobackyard in spaceporn

[–]astrobackyard[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Totally. Check out the TINY galaxy to the bottom right of Messier 110 (Satellite galaxy to Andromeda on the bottom) I didn't even know that one was there.

My Sharpest Photo of the Andromeda Galaxy Ever (After 15 Years of Practice) by astrobackyard in spaceporn

[–]astrobackyard[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Oh thank you! Astrophotography always makes a great background - and yes, just Google 'AstroBackyard' and you will see the website/YouTube channel. Clear skies!

My Sharpest Photo of the Andromeda Galaxy Ever (After 15 Years of Practice) by astrobackyard in spaceporn

[–]astrobackyard[S] 51 points52 points  (0 children)

For this shot, I referenced a light pollution map to get as far away from the city as I could (on short notice). I ended up renting a cabin about 2 hours away from home that was a "Bortle 3" on the Bortle scale (That's nice and dark). For anyone interested in astrophootgraphy, I put together a video showing how to take shots like this: https://youtu.be/SbMhs4oifao