M31, The Andromeda Galaxy

[Nighthound]

I went back and reprocessed some previous data. I wanted to try and improve on the color, detail and keep the star sizes under control. It's easy to cause the stars to bloat when stretching the image in Photoshop. The spikes on the brighter stars were produced by nylon fishing leader crossed in front of the telescope optics.

Takahashi Sky 90 II(f/4.5, 407mm) • Losmandy G-11 • Canon 20D(unmodified) • IDAS Light Pollution Filter • 800/1600 ISO, No Dark or Flat Frames • 30 x 240 sec. Exposures Stacked • All Exposures Unguided • Noel Carboni's Astro Tools for PS

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y67/Nighthd/Astrophotography/andromedax.jpg

Thanks for looking,
NH

[Chris Dana]

Wow. Just wow.

Amazing photograph.

[daveleeuk]

The spikes on the brighter stars were produced by nylon fishing leader crossed in front of the telescope optics.


What does that mean? 'nylon fishing leader'

But great work, your images are insane! You seem to be amazing at what you do!

[deltroid]

Holy Space Cow!

I got tired just imagining all the work you went through to get this shot...

Gotta love it! Amazing work, indeed! Congratulations!

[Nighthound]

Thanks everyone.

Daveleeuk, fishing leader is used to set the hook back from the fishing monofilament line. To over simplify it's a length of black nylon string with a fastener at each end. I cut off the fasteners and just use the line. The black nylon gives less of a rainbow color in the star spikes than the translucent fishing line does. By taping two pieces like cross hairs in front of the scope lens(two in this scope), the brighter stars will display spikes. Doing this was a phase I went through. I don't use the fishing leader these days, now I go for a more natural look.

NH

[Desertraptor]

awesome

[Nighthound]

Thanks Peter, glad you enjoyed.

NH

[bromm]

Steve, your shots are all incredible. The work you put into the whole process is definatly worth it, Thanks for sharing.

[JSJR4]

simply stunning

[CyberDyneSystems]

Beautifull!

Oh P.S.,.. Nasa called, they want the Hubble back! :lol:

[Pandragon]

I am always impressed with your shots Nighthound. I envy your patience for putting something like this together.

[strgazr27]

Steve,

Ya gotta love the FOV of the 90, not to mention the optics! although for me it's a little soft, ya still nailed it :) I think it's one of the hardest objects to process due to all the dynamic range involved.

Another Great One!

CS's

Bobby

[Pen6uiN]

holy cow

so cool

[rw2]

Wonderful photography. How far is this galaxy from us?

[Nighthound]

Thanks very much everyone.

Bobby, the Sky 90 is a keeper alright. I agree that the image is a bit soft so I tried some sharpening, tried to limit to to the dust lanes. See below. I was hoping to get a bunch of time this year with the 5D but it didn't work out. I think it would beat the 20D details and clarity seen in this one.

rw2, M31 is about 2.3 million light years distant. It's the most distant object visible to the naked eye.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y67/Nighthd/Astrophotography/andromedaxs.jpg

NH

[Borderdawn]

I have absolutely no clue of what you are talking about, but the photographs speak for themselves, truly superb!

[int3rc3ptor]

Hi, Haven't been into this forum recently, so probably missed a load by you, but all the same, I'm still amazed at what you can produce.

Cheers

Darren

[Nighthound]

Thanks Borderdawn and Darren.

Darren, do a search for my threads if you get time, there are a few a couple pages back in this section. Hope you enjoy.

NH

[mono55]

A superb, almost magical image.

[Ballen Photo]

Hi Steve, Image's like this are the reason I like finding your posts. ;)
-Bruce

[Nighthound]

Thanks very much mono55 and Bruce.

Bruce, I'm really glad you find these images interesting. The skies are giving me a hard time this winter. Many of the objects I had hoped to shoot will have to wait until next year.

NH

[JuSlaughter]

NH, I've looked at your work for some time now and have to say you take some of the most stunning images on this entire forum. I admire your patience and dedication, nice one.

I presume you live in an area with minimal light pollution.

Perhaps a sticky from you on the basics of astrophotography might encourage more to have a go at this type of shot.

Keep up the great work, its a pleasure to look at.

[Jim G]

Oh so impressive.. makes me want a telescope. :p

[chemicalbro]

superb
quick question tho..... i see that you use a light pollution filter.
how bad is the LP in your area because I more or less gave up trying to do astro shots because of light pollution
(i've got a little ETX-90)

[R Hardman]

M31 is about 2.3 million light years distant. It's the most distant object visible to the naked eye.

NH

And getting closer every second! Glad I won't be here when it runs into us ;) Outstanding work NH as always.

[gymell]

Stunning shot. Astronomy has always been an interest of mine - I've seen Andromeda many times through binoculars, just looks like a smudge that way though!

[smasraum]

Amazing as usual. Visual to the naked eye, huh? Not in my front yard. With 7x35 binocs, it's barely visible as a hazy spot.

I'm so envious. This is the best that I've been able to do. I haven't been able to attempt it since I got my barn door made, so I might be able to improve upon it slightly now.

[smasraum]

Steve, do you have any shots of M51? That's one that I'd like to be able to shoot, but I'm doubtful about my ability to get anything. I'd probably be tickled with 2 dots for now.

[Nighthound]

NH, I've looked at your work for some time now and have to say you take some of the most stunning images on this entire forum. I admire your patience and dedication, nice one.

I presume you live in an area with minimal light pollution.

Perhaps a sticky from you on the basics of astrophotography might encourage more to have a go at this type of shot.

Keep up the great work, its a pleasure to look at.

Thanks very much Julian, you're too kind. Astrophotogaphy demands patience, so I guess that where I've gained so much of it. The patience has paid off when photographing wildlife as well. I've always enjoyed being challenged and the difficulty always sweetens the successes.

I might just write up a basics tutorial. I've been doing my best to keep up with the personal messages and have really enjoyed helping members however I can. It's great to see members giving astrophotography a go. Fun, challenging and awe inspiring. . .what's not to like right? :D

NH

[Nighthound]

superb
quick question tho..... i see that you use a light pollution filter.
how bad is the LP in your area because I more or less gave up trying to do astro shots because of light pollution
(i've got a little ETX-90)

Thanks Alan. My skies at home are pretty poor. I travel out to a farm, about 45 minutes away to shoot under better conditions(about magnitude 6). The Hutech IDAS Light Pollution filter works amazingly well. It selectively removes a lot of the artificial light that plaques our skies, like mercury vapor for example. I hope to move soon to darker skies where I can build an observatory to house my gear so no set or tear down up will be required.

NH

[Nighthound]

Amazing as usual. Visual to the naked eye, huh? Not in my front yard. With 7x35 binocs, it's barely visible as a hazy spot.

Thanks Steve, that's about the way it looks naked eye at our dark site, of course binos make it nicer. I have a pair of Celestron Skymaster 15x70s that are great, and very inexpensive too.

Here's my attempt at M51. I used my then 10" LX200R for this one. Needs a lot more exposure time.

NH

[Nighthound]

Thanks Rick and Jim G. Really do appreciate it.

NH

[illusionest]

Hi Nighthound, great astro photography!
Not only do you have awesome bird captures, your astro-shots are unbelievable as well.
I'm a fan of your work! keep them coming! ;)

[smasraum]

Thanks Steve, that's about the way it looks naked eye at our dark site, of course binos make it nicer. I have a pair of Celestron Skymaster 15x70s that are great, and very inexpensive too.

Here's my attempt at M51. I used my then 10" LX200R for this one. Needs a lot more exposure time.

NH

Now you're just teasing!

[Nighthound]

Now you're just teasing!

I'm sorry, brain gas after a long day. Here ya go:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y67/Nighthd/Astrophotography/Picks/m51Rx2.jpg

NH

[Nortelbert]

So, do you ever submit your stuff to Astronomy magazines?

[Nighthound]

So, do you ever submit your stuff to Astronomy magazines?

Not my deep sky stuff. I submitted a wide tripod only astro image(planetary alignment) and got published in Astronomy and Night Sky back in 2005.

NH

[Nighthound]

Hi Nighthound, great astro photography!
Not only do you have awesome bird captures, your astro-shots are unbelievable as well.
I'm a fan of your work! keep them coming! ;)

Thanks illusionest, glad you're enjoying. Hard to keep the camera out of my hands. :D

NH

[smasraum]

Wow! Another stunner.

Tonight the weather is clear, cool, and still. On top of that and the street light in front of my house is blown out (I swear I didn't do it. I'm not sure my wife believes me). The only problem is that I have to write this darn training curriculum for tomorrow to teach a bunch of techies a new (to them) technology. So I'm stuck inside. I did peak around for about 30 minutes earlier before I forced myself inside to work.

[Nighthound]

Wow! Another stunner.

Tonight the weather is clear, cool, and still. On top of that and the street light in front of my house is blown out (I swear I didn't do it. I'm not sure my wife believes me). The only problem is that I have to write this darn training curriculum for tomorrow to teach a bunch of techies a new (to them) technology. So I'm stuck inside. I did peak around for about 30 minutes earlier before I forced myself inside to work.

Thanks. That street light sounds very suspicious. . .;-)

It sounds like you've got the astropic bug alright.:D When I used to shoot from home I was always standing outside looking up and trying to decide if I should set up. A lot of weeknight late nighters back then.

NH

[Ballen Photo]

I'm sorry, brain gas after a long day. Here ya go:

Very COOL! Something suspiciously "Psychedelic" looking about this one. ;)
-Bruce

[Nortelbert]

Not my deep sky stuff. I submitted a wide tripod only astro image(planetary alignment) and got published in Astronomy and Night Sky back in 2005.

NH

Why not? It's better than a lot of stuff that gets printed

[skipper34]

Gotta say, Steve, the stars in your M31 are absolute pinpoints. No trailing at all across the entire frame. If readers only knew how difficult this is to achieve............
Well done my friend.

[Nighthound]

Why not? It's better than a lot of stuff that gets printed

Mainly due to lack of time and partly lazy I guess. I spend so much of my personal time shooting/pursuing wildlife during the day, astro at night and processing all those images I already don't get much sleep. When shooting at night I set up at night fall, shoot until the darkness fades and then go directly to my bird sites for the morning light. When I do that two nights in a row you can imagine how Sundays might be, a bit fuzzy. :D

NH

[Nighthound]

Gotta say, Steve, the stars in your M31 are absolute pinpoints. No trailing at all across the entire frame. If readers only knew how difficult this is to achieve............
Well done my friend.

Thanks. That's the deciding factor after a night of shooting to whether or not I even process the image. Sometimes things look fine on the LCD but when I get them home I'm disappointed to find egg-shaped stars in many exposures. But sometimes it all goes right and that makes the effort very worth while.

NH

[Ballen Photo]

When shooting at night I set up at night fall, shoot until the darkness fades and then go directly to my bird sites for the morning light.
Your handle "Nighthound" really suits you then. ;)
-Bruce

[RonB76]

My goodness this in incredible work Nighthound. 2.3 million LYs away...That is almost unfathomable but you bring it closer to home.

Thank you for your shots.

:D

[Nighthound]

Your handle "Nighthound" really suits you then. ;)
-Bruce

I guess so, when the sun rises I'm bird dog. :D

NH

[Nighthound]

My goodness this in incredible work Nighthound. 2.3 million LYs away...That is almost unfathomable but you bring it closer to home.

Thank you for your shots.

:D

Thanks Ron and you're very welcome. The scale and distances always boggle my mind. I get a kick out of gathering ancient light.

NH

[shakershot]

I "had", sniff,,
an SBIG ST2000XM,
TAK 60 and a 12inch meadeRCX400,,sniff,,boo hoo,
selfbuilt mount, servo-controlled, go to,

and never got a good shot of this one, IM JEALOUS,

But im machining out a new mount now, and ill be using my XTI,
ill be using a 6 and 8 inch true-cassigrain, optics, self-built open truss,es

MAN
thats a nice shot,

you go to any star-partys??

johnp

[Nighthound]

Thanks. Wow John you had some serious gear, I know it must have been hard to part with. I'm very impressed with your skills. Machining your own mount can't be all that easy. Where will you be getting your gears? How will the mount be driven? Hope you don't mind my curiosity but it sounds like tough and challenging project, at least for someone unskilled like myself.

I was trying las year to get to a couple star parties but each time we cancelled at the final hour due to bad weather. Do you attend any in the east?

NH

[shakershot]

I Hob my own gears,
the Mount shown, won an award,
the 14 inch truss was my "first-scope" i ever built, i built everything,
ground-my-own, glass, also, first year into the hobby,
got an award for that also,


I went to Table-MNT star party (washington) for 8 yrs,
oregon twice,

never been back east, want to,
i grew up in Maine, havnt been back for years,

Im working on a "Perkins" Mount, Cross axle, now, scaled down of course, but itl be about 5 ft high, and the Piers will span arounf 4.5 feet,
itl be all fretwork, on the finish,

i like the old classic mounts,

I use Dan Grays Si-tech servo controler, its friggen amazing,
beats losmandy anyday, and paramount, sbig, its go amazing features,
ive done some losmandy conversions for folks,

I had3-Taks, i loved them,
sold all my stuff to move here to texas,

You ever do anything on astro-mart??

johnp

[Nighthound]

An award? John, that mount should have a place in the Smithsonian. That may be the most beautiful machine work I've ever seen, pure art from a true artist/craftsman.

Your conversion of the Losmandy mounts is intriguing, but I'm sure not cheap. I've been wrestling with my G-11 since I got it. Replaced worm, disassembled, cleaned/re lube and various PEC approaches and it's much improved but I believe it's as tight as it's going to get. I'm not delusional, I realize that autoguiding is a must with this mount. I bought a used SBIG STV and it's got problems I'm not qualified to repair and parts are limited because they're no longer made. I'm trying to get my G-11 to behave for imaging with my f/4 Newt (Vixen). I'm about to buy an guiding CCD imager(Orion's $600 model) to guide through the Sky 90 atop the Vixen. I've been fighting the urge to upgrade my mount to a TAK EM-200. If I could just get consistent results autoguiding with the G-11, I'd be satisfied.

Thanks again for posting your work, amazing!
NH

[shakershot]

Steve,

thank you for the kind words,
the judges nicknamed it a "roman EQ mount"
i was getting 135 sec "unguided" before i egged out, with a 12inch SCT,
it beat the losmandy, with the same OTA,
the guy i sold it to is doing amazing pics with it,

check out this site,

http://www.siderealtechnology.com/

the conversion would be alot cheaper than the tak mount,
and hes got tons of "goodies" thats in the software,
ive met the guy and hes amazing,

the conversion can be done without changing the gears,
theres also a yahoo web-site,

id help you if you want it,



main email,
dirtyditchdawg@gmail.com

[CHICAGO-N]

your photographs are almost surreal to me. these are absolutely fantastic :)

[Nighthound]

Steve,

thank you for the kind words,
the judges nicknamed it a "roman EQ mount"
i was getting 135 sec "unguided" before i egged out, with a 12inch SCT,
it beat the losmandy, with the same OTA,
the guy i sold it to is doing amazing pics with it,

check out this site,

http://www.siderealtechnology.com/

the conversion would be alot cheaper than the tak mount,
and hes got tons of "goodies" thats in the software,
ive met the guy and hes amazing,

the conversion can be done without changing the gears,
theres also a yahoo web-site,

id help you if you want it,



main email,
dirtyditchdawg@gmail.com

Thanks very much for the link and the offer to help John, but for now I'm going to try and keep cost down and do my best to get an autoguider to get my exposure times up with the 8" Newt.

NH

[Nighthound]

your photographs are almost surreal to me. these are absolutely fantastic :)

Thanks Chicago-N for the kind words, greatly appreciated.

NH

[DVS_WiNdz]

Wow.. just when I think the last one I commented was great. This one just blew me away! Great shot

[Nighthound]

Thanks Stephen, very much appreciated. I'm glad you're enjoying these.

NH

[rosie777]

Stunning!