Observation Log - July 2, 2000 - Tinton Falls, NJ

Links to the Image Index or Home Page.

M31, The Andromeda Galaxy, magnitude 3.4, dimensions three degrees by one degree, distance is 2.3 million light years. This effort used the f/6.3 focal reducer and the Homeyer color filter wheel was in place, giving an effective focal ratio of f/4. This is a composite of 10 exposures for 10 minutes total integration. The final image was created and processed with dark frame subtraction, flat field, then compositing, and finally a contrast stretch. Images were taken between 4:23 a.m. and 4:34 a.m. on the morning of the 2nd. This image was just a quick attempt to catch my first image of M31 in the year 2000. The sky was brightening rapidly, and the signal-to-noise ratio in this image isn't good at all, so no real attempt was made at processing the image. I will make another pass at M31 in a few nights, when it rises above my tree line a bit earlier, allowing for a longer exposure time with less twilight interference.