My First Andromeda Galaxy Photo: A Beginner's Journey
Hello fellow stargazers!
I'm incredibly excited to share my very first attempt at capturing the majestic Andromeda Galaxy. As a beginner with what I'd call 'okay' equipment, I'm absolutely thrilled with how this image turned out. It's a testament to the power of perseverance and learning new processing techniques!
My Setup:
- Telescope: Bresser First Light 102 AR
- Focal Length: 1000 mm
- Eyepiece: 40 mm (yielding 25x magnification)
- Mount: EQ3 with a clockwork motor (allowing for short tracking periods)
- Sky Conditions: Bortle 5
The Capture:
For this shot, I used my trusty Samsung S21 smartphone mounted with a Nexyz holder, running the DeepSkyCamera app. The acquisition process involved:
- Lights: 170 frames, each 10 seconds long
- Darks: 40 frames
- Biases: 40 frames
- Flats: Unfortunately, I haven't had much success with flats, so none were used in this process.
The Processing:
I leveraged a script within Siril for stacking the light frames. The processing workflow included:
- Background Extraction in Siril
- Manual Color Calibration in Siril
- Stretching the data, all within Siril.
While I'm still learning the ropes of Siril, I've found it to be much more intuitive than DSS. The final touches and adjustments were made in Photoshop.
The Result:
Seeing the dust lanes of the Andromeda Galaxy emerge after stacking was truly a breathtaking moment. It's incredible what can be achieved even with entry-level gear and a smartphone. I'm incredibly proud of this image and can't wait to see what I can capture next!
What do you think?
I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below! Any tips for a beginner astrophotographer would be greatly appreciated.
Happy imaging!
