SUNSET: 
0
Photographer:
Jon Greif
Location of Photo:
Alpine, CA, USA
Date/Time of photo:
October 18-19, 2023, between 8 pm and 4 am
Equipment:
Takahashi FSQ-85 refractor, ZWO ASI 533MC Pro capture camera, Optolong L-Pro filter, ZWO EAF focuser, ZWO 30 mm guide scope and ZWO ASI294MM Mini guide camera, Rainbow Astro RST-300 mount, ASIAIR Plus controller, Pixinsight processing software.
Description:
October is a great month in the Northern Hemisphere to view the Andromeda Galaxy (AKA M31 -- the 31st object in Charles Messier's catalogue). It is high in the northeastern sky in the early evening and stays out all night. At 2.5 million light years away, it is the most distant object visible to the unaided eye, albeit in dark skies. This immense spiral galaxy spans over 200,000 light years. And, in only about 5 billion years, the Andromeda galaxy will be even easier to see, as it will likely span the entire night sky, just before it merges with our Milky Way Galaxy. This image was taken from our backyard last night, and represents a little over 6 hours of exposure time.
