M31 The Andromeda
Galaxy:
About The Andromeda Galaxy:
The closest Galaxy to our Milky Way is M31, The Andromeda Galaxy, only 2,500,000 light years away. Andromeda and our own Milky Way galaxy are speeding through space towards each other which will result in a catastrophic collision and subsequent reformation of a new giant elliptical galaxy. This is estimated to happen roughly 3.75 billion years from now… I guess it’s a little early to start building a backyard bunker.
It has recently been estimated that M31 holds about one trillion stars, more than double that of our home galaxy, which weighs in at 200-400 billion stars...
Contemplating Galaxies:
I have a hard time just thinking about the size of our sun and the distance to the other planets... It really blows my mind to start thinking about other suns (or stars) and their planets... but to consider galaxies!.. containing billions of suns!.. It’s UNREALl!!!... My wife and I have been blessed to have the opportunity to speak to various youth groups about God’s Amazing Creation, as seen in space. The text image below the galaxy picture is a brief summary of our talk...
I have a hard time just thinking about the size of our sun and the distance to the other planets... It really blows my mind to start thinking about other suns (or stars) and their planets... but to consider galaxies!.. containing billions of suns!.. It’s UNREALl!!!... My wife and I have been blessed to have the opportunity to speak to various youth groups about God’s Amazing Creation, as seen in space. The text image below the galaxy picture is a brief summary of our talk...
Now... Photographing the Andromeda Galaxy –
Here’s my ‘Three-Step’ Plan:
1. Image the most detailed left side of M31 including all the core and
bonus galaxy M32 – completed on Sept 28/13!
2. Image the remaining right side of M31 including the core, thus
providing a large overlap for blending the two images
together - not completed... see fall 2014...
3. Shoot a wide field view of the galaxy and the surrounding
constellations to help people locate and view M31 in the night sky overhead,
without any equipment, naked-eye! - not completed.
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| The Andromeda Galaxy: 60 x 3minute exposures stacked = 3hrs total exposure @ 1600iso |
