NGC7331, The Little Andromeda Galaxy

Date: 11/3//2012

Description: NGC 7331 (also known as Caldwell 30) is a spiral galaxy about 40 megalight-years (12 Mpc) away in the constellation Pegasus. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1784. NGC 7331 is the brightest member of the NGC 7331 Group of galaxies.  The galaxy is similar in size and structure to the galaxy we inhabit, and is often referred to as "the Milky Way's twin", although recent discoveries regarding the structure of the Milky Way may call this similarity into doubt [ref: Wikipedia]

Sky Conditions:

Clear sky, urban light pollution

FWHM: 2.0 - 2.5 arc sec/pixel

Imaging:

Exposure: 180 min (RGB, 3x6 x10min) at 2x2 bin using RGB Filters

Guiding: 8 sec at 2x2 bin using NOAG

Equipment:

SBIG STF8300M CCD (RGB filters)

AT10RC at F8

Starlight Focuser 

NOAG w/SBIG ST-i guide camera

AP1200 mount

SW:

Maxim DL V5, FocusMax, CCD-autopilot V4, Robofocus, AP ASCOM V2, SkyX, Photoshop CS4 (using Astro-Tools deep space noise reduction) -  calibration with darks, flats, and bias


© James Providakes 2014