I finally decided to take the time to drive for an hour and a half out to Custer Institute to do some observing through my telescope, and to try some astrophotography with my new Sony a7 camera. The forecast was for clear skies, but not great "transparency." which means it will be clear but there will be perhaps some haze or smoke that will not result in the darkest skies possible. I took a chance, and conditions were worse than forecast - there were scattered clouds everywhere. So observing and photography were not great, but, it was better to be out under the stars than sitting around watching TV! This is the Andromeda galaxy and it is pretty much a twin to our galaxy, the Milky Way galaxy. The Andromeda Galaxy is barred spiral galaxy approximately 2.5 million light-years from Earth. The Andromeda Galaxy has a diameter of about 220,000 light years, and the number of stars contained in the Galaxy is estimated at one trillion. The Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies are expected to collide in around 4-5 billion years, merging to form a giant elliptical galaxy or a large lenticular galaxy. It is a beautiful thing to behold through a telescope under dark skies, or you can google it and see what a magnificent object it is when photographed in color. You will be stunned at how beautiful it is, and my first feeble attempt is hardly worth looking at.
3 comments:
This is a great photo! Appreciated the astronomy facts too. It is hard to imagine that bright spot is an entire galaxy. I can't fathom the amount of space and time and vastness of the universe. The sky at night is absolutely beautiful though! Love the photo.
Perhaps you don't believe your photo is worth looking at but since I don't have a telescope or the use of one that I think this photo is amazing. How can that bright light be a galaxy? Wow! The sky is wondrous and I get to see it through your eyes. Thank you. betsey
The sky is beautiful and so full of stars. I remember when we were in Mexico for Amy's wedding, we sat in the pool and looked into the night sky and you pointed out so many stars. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
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