M 31 (Andromeda Galaxy)

This is my first trial to catch M31 with the C9. M31 is big and for big lenses even huge. There was no chance to get M31 completely on a frame. I just aimed at the core and waited for the result which is somewhat disappointing. The vignetting by the focal reducer is quite high. I could use only an area of 20 mm diameter of the negative. The outskirts of M31 and NGC205 vanish in the dark of the vignetting.

Date: 12 September 1999, 23.00h CET

Lens: f=1480 mm f/6.3

Guiding: manually with C5 at 139x

Exposure time: 30 minutes

Film: Kodak Royal Gold 400

The mount was a little bit unbalanced in that way that the motor had to pull in RA. As a result the tracking accuracy was very good and only very few corrections were necessary. The stars are nearly round dots although the magnification for guiding was relatively low, only 139x.

 

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