A view of Andromeda - from Tilton on the Hill!
YOU might be forgiven for thinking this amazing picture of the Andromeda Galaxy was one of Nasa’s latest offerings by the multi-million dollar Hubble Space Telescope... but you would be wrong - it was actually taken from the Leicestershire countryside.
This is the latest image by Sileby photographer James Brown and was captured on a clear night at a spot near Tilton on the Hill.
“The final image is created from 77 separate 1 minute 30 second photos that were then processed on the computer to get to the final product,” said James.
“It was shot using my William Optics GT-81 telescope and ZWO ASI183MC Pro camera.
“Also, to get the picture to its optimum clarity, I cooled the camera down to minus 5 degrees centigrade, as this creates a better condition for the camera sensor and cuts down on electronic noise that is created with long exposures thus giving a better picture.
“You don’t need a high-powered telescope to see Andromeda and, in fact, with a good pair of binoculars and a dark location away from city lights, you can see it as a light smudge in the constellation of Andromeda.
“Although that is all you will be able to see, it’s still a nice feeling to
view another galaxy with your own eyes!”
James explains that Andromeda (also know as M31) is located relatively close to us in space terms, at “only” 2.4 million lightyears away.
“It is the closest major galaxy to us and is thought to be around twice the diameter of the Milky Way.
“The image you are seeing is actually what it looked like 2.4 million years ago, when the light you see in the image first left it.
“Even travelling at a staggering 186,282 miles per second, it has taken that long to reach us.
“It is actually getting closer to us though and, in around 4.5 billion years, will merge with the Milky Way, eventually creating a new galaxy.
“Even though the two galaxies will essentially collide, there will probably not be many collisions between the matter in each as even the space between all the stars and solar systems in each galaxy is vast.
“It will, however, reshape both galaxies completely.
“In the top of the image, just to the left of centre is another galaxy, this time a dwarf galaxy called M110, while just to the right of the centre of the image is another dwarf galaxy called M32 that almost looks like a large star.”
James has been doing astrophotography as a serious hobby for about five years.
If anyone would like to see more of James’ photography, he has a dedicated website: