The Triangulum Galaxy
ALEC ALDEN, COLCHESTER, 17, 18, 24 AND 25 NOVEMBER 2017
Alec says: “This image is a combination of the subs from two set ups. I had about five hours of LRGB subs taken in September 2016 and I decided to add to these with a further five hours of LRGB subs taken in November 2017 with my new rig. The processing was carried out using Pixinsight, which I find incredible, but it is easy to fall into the trap of overprocessing images. This image came together without any problems though.”
Equipment: Atik 383L+ mono CCD camera and Sky-Watcher Evostar 80ED refractor, ZWO ASI 1600MM mono camera and Sky-Watcher 120ED Equinox refractor.
BBC Sky at Night Magazine says: “We were immediately drawn to the beautiful colours Alec has managed to capture in this image: red pockets of ionised hydrogen gas from stellar formation, mingled with bright blue stars. Note too the definition in the spiral arms and wisps of dark cosmic dust.”
About Alec: “In 2013 my family bought me my first telescope, a Sky-Watcher Heritage 130P. I soon found that I wanted a record of the astronomical objects I was observing and so I quickly moved into astrophotography. Deep-sky objects are my preference, although I like imaging whatever is visible in the sky. My set up allows me to take images with only occasional trips out into the cold. As I’m now retired, this hobby keeps me and my brain active and I’m constantly in wonderment at the scale of our Galaxy.”