The Andromeda Galaxy + Giacomo Pro + L-Pro, L-QEF, Ha3

The Andromeda Galaxy

Credit: Giacomo Pro

Filters: Optolong L-Pro, Optolong L-QEF, Optolong Ha3 narrowband

 

 

 

The Andromeda Galaxy
The photo I am presenting is the result of the integration of data acquired in 2022 and 2025; this includes a narrow-band session with a 3nm Ha filter to emphasise the emission nebulae present in the arms of the galaxy.
Sometimes known by its old name, the Great Andromeda Nebula, or by its catalogue designations M 31 and NGC 224, it is a giant spiral galaxy located about 2.538 million light years from Earth in the direction of the constellation Andromeda, from which it takes its name. It is the largest galaxy closest to our Milky Way; it is visible to the naked eye and is among the most distant objects visible without the aid of instruments.
The Andromeda Galaxy is the largest in the Local Group, a group of galaxies that also includes the Milky Way and the Triangulum Galaxy (M33), plus about fifty other smaller galaxies, many of which are satellites of the main ones.
According to studies published in the 2000s, based on observations by the Spitzer Space Telescope, it contains about one trillion stars (one thousand billion), a number greater than that of the Milky Way, estimated at between 200 and 400 billion stars. However, there are conflicting opinions on its mass: some studies indicate a mass value for the Milky Way equal to 80% of that of Andromeda, while others suggest that the two galaxies have similar masses. However, some studies suggest that the Milky Way contains more dark matter and could therefore be the one with the greater mass.
With an apparent magnitude of 3.4, the Andromeda Galaxy is one of the brightest objects in Messier's catalogue.

 

 

 

Light 51 x 300" filter: Optolong Ha 3nm (2022)
Light 56 x 600" filter: Optolong L-Pro (2022)
Light 175 x 30" filter: Optolong L-Pro (2022)
Light 110 x 300" filter: Optolong L-Qef (2025)
Camera: Asi 294 mc pro
Telescope: Sharpstar 94 EDPH
Mount: Skywatcher Eq 6-r Pro
Acquisition: Asiair Plus
Software: DSS - Pixinsight – Photoshop
Shots: October 2022 – October 2025
Location: Manduria & Torricella (TA) ITALY
Author: PRO’ GIACOMO.

Hope you like it.