M31 and Surrounding Features

Image Title: M31 and Surrounding Features

Copyright: Association of Widefield Astrophotographers

Date image was taken: December 08, 2023

Location: Texas, Massachusetts, South Carolina, Poland, Arizona, UK

Image Description and Details: We would like to submit the attached image as a candidate for this competition. We are a small community of astrophotographers with similar equipment who collaborate on different projects; we coined the name “Association of Widefield Astrophotographers” because of the wide field of view that our budget gear provides. The image is a 100 hour project with data from 6 different contributors. It features the famous Andromeda Galaxy, (M31) and its extensive outer halo. Our deep broadband integration also revealed faint IFN structures surrounding the galaxy. The 87 hours of narrowband data, collected with affordable dualband filters and one shot color cameras, reveals various faint structures (some very recently discovered). The red Hydrogen Alpha clouds in the foreground of the image have been known for a while; however, the incredibly faint Oiii arc, visible above the galaxy, was found mere months ago. Additionally, the small Ha and Oiii nebulae within the galaxy itself are visible in vibrant color. Our goal with this project was to prove that very expensive equipment and dark skies aren’t required to create unique images of faint objects. Since most of us are high schoolers and college students with a passion for astronomy, our summer jobs did not allow us to afford the expensive gear used by most astrophotographers. The equipment used in this project consists of an affordable camera lens (the Rokinon 135mm f/2), a budget astrocamera (the ASI533MC), and a dual-bandpass narrowband filter (the Antlia ALT-P). Most of the photographers imaged from the city, with light pollution levels ranging from Bortle 4 to Bortle 9. While it would be difficult for an individual to reveal the faint structures shown in this image, working together with other astrophotographers allows for exceptional results.We collected data over multiple months across various U.S states, as well as Poland and the U.K to achieve this result. The photographers and their Instagram accounts are as follows: Mikołaj W. from Poland @mikolaj__wadowski, Jayton N. from Texas @bigjastro, Uri Darom from Massachusetts @astro_sketchpad, Jacob Newbould from the UK @jacobnewbould_99, Braxton Townsend from South Carolina @da_dillo, and last but not least, Ryder Cobean from Arizona @ninotsmindeli. The image was processed by Uri Darom from Massachusetts. Our Instagram for AWA is @awaimaging.
We hope you will consider this image. We spent hundreds of hours collecting data, organizing, and processing to create this result, and we would love the opportunity to show others what is possible with collaboration in astrophotography.
Best,

The Association of Widefield Astrophotographers

Equipment Details: ASI 533MC Pro
Rokinon 135 f/2
Antlia ALP-T Highspeed filter

Website or Facebook Profile: http://www.instagram.com/awaimaging/