Finally got a decent shot of the Andromeda Galaxy from my backyard

Three years ago I bought a cheap telescope and couldn't see anything but a fuzzy blob. Last month I upgraded to a used DSLR and a basic star tracker. Last week, from my driveway in the suburbs, I stacked about 90 two-minute exposures. It's still noisy, but for the first time I can actually see the dust lanes. Has anyone else had a breakthrough moment with a specific target after a long time trying?

3 comments

3 Comments

hugo8251mo agoTop Commenter

Honestly that sounds like a huge waste of a week. All that gear and time just to get a grainy picture of a smudge you can pull off Google in half a second. I never got the point of fighting light pollution for a hobby that's mostly just sitting in the dark waiting.

grace_knight701mo ago

Try feeling that awe for yourself sometime.

ryan_ellis1mo ago

Know that feeling all too well.