Galaxy

Notes from a backyard telescope, somewhere under Bortle 5 skies.

Andromeda in two nights

September 2026

Six hours of 180-second subs over two clear nights, with a 72 mm refractor and an uncooled colour camera. Dithering every third frame finally got rid of the walking noise that ruined last year's attempt. Stacked in Siril, a gentle stretch, star colour pulled back a little.

Polar alignment without seeing Polaris

July 2026

A neighbour's tree hides the pole star from my usual spot. Plate-solving three points across the meridian gets within a couple of arcminutes, which is plenty for guided exposures up to five minutes.

Why I stopped chasing the Moon

May 2026

Lunar imaging rewards a long focal length and good seeing, and I have neither. Wide fields of nebulae suit the small refractor much better, so the Moon now gets visual sessions only.