Andromeda is our largest and closest galactic neighbour and can be easily seen with the naked eye as a silvery smudge from a good dark sky location. It is about 2.5 million light years away, 220,000 light years in diameter (twice the size of our own Milkyway) and home to 1 trillion stars.
Andromeda always reminds me of the notable Irish engineer, with the coolest name ever, Bindon Blood Stoney. Prior to his work as an engineer Blood Stoney assisted the Earl of Rosse at the observatory in Birr Castle, Co. Offaly, Ireland. Birr Castle was home to the “Leviathan”. A 72-inch telescope and the biggest in the world at the time and for 70 years after its construction. Here Stoney accurately mapped the spirals of the Andromeda just 38 miles from where I took this photo. He also observed 91 NGC objects and 8 IC objects for the first time.
I expect he’d have enjoyed what’s possible with modern equipment. This shot was taken with a tiny 2-inch telescope that fits in a backpack and can be shared worldwide via NFTs. In 1870 you had to go to Birr Castle to catch a glimpse of our galactic neighbour!
My Galaxy Szn Collection is an upgradeable deep space astrophotography collection. Objects will be upgraded over the years as new higher resolution equipment is obtained.
A physical fine art print will be made for the first collector should they wish it.
Photographer: Ronan Hunt
Iteration 1 Full Resolution: 3430x4388 pix, 1/1 Edition Jpeg
Image Credit: Ronan Hunt