Triangulum Galaxy - M33

This 2.5 hour exposure is of one of the most interesting galaxies in our local group, Triangulum Galaxy. This galaxy is 2.723 million light years from Earth, which makes it the second closest major galaxy. Triangulum Galaxy is fairly small at about 60 000 light years in diameter, and 40 billion stars. The structure of the spiral arms in the galaxy makes it stand out from the rest, which makes it one of my favourite galaxies. Just like Andromeda, fall is a perfect time for M33 as it is located very close to Andromeda Galaxy in the Sky.

Final Image all Cropped

Triangulum Galaxy Labeled

Details of How the shot was Taken
​
Gear:

• Olympus OMD EM-5 Micro 4/3 camera 
• Skywatcher Star Adventurer (Unguided)
• Olympus 40-150mm F2.8 lens
• Home made dew heater
  • Made with nichrome wire wrapped in duct tape, which is powdered by a lipo battery 

​Acquisition & Environment:

• 170x1 minute exposures (2.5 hours)
• 1600 iso @ 150mm (300 equivalent) F2.8
• 55 Flat Frames
• 33 Dark Frames
• 60 Bias Frames
• Taken: August 18, 2018

Processing:

• Images processed in DeepSkyStacker
  • 2x Drizzle Stack
  • Brought Saturation to 17 and match all rgb levels
• Photoshop Adjustments:
  • Cropped to remove stacking errors 
  • Adjust Levels to bring Histogram to the front
  • Used RC-Astro's Gradient xterminator to remove the gradient the flats couldn't fix
  • Used Deep Sky Colours HLVG tool to remove any unnecessary greens in the photo
  • Used Astronomy tools to bring out local contrast and make stars smaller
  • Increased the Saturation 
  • Exported into jpeg
  • Cropped since M33 is small 

The Raw Image From the Camera

Triangulum Galaxy Cropped