That time I tried capturing the Andromeda Galaxy with just a kit lens

I spent like 2 hours setting up my Canon T7 with the 18-55mm kit lens last fall pointing it at Andromeda from my backyard in Tucson. I figured I'd get nothing but a faint smudge, but after stacking 80 fifteen-second exposures in DeepSkyStacker, this blueish spiral actually popped out with some detail. It was nowhere near Hubble quality obviously, but it taught me that you don't need fancy gear to start getting recognizable deep sky objects. Has anyone else managed something decent with just a basic camera and tripod?

2 comments

2 Comments

eric7231mo ago

You said the light pollution in Tucson actually helped and that's exactly what I've been noticing everywhere lately, how people think obstacles are always bad but sometimes they work in your favor. It's like how my buddy complains about traffic on his commute but that extra time is when he listens to audiobooks and learns stuff he'd never make time for otherwise. Same with photography I guess, the stuff you think is holding you back can end up being the thing that makes your picture work.

diana201mo ago

The light pollution in Tucson actually helped you out there. Most people fight streetlights but that low glow off the mountains can sometimes wash out the worst of the sky noise. Makes the galaxy pop more than you'd expect from a desert city.