This has always been one of my favorites deep sky objects to observe. NGC 891 is a sweet, edge-on spiral galaxy located in the constellation Andromeda. The galaxy has an almost ghost-like appearance. To really appreciate it however, requires a large telescope under dark skies. I’ve found it almost impossible to find under even moderately light polluted skies in small to mid-sized telescope. However, get all your details taken care of (aperture, clear skies and limited light pollution) and this baby screams “look at me” at the top of its photons. I’ve observed NGC891 under mag 7 skies using a 25″ Obsession. The views were breathtaking. The central dust lane readily bisected the galaxy which seemed to stretch much further than memory would have indicated.

After snagging a few more shots of Comet 17P/Holmes, I decided to try my luck at a tougher target. At mag 9.9, this is by far the faintest object I’d ever gone after. I decided I would stack (30) 60 second exposures. I also cranked things up to ISO 1600 figuring that it’d be easier to remove noise than to invent data

The accompanying image is what resulted from my efforts.

Astro Photo Details:

• Designation: NGC 891 / Caldwell 23
• Type: Edge On Spiral Galaxy
• Constellation: Andromeda
• Magnitude: 9.9
• Size: 14.0′ x 3.0′

Astro Photo Processing Details

• 30 x 60s exposures at ISO1600
• Stacked using RegiStax 4
• Neat Image
• Photo Shop Levels