Stunning Picture of the Andromeda Galaxy with an Unexpected Guest

The picture entitled "Andromeda, Unexpected" came top in this weeks Royal Observatory Greenwich’s Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition , it was taken by amateur astronomers Marcel Drechsler, Xavier Strottner and Yann Sainty using a Takahashi FSQ-106EDX4 telescope , it's the one to get judging by that picture.

Not only did they image Andromeda they also fortuitously caught a plasma arc of ionized oxygen gas shadowing the Galaxy which was unexpected hence the picture's name , the ark was only discovered earlier this year.

“It’s an enormous honor for our team to receive this important award and we are grateful for all the support, friendship and encouragement we have received along our journey. It encourages us to continue to pursue our passion for astrophotography and, of course, research with dedication,” the winners say Royal Observatory Greenwich press release.

Within one of the most observed and photographed areas in the night sky, the amateur astronomers captured a blue arc of ionized oxygen gas that was only discovered earlier this year. Scientists are now investigating the arc, dubbed Strottner-Drechsler-Sainty Object 1 (SDSO-1), as it could be the largest type of structure near to Earth.
www.astronomy.com...

If JWST had a head I'm sure it would be nodding in approval.

a reply to: gortex

Good find.

"Ark"?!!!

a reply to: gortex

At midnight, on the twelfth of August, a huge mass of luminous gas erupted from the Andromeda Galaxy and sped towards Earth. Across two and a half million light years of void, invisibly hurtling towards us for aeons, came the first of the missiles that were to bring so much calamity to Earth. As they watched, there was another jet of gas. It was another missile, starting on its way.

War Of The Worlds

That image is stunning!
Thanks for posting.

Great post.
I have reached a conclusion. Space is FULL of UFOs.

(I just had to go there)

a reply to: gortex

The image is incredible, it inspires me to want to capture it too; however, upon reading about the process, I discovered it required 22 nights, 110 hours of data collection, and multiple filters/exposure times, etc.

It's mind-boggling, yet fascinating!