M31 - Andromeda

22 x 2min @ ISO1600 f/6.25 500 mm

A few months ago when I joined the Orange County Astronomers organization one of compelling reasons was that they had a private site for dark skies. Now, months later, I'd finally sorted out my setup and learned the ropes to how this Astrophotography stuff worked and felt confident enough to invest the time to drive out to Anza.

I ended up getting out there around 3:30pm and started setting up. I really ended up meeting only one person out there, but still had a good time. I shot photos from 7:40pm until 5:50am, allowing for about 10 hours of imaging time, or so I thought. As it turns out, technical issues, wind, rebalancing, and framing take up a lot more time than I'd really accounted for, however I'm still happy with the shots I got despite their very short exposure times.