Youngster from Kochi captures classic images of Andromeda using basic equipment

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“I went back 25 lakh years in time. Finally, I managed to get the desired photographs. Space is time travel,” says 23-year-old A.R. Krishnadas who has been chasing the Andromeda for months.

The BBA student at MES College at Mundamveli, Kochi, presents an awe-inspiring picture of the galaxy that is 2.5 million light-years from Earth. The most distant object visible with the naked eye, it is the closest major galaxy to the Milky Way and can only be seen in a really dark sky.

Krishnadas captured it from the rooftop of his house at Nazareth in Kochi using rented equipment.

“It is an achievement,” says Sarath Prabhav, amateur astronomer, astrophotographer and a convenor of ASTRO Kerala (Amateur Astronomers Organisation of Kerala) of Krishnadas’ efforts. The Thiruvananthapuram-based astronomer explains that capturing the Andromeda from a city is tough due to high light pollution (Bortle 7 to 8 sky), but what is also exceptional about the feat is the use of extremely basic equipment — just a digital single-lens reflex camera (DSLR) and a tripod. (Bortle is an index used to represent the amount of light pollution in a range of 10)

A.R. Krishnadas

Krishnadas rented the Canon EOS 5D Mark 3 camera and a 2.8 200 mm lens from his father’s friend. “The Andromeda can be seen from September to December, from 11 p.m. onwards.  At 1 a.m., it is overhead,” says Krishnadas who spent several nights capturing the moving galaxy. Kochi has the highest light pollution among cities in Kerala, and he had to also contend with cloudy nights. As he does not have a star tracker, (sophisticated equipment that moves as the stars move), he had to adjust the camera manually and continuously photograph the movement.

“Every celestial object appears to be rising and setting due to earth’s rotation. It is in a constant state of motion in the sky. When one uses slow shutter speed to capture faint light from distant celestial objects, you get the star not as a point but as a line. That is called a star trail. To avoid trails astrophotographers usually use a star tracker. The tracker moves along the star to avoid trails. A basic tracker costs ₹50,000,” says Sarath.

While Krishnadas did not possess one, he had to manually click 1,800 shots and use stacking, a technique where the same composition is shot multiple times and adding them to arrive at a final image using dedicated astrophotography software. In his first attempt, Krishnadas took 800 photos, but not satisfied with the results, he tried a second and third time to finally arrive at the photograph, which has left astronomers thrilled.

Night sky photographer Ajay Talwar is impressed with Krishnadas’ innovative method. “People use very expensive mounts, and he has done it with minimal equipment and that too from a city,” says Ajay, adding that photographing the Andromeda from a dark location is far easier. In a city, the time and effort are 10 to 15 times more.

Calling the image “classic”, Sarath had recently photographed the Andromeda using the tracker. His photograph was published in a Malayalam newspaper, which is how Krishnadas contacted Sarath. The latter encouraged him to pursue his passion. “Krishnadas’ Andromeda is remarkable. His patience and painstaking efforts need to be complimented,” says Sarath.

Meanwhile, Krishnadas himself is on cloud nine and on to his next venture, chasing the Orion Nebula in December.