NGC 891 is a beautiful unbarred spiral galaxy in the constellation Andromeda. It is located about 30 million light years from earth. As we are completely immersed inside of our own galaxy we only see it from a vantage point similar to this image of NGC 891. Being able to see and study galaxies across the universe has helped us understand what our own galaxy must look like. NGC 891 is edge-on from our vantage point on earth. This is just a coincidence. There is no up and down in space, no absolute reference point. Galaxies are strewn about the universe, clumped together, spread apart, and oriented every which way. Some are beautifully face-on like M51, some are partially oblique like M63, and we see others perfectly edge on like NGC 891. This makes for a beautiful showcase teaching us about the shape and evolution of galaxies.

Image Information:
Shot the night of 11/7/2015 from Southern Utah
Camera: Atik 414EX M @ -20C
Original Image Scale: 1.09" / Pixel
Scope: TPO 12" F4 with SkyWatcher F4CC
Orion Thin Off Axis Guider with ASI120MM as Guidecam
Mount: HDX110
LRGB (Min): 100:48:48:48 Bin 1X1, 6 Darks
Orion 2" LRGB filters
DSS and Photoshop
Conditions:

Seeing: ~ 7/10
Transparency: ~ 9/10
Wind: 1-2mph