M31 RAW converted and ready for stacking
Several corrections are made in Adobe Light Room 3.0 (LR) with the image. First the image is rotated to a more pleasing angle of view. This is the presentation angle in which I originally envisioned the galaxy before capture. One of the most important things we do in LR is attempt to get the color balance as accurate as possible. It is important that all sharpening be turned "off" in LR. Sharpening can cause distortion and artifacts in the stars. I then apply an appropriate amount of noise reduction. This is where LR 3.0 really stands out. The new luminance and color noise reduction controls are outstanding for astrophotography. It is important to not over-smooth as we want normal luminance noise to be reduced by subsequent stacking of photos. Now that I have my RAW file ready for conversion, I simply apply the same corrections to the other RAW files and prepare them for stacking.