Easy DSO for imaging

[eddy]

If there is such a thing, Orion goes behind my house from my backgarden pretty early so dont really get much chance on this target.

What is the next 'easy' target for DSO Imaging? Other than clusters?

Any advice or suggestions would be great, i have a GREAT view from West/North but East/South is kind of 'OUT OF BOUNDS' due to my house.....

Many thanks!

[1981suede]

You should have a go at the Andromeda Galaxy! Pretty much the largest DSO in the sky and your view is perfect for it.

[eddy]

See i had a go last week, and didnt really get on with it that well, although it was a much 1/2 blessde effort with only about 8 x 30sec subs and i did get some detail, but nothing huge.

The core is VERY blown out i think, now these were taken @ ISO1600, would it help with a lower ISO setting? Maybe 400/800? I had the same problem with Orion on my first attempt and was guided to use ISO800 but LOADS MORE DATA! Would the same apply to Andromeda?

ISO800

60 x 30sec subs? (Would that be better?)

Many thanks for you suggestions

[ncjunk]

M82 or m81 as both are in the north, bright and fairly easy.

M51 is also a good starter target.

The only thing you may find is it is difficult to locate them on the ccd so i tend to take a 10 sec binned photo and send it to astronetry.net to find out how close i am.

You could also try m64 which is quite bright and a nice target.

[eddy]

Ok so its a toss up between

M81/82

M51

M31

Which of these would be the easiest? I pressume M31 since its the biggest and easily viewable via telescope....?

[cgarry]

I would say M31 and M42 are actually very difficult targets to make a decent job of because of their large dynamic range. I would recommend M52 and M81+M82 though as great targets and in the right part of the sky for you.

Cheers,

Chris

[1981suede]

That is a pretty good attempt at M31. You are starting to get some dust lanes becoming visible. It just needs more data and you need to lower the iso as you said. Chris is spot on though, try M81/M83.

[eddy]

M83? Thats a real no go for me, in the south sky very low

Did you mean 81/82?

[eddy]

Also with M81/82 is it visible through a telescope? I found M31 very easily using setting circles/star hopping and then seeing it in the scope.

Would it be this easy on M81/82?

[cgarry]

M83? Thats a real no go for me, in the south sky very low

Did you mean 81/82?

Yes, that is exactly what I meant!

Corrected in the original post!

Cheers,

Chris

[ncjunk]

I find star hopping a nightmare and have had problems finding these,m81/82, in the past (i always end up pointing at the same triangle of stars off to one side). Which is why i get as close as i can and then take a photo and get astrometry.net to confirm where i am pointing then move and check. But this is with a ccd and internet connection and i dont know what options you have available.

Unfortunately the easiest targets are m42 and m31. Other galaxies require a bit of star hopping, and in my case luck...although i have a goto now so dont have so much of a problem.

I would definately give m51 a chance as if you can get it then its a great feeling first time.

[eddy]

As far as star hopping goes and setting circles, im pretty good with them i think!? lol

M51 seems the easiest to find out of the options here, is it an easy object to image? What sort of ISO Settings are used on this target?

Any information is good information as far as im concerned, so any advice you can put over i will greatly welcome!

[jgs001]

I ended up having to use my guidescope as a 24x80 finder when I did m81/m82 a couple of years back (it wasn't a guidescope at the time, but it was mounted as a balancing weight, so using it as a finder was easy).

[cgarry]

I can easily see the smudges of M81/M82 through my Zenithstar 80 on a clear night, though I think the technique of taking a 10s photo and checking what you have in the frame is a great one.

As for how easy they are to find, that depends on your skill level and luck! Still, that is all part of the fun.

Cheers,

Chris

[eddy]

Superb ill give it a go then!

Im using a Zenithstar 80 (which was sold as the semi-apo but is actually and achro!) Cant say i was overly impressed, but for the time being, it works so ill stick with it whilst i get some money behind me!

Anyways, if i can find it, ill have a go at imaging it! LOL

[Tinker1947]

If you download Stellarium and then google "Telrad maps" these are all free downloads, set Stellarium in Windows Mode and press Alt-O this will give you the Telrad circles they can then be compared to the Telrad maps which have the same circles on them, of course the right way to do it is buy a Telrad and combine all 3....use the widest EP (highest mm) you have.

First Light Optics - Telrad Finder

[reddoss]

A little later on in the year, try M27 (the Dumbbell nebula) it's a really good beginers target.

[lukebl]

As any experienced imager will tell you (and I'm not including myself in that category!), there's no such thing as an 'easy' target. Apart from being relatively bright, M42 and M31 are very difficult targets indeed to get right. Rather than jumping from one subject to the next it's worth concentrating on a single subject and getting that one just right.

But with a relatively short focal length, some of the galaxy clusters are well worth a go.

[ncjunk]

As any experienced imager will tell you (and I'm not including myself in that category!), there's no such thing as an 'easy' target. Apart from being relatively bright, M42 and M31 are very difficult targets indeed to get right. Rather than jumping from one subject to the next it's worth concentrating on a single subject and getting that one just right.

But with a relatively short focal length, some of the galaxy clusters are well worth a go.

Depends what you want to get out of it. These are easy targets in that they will appear in a 30s or even 10s sub. So you can have the enjoyment of saying you have found and imaged them. All that sub length, guiding, noise and processing rubbish can be worried about at a later date after a bit more playing and practise.

Have a play first!

[lukebl]

....Have a play first!

Very true! I was just making the point that no imaging is 'easy', but of course, have lots of fun and enjoy the amazing results which you can get.

[eddy]

Oh god yeah, i appreciate that its never easy, but most of the fun of it, is trying to get something, but since clear nights dont come around all that often, and summer isnt too good for imaging i thought it would be better to get some usable data whilst i can and get some 'OK' images whilst i can!

I know ill enjoy it, last saturday the day i managed to get a mount was the 1st time id been out for a long time and loved every minute of it, and im dying to get out again and do some more imaging, but this time ill a) have a plan and have more of an idea of setting up and starting!