So little for so long(NGC7331)

[astro mick]

This is the result of 2.5 hrs on NGC7331 in Pegasus.

ED80 Scopes,and cooled Starlight cameras.

15x600secs for lum.

8x600secs for RGB.

Very dissapointed,is this a hard Galaxy to image,is it too faint? I just dont know.

Wish i had,nt bothered.

A total waste of time.

See what you think.

Mick.

[Gina]

Looks good - have you a higher res version Mick?

[andyo]

That looks ok to me they cant all be breathtaking shots after all with some of these DSOs its a great achievement just to be able to capture them

[astro mick]

Gina,Andy.

Gina,unfortunately no,this is a cropped imaged due to overlap when alighning differernt camera,s.

Andy,you make a valid point,and i may be a little harsh,but i dont think this is a difficult object even visually.

I know i wont get a large image with a small scope,but wondering if a reducer to image at F6 rather than F7.5 may be the way to go.

Mick.

[prejto]

Mick,

I feel your pain...you spend a lot of time and it comes up short. Well, if this "hobby-obsession" were too easy we would all probably lose interest! FWIW, a galaxy of 5'x2' magnitude 10 is going to be difficult for a small scope like an ED80! For example, an easier subject such as M83 (the Southern Pinwheel Galaxy) is 10'x10' If you look at images of NGC 7331 most of the really nice images were taken at long focal length and quite a lot more in aperture! Re your question about a reducer, I would say just the opposite. A reducer will lower your focal length and give you a wider field with reduced magnification. What you need is a barlow, but let me tell you right now, don't bother!! It's too hard and your scope is too small for that. Start saving up for a bigger scope if you are serious about faint galaxies!

Peter

[astro mick]

Yes of course.

Thank you very for that Peter,that was well explained,and something i should have realised.

Regards.

Mick.

[Stargazer33]

I agree the ED80 looks too small for this galaxy, but to be honest, I would be chuffed if I was getting that sort of image with my C8 right now!

Don't forget, whenever you learn something, it is never time wasted. Take away all that you can from this and put it to good use in the future.

Keep up the good work.

[Welrod50]

Don't forget that for most other DSO's the ED80 will do quite nicely. I think you're being a bit too self critical about the image, it's actually a decent capture of a faint target. The fact that 10 minute subs have only revealed this tells you a lot. I had a go at the Needle Galaxy a few months back and at first wished I hadn't bothered. But when I revisited the image a few weeks after I decided not to delete them, as although faint, I can now see something which I will never actually spot doing visual from the back yard. Therefore in my view, images such as yours are actually very much worthwhile!

[astro mick]

Thankyou Brian and Scott.

Again a lot of truth spoken here.I perhaps am being too critical,and expecting more than the ED80 can give on such a small target.

But great words of encouragement allround.

Mick.

[Mark72]

It's indeed a tough one Mick and would require more focal length.

I did not get much either though with 2m - http://www.astrobin.com/47775/C/

If you image it very long you'll get a bit of IFN around the area. This can be done with a refractor.

Mark

[astro mick]

Wow,thats a beautiful image Mark,and the detail is amazing.But what an exposure time,17.5hrs.

Thats a tremendous amount of work,but it has paid off in buckets.

Large scope as well.

Thanks for posting.

Mick.