NGC 281 - Pacman Nebula

[HuN73R666]

Hi Guys and Girls,

I have only had my setup for about 3-4 months, but I finally feel like I am starting to get somewhere. The LP conditions at my location are poor. Reported at 57% light pollution by SkyLive app. Not much I can do to change that, so I bought a UHC filter to try and cancel some of it out. Anyway, off the top of my head, my set up is as follows:

Skywatcher Explorer 200p

EX5 Pro mount

Baader MkIII Coma Corrector

UHC Filter (cant remember the make)

Nikon D5300 Dslr

I have taken a few images which I was impressed by (for a serious novice!), but the other night I managed a single sub of NGC281 The Packman Nebula. The image was a single 120 sec exposure at 2000-ISO. On closer inspection it appeared the tracking was not good enough (probably because of my polar alignment), and I have a slight trail on the stars. Lesson learned, so I will be paying better attention to the alignment next time. Any tips would be most welcome!

I am open to all and any constructive criticism. I have not stacked anything yet, so I am presuming this is my next move. Shorter exposure should help avoid the trails and I am hoping reveal more detail and less noise. Any tips for stacking, or at least getting good subs to play with would be most appreciated. 

All that said, I am quite impressed with the level of nebulosity, simply stretching the image out has produced. I have read comments about mapping the element colours with the RGB. This is of great interest to me, but I am afraid that what I have read so far is way over my head. Once again, any laymen explanation of this would be great.

Anyway, thanks for reading and here is the image.

Original Sub

Processed Image

[HuN73R666]

Sorry for the typo *Pacman - not Packman lol

[PorkyB]

That's a good image for a single sub and an unmodified camera.  I would definitely try taking 20-30 and stacking them.  Darks, or at least bias frames, would also help.

There's not much you can do about the tracking other than doing a really careful polar alignment, unless you want to get into guiding.  I have similar kit (200p on and EQ5) and one minute is the best I can reliably get, 2 minutes on a very good night.  I will have to try drift alignment, but as I have to drag my kit out and drive to a dark site every time I use it, I just want to get on with it when I get setup.