M81 + M82

[gonzostar]

Hi

Finally a clear night on friday (sort off) at least for a brief time

Images of m81 + M82 taken with a 8"SCT (f6.3 focal reducer)

light frames where 10* 4 mins usind a canon 450d at iso800

Guided with phd2 (still getting the hang of it) 

Processed with DSS then gimp

 

Thanks for looking at any improvement / suggestions gratefully accepted

 

Clear skies 

Dean

[spaceman_spiff]

Good shot, some of the fainter detail in M81 is starting to show. I can see a bit of distortion (field curvature?) in the bottom and left of the shot.

If you want a better colour rendering, try to make the RGB histograms in DSS overlap. I takes a bit of tweaking to get it right but it is worth it.

HTH Dan

[Davey-T]

SCTs are tricky old things to image with, could do with lot's more data obviously when the skies clear, focus looks a bit out but also have you checked the spacing from the F/R to the camera sensor ? it also looks a bit off.

Dave

[gonzostar]

Thanks for you inputs

Yes i do need more data, and will look as DSS again. Thinking of moving on from gimp to PS? Wish I knew how SCT and AP went hand in hand when i first started!  Anyway got over excited on friday i didnt spend as much time on focus and balance as usual.

Dean 

[Les Ewan]

Can just make out the spiral arms in M81.Well done.

Les

[gonzostar]

Thanks Les Will at some point try and  get some more data to bring them out more. Also improve on processing!  

[gonzostar]

Thanks for tips Slightly adjusted. Hope looks better  Now waiting for skies to clear!