M51

[JohnSadlerAstro]

Hi,

My first image of the Whirlpool Galaxy, no cropping or sharpening just some basic processing in DSS.

36 x 60 sec expos at ISO 1800

Lots of Calibration Files

130PDS on EQ5 with 1000d, tracked.

[Knighty2112]

Nice work. Well done!

Just about managed to see it visually last night in my scope. Always nice to see. 

[Marky1973]

Nice image John! This was my target last night ad it is one of my favourites....wanted to go all out this year and get loads of data....shame one in 3 images were getting shafted by clouds last night! Still, always next year! ;-) (Or the weekend if the forecast holds!)

[spillage]

Nice image. This was one of my first every targets and a favorite of mine. I gave it a go last night but after fudging my pa with blatant user error by the time the camera was rolling I only manged two 5 min subs before cloud.

[JohnSadlerAstro]

Hi,

Thank you!  

I was really pleased with the image when it came, it brought back memories of my 1st image of M31! All that is left in my Ursa Major Imaging Campaign in M101, as I hve the Whirlpool, Bode's Nebula, and the Cigar Galaxy. I may (if I get a more powerful scope) get a more zoomed in version, as I think I'm massively under-sampling, but a larger FOV means better tracking.

John

[SilverAstro]

5 hours ago, JohnSadlerAstro said:

My first image of the Whirlpool Galaxy, no cropping or sharpening just some basic processing in DSS.

That turned out well nice one.

 

3 hours ago, JohnSadlerAstro said:

 as I hve the Whirlpool, Bode's Nebula, and the Cigar Galaxy.

I think you can add NGC 5198 , NGC 5173 and NGC 5169 to that list ! (at the bottom in the middle) and there is another faint fuzzy below and to the right of M51 that I have not identified yet ( changed computers recently and not got all my cats moved over to CduC )

 

[JohnSadlerAstro]

Silver Astro, yes, I noticed several other Galaxies on the image, those two edge-ons and also the glow near the bottom, I counted around 5 other smudges that might or might not be more.  It's so exciting to be able to get pictures now without it being a constant frustrating struggle against hopeless obstacles--the last two pictures I am very pleased with. I did do one of the Orion Neb, but that was before midnight when the lights were still on, so I couldn't manage very well at all, it was more of a test of the new 130PDS. But that can be sorted very soon come October---there couldn't be any issues with finding M42 surely?????  (I solved the finder issue by strapping the Red-Dot onto the main finder, seems to work ok on ground objects.

Do you know what the streaking on the top right is? I was thinking it was field rotation, but it is only in that corner. Coma can be ruled out as well, I guess, as it is in the wrong direction. Could it be a slight error in collimation, or just a defect in the mirror?

John

[tomato]

Very nice image,  personally I do like the wide field view, somehow helps to give me the impression of how remote the galaxy is...