Quick Sombrero (M104)

[laser_jock99]

Quite low in the sky (-10 deg DEC) but I thought I'd give it a quick go, just two 120s exposures (hence the noise). Not a great image- just nice to see it come up in the camera view finder!

 

M104 Sombrero Galaxy, Virgo- 2x 120s, 12" F4 Newtonian scope, Canon 40D camera @ ISO1000, dark sky site in Mid Wales

[triton1]

Stunning looks just like a picture from a book.

[laser_jock99]

I had another crack at this later on managing seven 300 second subs- resulting in a lot less noise. But with the amount of 'twinkling' going on this low in in the sky I was never going to get much detail.

 

M104 Sombrero Galaxy, Virgo- 7x 300s, 12" F4 Newtonian scope, Canon 40D camera @ ISO1000, dark sky site in Mid Wales

[Star101]

Very nice image.

I cannot see this from my garden. I did see it last year on a camping weekend near Holt, Norfolk. with the 8" Newt. It was an amazing sight.

Thanks for sharing

[laser_jock99]

Just for the hell of it I tried going even lower in the sky- the famous Antennae Galaxies in Corvus at nearly -20 degrees declination. You can just about make out the 'antennae' in the extreme stretched image but otherwise a miserable fail due to bad tracking. I think PHD might well have needed re-calibration if shooting this far below the equatorial? Probably not often imaged from the UK though.

 

Antennae Galaxies NGC4038 & 4039- single 300s sub, 12" F4 Newtonian, Canon 40D camera.

 

[StuartJPP]

Nicely done, M104 is a favourite of mine...one day I hope to image it.

[alacant]

Amazing, especially for such short snaps. 12" f4? Makes my 8" feel decidedly inadequate!