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M51 2 years worth of data

graemlourens

By graemlourens
in Imaging - Deep Sky

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graemlourens

graemlourens

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Hi everybody.

I always thought i could do a little better with M51, especially that it is one of the most interesting galaxies for a rather wide angle scope like my ED80 (next to andromeda obviously).
I continuously added data, and finally got to processing. It was a joy to pull out so much more detail, not only due to more signal, but also improved processing skills over the years.

Side by side for comparison (all data from 100% same setup). Left is approx 12h, right is approx 19h exposure. 

image.png.b872526d461628c48723f732526a0e08.png

And here the final image (as usual it gets pretty bright when posting here, due to colour profiles). Stars are horrendous but thats another topic...

M51.thumb.jpg.c22d6a50663bb842f852ed3ce3c408b6.jpg

 

Hope you like it!

Kind regards, Graem

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Adam J

Adam J

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2 hours ago, graemlourens said:

Hi everybody.

I always thought i could do a little better with M51, especially that it is one of the most interesting galaxies for a rather wide angle scope like my ED80 (next to andromeda obviously).
I continuously added data, and finally got to processing. It was a joy to pull out so much more detail, not only due to more signal, but also improved processing skills over the years.

Side by side for comparison (all data from 100% same setup). Left is approx 12h, right is approx 19h exposure. 

 

And here the final image (as usual it gets pretty bright when posting here, due to colour profiles). Stars are horrendous but thats another topic...

 

Hope you like it!

Kind regards, Graem

Wow congratulations!

With that amount of data S/N cant be a big issue in the core, did you / have you considered applying drizzle during integration and blending it into the brighter areas?

Adam 

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graemlourens

graemlourens

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Oh my, what a flood of responses! I'm overwhelmed! Not used to so much feedback! :)

Thank you very much for your kind words, very motivating.

2 hours ago, Bruce Leeroy said:

Looks great, if you shrink the webpage you get a great stereo 3d image using the side by side comparison images?

I'm feeling a little pucky from trying, i guess i need those magic 3d glasses ?

2 hours ago, alexbb said:

Nice! That's a lot of detail for the little scope!

I'm proud to have never upgraded, even if i have been tempted many times before! It does have its limits though....

1 hour ago, jjosefsen said:

That is amazing once again Graem! Really amazing what you can do with that gear!

What are the skies like over your site in Poland?

 

I'm in a pretty sexy spot on my piece of land. 0.64 on the lightpollution map VIIRS 2018 (light blue). Its getting worse and worse as major cities in poland are expanding fast, but i guess i've got another 5-10 years until it gets unuseable!

38 minutes ago, Adam J said:

Wow congratulations!

With that amount of data S/N cant be a big issue in the core, did you / have you considered applying drizzle during integration and blending it into the brighter areas?

Adam 

I did experiment with drizzling, but for it to work in long exposure, based on my research & trial, you need to have pretty good seeing. If seeing is your limiting factor, then drizzling will not get you very much further. But please correct me if i'm wrong!

Drizzling even with video astrophotography (moon) did not make huge improvements in my case, as again, seeing was my limiting factor.

 

Thank you again all for your kind words! A nice surprise! :)

Kind regards, Graem

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graemlourens

graemlourens

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13 hours ago, Barry-Wilson said:

Very pleasing to see so much progression Graem.  You must be delighted with a top class image and the knowledge that you are able to make more of your data too.  The ED80 really does hold its own when you place it in skilled hands.  Chapeau!

Thank you for the high praise!

It is indeed very satisfying to get this kind of feedback. After a many years of doing this, some things get normal and nothing special anymore.  It does give back the joy to see how certain images can get such positive feedback.

Kind regards, Graem

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