NGC 3953 and M104

[Rodd]

My next potential projects.  They aren't much now--just part of a lum stack--but I like them both.  I try to refrain from posting intermediary stages of images.....but times have changed and each image takes me so long to ficnish due to weather  that I feel differently about it.   Conditions were poor for these shoots, though they were rapidly improving by the time I was near Meridian for NGC.3953.  I wished I could have continued, but as someone once recently informed me, life takes precedence and I had work in the morning.  Since it was at least an hour before a flip--I had no choice but to switch to M104 and let the rig run while I slept.  Conditions are never good for M104--it lying fairly low in the south--the worst part of my sky.  But I do not get many opportunities to image in this area, so why not.  Both images are crops from a TOA 130 and ASI 1600.  Both have about 40 300 sec lum subs.  I need many more and better subs.   My goal with M104 is to reveal the inner disc features as well as dust lane details--I may need a bunch of shorter subs as the core is overexposed at the very center.  Fpr NGC 3953 I just want a nicely balanced, HaLRGB image with decent stars and background.  Funny thing about NGC 3953....one of the brightest stars in Ursa Major is nearby and the linear stack had distinct rays streaming from the edge fully almost across the image.  Fortunately they did not persist through processing.  Also--I am having trouble flatting out a dark spot (cropped out) despite taking new flats after each shoot.  Any ideas of what makes a spot not able to be removed through calibration?  Is it better to have brighter of dimmer flats?  At present, I try to get my flats about 1/2 to 2/3 saturated (in pixinsite about 27,000 - 45,000 out of 65,500.

Hope you get inspired

CS

Rodd

NGC 3953

 

M104

[PhotoGav]

The Sombrero Galaxy is such a winner. I have observed it visually through a 10" refractor and just love it. Your image is very much the kind of view on offer (though this is a tad brighter, I admit!). Good luck with the continuing data collection and I enjoy seeing projects in progress, so don't hold back.

[Rodd]

5 minutes ago, PhotoGav said:

The Sombrero Galaxy is such a winner. I have observed it visually through a 10" refractor and just love it. Your image is very much the kind of view on offer (though this is a tad brighter, I admit!). Good luck with the continuing data collection and I enjoy seeing projects in progress, so don't hold back.

Thanks Gav!  A 10" refractor...wow.  That would be my dream scope if I could do it.    If the forecasts can be believed (which, of course, they can't) this coming weekend may allow me to finish one of these--then the Moon draws its sinister fangs until it's sated in a couple weeks.  Fingers crossed

Rodd

[ollypenrice]

Going very well, Rodd.

Olly

[Rodd]

3 minutes ago, ollypenrice said:

Going very well, Rodd.

Olly

Thanks Olly--hoping for better results than NGC 3184 to tell the truth.  So much depends on conditions

Rodd

[gorann]

Looks really promising Rodd - have you decided to do the galaxy hunting this year with your 5" refractor rather than the 11" SCT?

By the way, the sky will eventually clear although it has an annoying way of usually waiting until there is a full monlight

[Rodd]

Just now, gorann said:

Looks really promising Rodd - have you decided to do the galaxy hunting this year with your 5" refractor rather than the 11" SCT?

By the way, the sky will eventually clear although it has an annoying way of usually waiting until there is a full monlight

Thanks Goran.  I did want to try the ASI 1600 with the TOA unreduced for galaxies--it just has taken me a bit of time to get away from the nebulae.   Clouds and Moon don't help.  I wish I could use the C11 Edge more--for that is what I got it for as well.  But that would entail putting all my filters in the STT-8300 and switching back to that camera (or getting an OAG for the ASI 1600).  In either case, I guess you could say I have an aversion to change.  Switching out scopes and camera would eat up clear sky time.  I am sure I would lose the better part of a night--if all thinngs went as expected.  I am sure they would not and there would be great frustration.   I haven't even tested the FSQ 106 yet since its recollimation.  Clear sky time is just too prescious for me.  Now, if I lived in the Atacama desert, things would be different I am sure--or if I had two mounts.....hmm

Rodd

[gorann]

Yes, two mounts Rodd, that is the minimum of what you need to compensate for clouds😈 Next year I plan to run three (have a NEC6 in the closet that will get its own pier for wide field for the next season)

[Rodd]

3 minutes ago, gorann said:

Yes, two mounts Rodd, that is the minimum of what you need to compensate for clouds😈 Next year I plan to run three (have a NEC6 in the closet that will get its own pier for wide field for the next season)

I wish I could--but, as you know, two mounts really means 2 computers, 2 cameras, 2 sets of filters (2 filter wheels) etc, etc, etc.  I would like to switch to a pier though--it would give me probably an extra hour before meridian flips.  I would like to get an AP1100with encoders....not much chance of that though.