Boxing day M101

[ngc2403]

Was a good night all in all. the skies were good because the cloud that was about stayed over glasgow and so the LP was less than usual. the sky remained very clear all night and the fog that was forcast never appeared

There was some dew but other wise a good night, the first in many weeks

The setup was the OO 10'' on the HEQ5 guided by the OrionStatshoot in the 80mm ST.

the canon 350D was used to check collimation quickly before i started but i looked ok and i couldn't be bother to change it, mainly because the time was now nearly 2am.

starting the setup at 1:30am after coming home i did the usual one star align then park then three star align, then focus guider, then camera, then pick target

I thought a nice big face on spiral would be nice so did M101, never done it before so i am pleased with the result though the more i use the 10'' the more i know i need the flattener

SUB's 5x10mins ISO800 and 5x10mins ISO400

just as a wee aside the ISO400 shots were better than the ISO 800 as they had less LP! i will post the images combined and processed equally to show the difference

anyway why your all here

M101 my first bash at it enjoy

(click to enlarge)

thanks for reading

ally

suggestions are most welcome

[Les Tilly]

Very nice 101 Ally, I remember having to spend alot of imaging time to get a decent result

Thanks for sharing

Les

[barkis]

That's a very sweet looking Image Ally.

Splendid spirals and a neat core. Beautiful.

Ron. :salute:

[brendant]

Great M101 Ally, lovely detail in the lanes, lovely prcessing.

Brendan

[beamish]

Now that is nice , just noticed you've got the OO 10" and a guider on an HEQ5 :shock: nice one !

[George]

Nice image that Ally, plenty of detail and good processing

[narrowbandpaul]

well chuffed for you dude....

thats a great M101, really good.

did the mount guide out the jump at the end of the worm alright?

very good.

Whats next??!!

M51? 42?...just think of the possibilities

[ngc2403]

yeah paul i have not lost a sub that i have guided so far.

I have done M51 and if i am out early then i might get M42

maybe do some more galaxies next and perhaps some of the Virgo cluster with the 5'' refractor, guided

have you been doing anything over the holidays?

ally

[narrowbandpaul]

yes...working at the queens in Bridge of allan

bar work, but after the christmas hell, should get in the restaurant

difficult pressured work, but the same skills are required for flying, so I dont mind it that much.

Bar manager and general manager both sound...

no imaging....bit offa sore throat/cold...and clouds.

god only knows what douglas' next great plan is!

what have you been up to?

I need to start doing some phys/astro q's, and I have a week off now till I next work!

paul

[MartinB]

Great M101 Ally, the dim outer arms are showing up very well.

[Psychobilly]

Very Nice Ally

How did i miss this one I had a first look at this one in the wide field lastnight

Billy...

[Sam]

Looks great Ally, very nice colour and loads of details.

[steppenwolf]

Nice one, Ally - good clear spiral detail.

[ngc2403]

thank you all,

Paul i have not been doing much to be honest family are over for christmas hols so eating non-stop and the odd night out with the scopes

ally