NGC 2903 - LRGB

[PhotoGav]

NGC 2903 is a barred spiral galaxy found just below the head of Leo at around 20 to 30 million light years from Earth. It has a significantly high rate of star formation all around the core of the galaxy, visible as the pinkish HII regions. Apart from that, it's a pretty regular galaxy. It's a bit smaller than the Milky Way at around 80,000 light years diameter. It makes for a pretty picture though! It is a 9th magnitude fuzzy blob, which is visible in a telescope. Though it wasn't catalogued by Messier, perhaps he just knew it wasn't a comet?! It was first discovered and catalogued by William Herschel in November 1784. The faint fuzzy blob below NGC 2903 is the distant irregular galaxy, UGC 5086, some 24 million light years from Earth.

 

 

Technical Specs

Celestron EdgeHD 8" with QSI 683-WSG8 and Astrodon 31mm filters, all on a Mesu-200 mount.

L = 39 x 1200s
RGB = 18 x 600s
TOTAL = 22 hours

I also shot some H alpha data, but it didn't add anything to the image, so I didn't use it. It is amazing how much the HII regions have shown up with just the Red filter.

The data were gathered at the end of March, but I've only just got round to processing it. All done with APP and PhotoShop.

I hope you like the image and I look forward to hearing your comments.

Clear skies!

 

[MarkAR]

Cracking image right down to the faintest whiffs of the outer arms.

[souls33k3r]

Absolutely stunning. Was this imaged sat F/10?

[Laurin Dave]

Marvellous rendition Gav!  Well done

Dave

[PhotoGav]

Thank you @MarkAR, @souls33k3r and @Laurin Dave!

@souls33k3r - yes, it was at the telescope's native focal length of 2032mm at f10. Thank goodness for the Mesu! The main reason I purchased that mount was to improve the long focal length stuff and thankfully it is working. I just need to upgrade my seeing and I will get better results! Can't find a reliable website for that upgrade though......

[souls33k3r]

1 hour ago, PhotoGav said:

Thank you @MarkAR, @souls33k3r and @Laurin Dave!

@souls33k3r - yes, it was at the telescope's native focal length of 2032mm at f10. Thank goodness for the Mesu! The main reason I purchased that mount was to improve the long focal length stuff and thankfully it is working. I just need to upgrade my seeing and I will get better results! Can't find a reliable website for that upgrade though......

Mate don't blame you for going the Mesu 200 route. A beast of a mount and worth every penny. You brave soul imaging at f/10. With my bortle class and seeing, it would take me 20 years to get a single image done at that f ratio 😛

[tomato]

Great result, for an interesting comparison here is my effort using a faster scope (Esprit 150 F7) and smaller pixel CMOS camera ASI 178. You have crisper detail and a deeper image which is what it is all about, but mine only took 8.7 hrs of integration.

For those that follow the Ronald Reagan approach to his film making i.e. "We don't want quality, we want it by Thursday",  mine is the way to go! 😄

Thanks also for identifying the irregular galaxy which I had no luck with. 

[PhotoGav]

1 hour ago, tomato said:

Great result, for an interesting comparison here is my effort using a faster scope (Esprit 150 F7) and smaller pixel CMOS camera ASI 178. You have crisper detail and a deeper image which is what it is all about, but mine only took 8.7 hrs of integration.

For those that follow the Ronald Reagan approach to his film making i.e. "We don't want quality, we want it by Thursday",  mine is the way to go! 😄

Thanks also for identifying the irregular galaxy which I had no luck with. 

That is definitely an interesting comparison. I’m constantly wondering whether I would do better with an Esprit 150. The focusing would certainly be easier. The Edge is a pillock to focus!

There are a couple more faint and distant fuzzies on the right hand side of my image... they are in the hundreds of millions of light years away. It’s big out there!!

[Laurin Dave]

Here's another one through an Esprit150 (colour through the Esprit100 )..  nothing in it really Gav, although I do prefer your colour

Dave

 

[gorann]

Excellent Gav! I should point one of my SCTs on this one, one day (no astrodarkness up here).

Until then I can throw another Esprit 150 image into the mix. It is only 3.5 hours at f/7 and taken with an ASI071, so OSC. Was the first light for my Mesu 200 (if a mount can see light...)

Tomato @tomato - your galaxy is very nice but something must have happened to your stars during processing since they are almost all red (although some should be white or even blue) and a bit dark ringed (the latter could be from HDRM if you use PI).

[PhotoGav]

Are you all on a commission with Sky-Watcher??!! All these Esprit 150 shots... I like, I want, I'm annoyed with the Edge 8" despite it giving me usable results. As you well know, there is an affliction for the humble astrophotographer that there is always a better result available with an upgrade or two and I am suffering from the affliction particularly painfully right now!!

As for astro-darkness... it is about to wane to nothing here too. Globular season is upon us... which has multiple issues for focusing with an SCT and SGP... argh!!!!

Finally, the upgrade to Astrodon RGB filters has seriously improved the colour that I get with broadband images. Well worth every penny.