m108

[alacant]

Hi everyone

Surprised to see The Plough so high at this time of year. That means galaxies. But you need an OAG for 1000mm. It says here.

Well, we didn't have one for this so took a gamble with a guide telescope. Managed 31 of 32 5 minute frames, the lost one being frame 2 when EKOS decided to begin capture before the first dither had settled. I wonder who's fault that was? Oh, and the framing. It would have been easy to include m97 too. 

Apart from being dark, which is once again not the software's fault, the guide telescope seems to have worked; loadsa fuzz patches.

Thanks for looking. Any ideas or comments most welcome.

700d on gso203, ISO800  

Edited January 7, 2021 by alacant

[wimvb]

Great catch. At 2.5 hrs there's still a a fair amount of noise and the image looks a bit soft. How were your sky conditions?

[alacant]

17 minutes ago, wimvb said:

sky conditions?

Hi

60% moon throughout. I suppose I could add more frames. Such a pity about the composition. Maybe best to start over, but this time moonless and include the owl.

Cheers and thanks for posting.

Edited January 7, 2021 by alacant

[Cozzy]

Given the conditions you were shooting through, it's a good image.

[alacant]

Here's an old school rendition, with layers and stuff. Without st's psycho-visuals. My gf likes this one better, '... and much brighter stars.', she adds;)

I hate it! 

[geeklee]

11 minutes ago, alacant said:

I hate it! 

This one looks much clearer, brighter and more detailed to my eye.  Comparing them both now, the first one looks like I need to wipe away a sheen of film to get to image 2.

Good capture either way!

Edited January 8, 2021 by geeklee

[wimvb]

The second image has a clarity that the first image lacks. But in the second image, you've flattened the background to the extent that you lose faint fuzzies. To the right of M108, there are a few fuzzy patches in the first image, that are galaxies at a distance of 1.8 Gly (!), and also near the bright star at "two o'clock" there is a larger fuzzy galaxy that is at 600 Mly. In the second image, you are about to lose that one. This image is definitely worth a revisit, imo.

[alacant]

6 minutes ago, wimvb said:

a revisit

Thanks wim. I wish I had the patience. Maybe I should have made it a new year resolution. Too late now.

Anyway, if we have another night of rain and no more new data, I may just be forced to...

Cheers and thanks for the encouragement.