SGL 2023 Challenge 4 - Galaxies

[MartinB]

It is galaxy season again.  This challenge has pretty wide parameters, we just want to see striking galaxy images, single galaxies, groups of galaxies, interacting galaxies, what ever takes your fancy.  

Please include details of equipment used and other capture information.

Start date 2nd April 2023

End date 30th June 

No entries will be accepted after this date.

 

As previously the winner and runners up will receive an SGL challenge mug showing their image along with a virtual medal-of-honour for their SGL signature.

Please post entries directly into this thread

To keep the thread manageable for the judges please do not post comments about entries, emoji reactions are welcome of course.

--

RULES

All data must be captured and processed by you (no collaborative entries). 
Data must be captured during the challenge start & end dates. 
Multiple entries are allowed but please make a fresh post within the thread.
Multiple submissions of the same image, processed differently, will not be accepted.

[Justin richens]

MESSIER 51 - WHIRLPOOL GALAXY

evostar 120ed ds pro - HEQ5 - ASI224 - ASIAIR Plus - IR/UV Filter - stacked in asi studio, finished in Lightroom and photoshop.

 

The moon was pretty close to this and was lighting up the sky.

[Paul M]

I don't do challenges, and I present here a demonstartion of why!! 🤣 

This is M101 imaged early on the 3rd of April, using my beatiful StellaLyra RC10, ASI017MC Pro Camera, new-to-me Borg 60ED guidescope and ASI120mm guide camera. Captured with APT and PHD2. 64 x 90 sec @ gain 240. I'd normally be at unity gain but I'm just experimenting with ideas here. It's cropped just to remove stacking artifacts.

It was something like a 75% Moon which killed it a bit. Gradients all over the show. So this is a collaboration between ASTAP and Siril. But mostly Siril in the end. My processing workflow in Siril is: press shiny buttons and slide sliders and see what happens. To be honest some of the new features in Siril saved this data form the scrap heap. But there is no chance of me ever replicating that route. 

I'm happy with my final output but realise that even after dragging a dodgy stack out of the abyss, it's still a gainy, under fed image.

Anyway, just in case I miss the award ceremony; I'd like to thank.... 😁

[Stefan73]

And after weeks of unrelenting cloud I got 3 clear nights in a row!  Here's another M51.  189 180s subs spread across 2nd, 3rd and 4th April from a 130PDS and ASI2600MC (gain 100 offset 24) on an EQ6-R with OAG guiding.  All controlled by Astroberry.  Stacking and processing in GraXpert, Siril and StarTools.  Tried drizzling to get a bit more resolution.

Thanks for looking.

[tomato]

Here is my first effort  M91 in Coma Berenices, not exactly a good choice with the moon up at 50 degrees elevation and ~95% illuminated at the beginning of April,  but there you go.

This is 11.8 hrs integration with the dual Esprit150/ASI178/Mesu rig made up of:

L 187 x 2mins

R 62 x 2 mins

G 47 x 2 mins

B 58 x 2 mins

All binned 2x2 so imaging at 0.94 arcsec per pixel.

Calibrated and stacked in APP, processed in PI with the RC tool kit.  I don't think M91 has the popular name the "Tie Fighter Galaxy", but this rendition bears a resemblance.

 

 

 

[tomato]

So after my last effort and with the moon still quite obtrusive I went for something bright and big, M51, the Whirlpool Galaxy.

This is 18.3 hrs captured over 3 nights, based on FWHM values, seeing was good on the first session (which was impacted by the moon) and poor on the final session (no moon, wonderfully transparent but highly turbulent atmosphere). Captured with the Esprit150/ASI178/LRGB/Mesu dual rig, all data binned 2x2, so at 0.94 arcsec per pixel. I tried as far as possible to image on every night before and after the meridian transit to maximise the elevation of the galaxy. Channel details as follows:

L 281 x 2 mins

R 93 x 2 mins

G 88 x 2 mins

B 88 x 2 mins

Calibrated and stacked in APP, LP removal and colour calibration applied. The processed in PI with BXT, SXT, then Histogram and Curves applied to the star and starless images. Recombined with PixelMath then adjustments made in Affinity Photo. NXT applied with quite conservative settings, 18 hrs of data helps with the noise.

 

 

Edited April 27 by tomato

[wimvb]

Probably the last target for this season, M81 in HaRGB

Telescope: SkyWatcher 190MN

Camera: ZWO ASI294MM-Pro with Optolong RGB filters and Baader 7nm Ha filter

Integration: 3 x 2 hrs for RGB and 10 hrs for Ha, captured between april 4 and april 11

[powerlord]

Here's last night's effort - first time I've setup the big boy (300pds) in the new Observatory.

Shot with my asi2600 - having managed to get the tilt out of it.

Seeing was not wonderful, and it was raining till 11pm, and then cloudy in the morning, so just under 3 hours of 5 min subs in the end.

I stacked in APP, and processed in Siril and Affinity Photo with Russell Croman's tools.

There's a few other wee galaxies in there, but it would really need better seeing and longer integration I think to bring them out.

[Doversole]

M101, the Pinwheel Galaxy caputered on the 2nd / 3rd April with almost a full Moon!

First clear night in West Sussex for about 7 or 8 weeks....

This was caputured using a RC8 scope on a Skywatcher EQ6R-Pro, with an ASI71MC cool colour camera. As the Moon was very bright, I opted for short exposures. So that's eventually 110x60s!

Processed with PixInsight, using Blur and NoiseXTerminator from RC Astro. Thanks for looking.

 

[Bikingbill]

NGC 4565 the Needle Galaxy. Taken on the 13th April 2023 using my old Orion Optics 8" and ZWO 533MC on a HEQ5 pro. I managed  30 x 120 second subs before the clouds rolled in. Processed in PixInsight and photoshop.

 

 

 

 

 

[tomato]

Here is my next effort, M88 in Coma Berenices. 9.53 hrs with the Esprit 150/ASI178/LRGB dual rig as follows:

L 141 x 2 mins

R 47 x 2 mins

G 49 x 2 mins

B 49 x 2 mins

All data binned 2x2, imaging at 0.94 arcsecs per pixel. Calibrated, stacked and LRGB combined in APP, colour calibrated with SPCC in PI, the BXT, SXT applied. Histogram and Curves transformation then images recombined with Pixel Math. Further adjustments in Affinity Photo, then NXT applied in PI. The annotated image is also attached.

 

[wimvb]

The Whale and the Hockey stick, ngc 4631 and ngc 4656. In the background a lot of faint fuzzies

Data captured 15th - 18th of april. LHaRGB with a total exposure time of 1026 minutes (17 hours and 6 minutes)

Telescope: SW 190MN

Camera: ZWO ASI294MM

Processed in PixInsight

[Radec]

Outstanding image - no substitute for integration time! Well done

[Doversole]

A very nice couple of galaxies in the constellation Canes Venatici: The Whale and the Hockey Stick.

Imaged with an Stellalyra RC8 scope on a Skywatcher EQ6-R Pro, ASI071MC camera. 92x180s frames.

[ste7e]

First light for my new QHY268M.  My own attempt at M51 with Ha.

SkyWatcher 200PDS on EQ6R-pro, QHY268M, OAG & filter wheel, Antlia filters, Nina for capture PixInsight for integration and Photoshop for final touches. 

L: 70 x 60s

R: 60 x 60s

G: 60 x 60s

B: 40 x 120s 

Ha: 30 x 300s

L, R & G collected on first night.  B & Ha collected on second night

 

[Vroobel]

Hi,

The Markarian's Chain, 19-20/4/2023

Altair 102EDT + Planostar M92 x0.8 (F/5.6), IDAS LPS-P2, ASI 2600MC-Pro @ Celestron CGX
152 x 60s, Gain 0, Offset 50, -10°C
Astrobery+KStars+Ekos, ASTAP, PixInsight, Affinity Photo

Full size picture: https://www.astrobin.com/full/v6wchq/D/?mod=&real=

 

Edited April 21 by Vroobel

[gorann]

M94, NGC4618 and NGC4625

Astrodarkness is rapidly dissapearing here at 60°N and at the end of the season I have hunted a few galaxies with my dual-RASA8 rig. It is good at revealing outer dust layers and despite its short focal length it is not that bad at resolving details in the cores of bigger galaxies. I do not think I have seen an image of M94 with such an extensive and distinct outer ring.

Captured 19-20 April 2023. Dual-RASA8 rig with ASI2600MC (no filter) on a Mesu 200. 114 x 3 minutes, so about 6 hours. Processed in PI and PS with all the new XTerminator procedures of course.

Cheers, Göran

Edited April 22 by gorann

[Dustspeakers]

It's been a while since my last post, but its galaxy season so...

NGC 2903 is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation of Leo about 30 million light years away. It is about 100,000 light years in diameter.
Imaged on 19 Apr 2023:
- CGX mount
- C925 SCT scope with x0.7 reducer
- ASI 533MC camera
- 66 x 180s (~3.3 hrs)
Processed in APP, StarTools and Affinity

[gorann]

Black Eye Galaxy (M64) and the Sturgeon Nebula

This large molecular cloud (or IFN) near M64 does apparently not have a name or catalogue entry. I could not find any previous image on Astrobin that shows the full extension of the cloud, and when I see it I see a sturgeon (maybe because I am a fish biologist). Head to the left and the  typical asymmetrical tail to the right. Also the image reveal more of the outer dust of M64 than usually captured with longer focal length scopes that are typically used for imaging galaxies.

Captured 20-21 April 2023 with my dual-RASA8 rig with ASI2600MC (no filter) on a Mesu 200. 152 x 3 min, so 7.6 hours. Processed in PI and PS with the new XTerminator procedures.

Cheers, Göran
 

[tomato]

Astro dark is now dwindling fast in Shropshire, but an excellent night last week enabled me to get 8.37 hrs on M100, another quite large and bright galaxy in Coma Berenices. My pet name for this one is 'the Blurry Galaxy' as it always seems more tricky to capture detail on this subject compared to M51 for example. The disproportionately bright core doesn't help either. As usual captured with the Esprit150/ASI178/LRGB dual rig, binned 2x2.

SPCC and CSC didn't seem to do a decent job on the colours on this one, so I adjusted the RGB channel contributions in APP until I got something close to reference images I was using. I used a masked stretch in PI to try and preserve some core detail. BXT also made a big impact on this dataset.

 

 

 

[CCD-Freak]

So...I wanted to try something different to get "up close and personal" with galaxies so I tried an experiment imaging NGC4565 by attaching an ASI-482MC non cooled planet camera on my Ultima C8 on my GEM45 mount.  I figured that with enough exposures and dithering I could get a smooth image.  As usual everything was working against me...the seeing was bad, the scope was a bit out of collimation after the 200 mile road trip among other things.  I exposed 100 x 120 seconds captured and processed with Astroart 8.  But even with all the issues I think the experiment was a success.   I am a bit amazed that a non cooled planetary camera could work this well on a DSO.   I will be working with this setup during galaxy season to see if I can get it dialed in and hopefully I can get a night of good seeing to test it's full potential. 

[wimvb]

Yesterday astro darkness officially ended here in the North, and won't return until mid August. So this is my final entry in this competition, M63 in Canes Venatici

Imaged with the SkyWatcher 190MN and ZWO ASI294MM

Optolong RGB filters and Baader 7nm H-alpha filter

Total exposure time 14 hours, imaged over four nights 19 - 22 April

Processed in PixInsight

Edited April 23 by wimvb
upload trouble

[CCD-Freak]

NGC5033 is a beautiful spiral that doesn't get much attention.

100 x 180 seconds  ASI-533MC with a UV-IR filter through an AT10RC on an AP900GTO mount at my SRO dark site

Captured and processed with Astroart 7

[Chrissyfbpe]

12 minutes ago, CCD-Freak said:

NGC5033 is a beautiful spiral that doesn't get much attention.

100 x 180 seconds  ASI-533MC with a UV-IR filter through an AT10RC on an AP900GTO mount at my SRO dark site

Captured and processed with Astroart 7

That photo is totally amazing omg 🤩

[DaveS]

The Cosmic Horseshoe

From a challenge set by @Xilman. Ignore the foreground galaxies, the target is the ridiculously tiny bullseye in the centre (And shown in the crop). This is 6 hours of Luminance only in 10 min subs captured in Maxim with the ODK 12 and Trius 694 using a Baader L filter.

Stacked and processed in AstroArt 8 which did a better job than PixInsight in this case.

The ring is a galaxy at 10.5 GLy that is being lensed by the foreground galaxy at 5.3 GLy. My tiny mind is slightly boggled that I managed to capture a gravitationally lensed galaxy with not very extreme amateur equipment from my back garden. it is mag 20.3!