100 hours of M101, Bortle 8, OSC (inc. SN 2023xif)

[Lee_P]

This image was taken from Bristol city centre, Bortle 8, using an Askar 130PHQ telescope and ZWO ASI2600MC-Pro OSC camera. It's 70 hours of RGB data (no filter) and 30 hours of Optolong L-Ultimate, from which I extracted hydrogen-alpha. I was imaging the galaxy for a month before the supernova, and then that kicked off so I just kept going and going... I was hoping to make a study of the supernova's varying brightness, but that didn't come out too well, so I made a single image with all the data instead! It was a real challenge and I learned a lot during this project. There's lots more info on my website here, and the key imaging details are at the bottom of this post.

 

This is the last clear night I had before the supernova was detected; and then the night after it was found.

 

And just for fun, here's my effort versus Hubble 😂 

 

 

 

* 21 April to 16 June 2023 to (8 weeks)
* Bristol, UK (Bortle 8 )
* Telescope: Askar 130PHQ Flatfield Astrograph
* Camera: ZWO ASI 2600MC-PRO
* Mount: Sky-Watcher EQ6-R PRO
* Guide: William Optics 50mm Guidescope with 1.25″ RotoLock; ZWO ASI 120MM Mini
* Control: ASIAIR Plus
* Software: PixInsight, Lightroom
* Filters:
– No filter 2100 x 120 seconds (70 hours)
– Optolong L-Ultimate 900 x 120 seconds (30 hours)

Total exposure time: 100 hours

By Lee Pullen

Edited June 22, 2023 by Lee_P

[Elp]

The dedication is, well, dedicated and determined, bravo.

[Richard_]

Simply outstanding Lee! I had to do a double take on the Hubble image as I couldn't tell which one was yours and which one was Hubble's! Well done. 

[Lee_P]

2 minutes ago, Richard_ said:

Simply outstanding Lee! I had to do a double take on the Hubble image as I couldn't tell which one was yours and which one was Hubble's! Well done. 

Haha, well to be fair the Hubble image at its full resolution does absolutely blow mine out of the water, as you'd expect -- but I got H-alpha and a supernova, and Hubble didn't 😂

[maw lod qan]

Excellent!

The image that shows no SN, then does show it is really eye opening!

Just seeing the amount of visible light makes it really apparent how large of an area this would have affected!

[simmo39]

V cool images, I bet the SN neighbours are complaining about the light pollution!

[Sunshine]

Gorgeous image!

[tomato]

Another phenomenal result from your location.👍

[Elp]

What this also admirably demonstrates is just because there's no astronomical darkness, it doesn't mean you have to stop imaging (unless you're so far north or south it's just not dark enough, or due to life circumstances). I image all year around, yes the nights are short ATM and not truly dark, but I've gained good results and start imaging whilst the sky is still slightly blue, histogram peak is at midpoint or higher but the detail is still in the final images after processing, it works to my requirement.

Edited June 23, 2023 by Elp