Stargazing My Latest M-51: A Comparison with Previous Attempts

  • Thread starter Thread starter russ_watters
  • Start date Start date
AI Thread Summary
The latest imaging attempt of M-51 involved nearly four hours of guided LRGB data, despite inconsistent skies contributing to noise. An accidental filter misalignment led to wasted processing time, but the user managed to redo the blue channel with limited transparency. The discussion includes comparisons with previous attempts at capturing the same galaxy and mentions the recent acquisition of an Orion ED80 apochromatic refractor for improved widefield imaging. The user expresses excitement about learning and achieving noticeable improvements in their astrophotography skills. Overall, the experience remains enjoyable and highlights the ongoing journey of mastering the craft.
russ_watters
Mentor
Insights Author
Messages
23,694
Reaction score
11,133
Still climbing the learning curve...

Here's my latest M-51, nearly 4 hours worth of data, guided, lrgb. The skies were pretty inconsistent (making it noisier than it should be), so I'm actually pretty pleased with the result.

When imaging, I accidentally slid my filters the wrong direction and ended up with two sets of reds - it took about 4 hours of mostly wasted processing time to figure that out. Tonight I had just enough transparency to redo the blue (it isn't great data, but it'll do). I'm still fiddling with the image, but this is about 95% complete. Note the dim, distant galaxy in the upper-right.

Compare with my previous two tries at this galaxy...
https://www.physicsforums.com/showpost.php?p=1238705&postcount=156
https://www.physicsforums.com/showpost.php?p=999862&postcount=125

I just bought an Orion ED80 apochromatic refractor to use as a guidescope and for widefield imaging. I haven't taken many pictures of clusters with my new scope because the fov is too small, so I'll probably get a bunch in the next few weeks (they are easy - they don't take much exposure).
 

Attachments

  • m51-lrgb.jpg
    m51-lrgb.jpg
    13.3 KB · Views: 542
Astronomy news on Phys.org
Pretty nice, Russ. You'll probably have fun with that APO. I've got an 80mm f:5.6 Vernonscope APO that is pretty nice as a WF imager.
 
I'm loving your site russ, nice gallery
 
Thanks. I've been updating it a lot lately.

Here's a new pic of M63 I took a few days ago. Compare it to the previous one on my site...

I still have a lot to learn, but it is fun being on the part of the learning curve where improvements from one image to the next are drastic.
 

Attachments

  • m63-3-18-07.jpg
    m63-3-18-07.jpg
    16.1 KB · Views: 588
Last edited:
All I can say is WOW!.
 
russ_watters said:
Still climbing the learning curve...

Here's my latest M-51, nearly 4 hours worth of data, guided, lrgb. The skies were pretty inconsistent (making it noisier than it should be), so I'm actually pretty pleased with the result.

Here's a new pic of M63 I took a few days ago.
Very nice, considering the skies through which the light must pass.

You need to get out west - like the Grand Canyon - where the skies clearer.

Now this is what you could do if you had your own satellite.

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2007/12mar_stereoeclipse.htm?list183321
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Thread 'Potential biosignature found in Mars rock'

Publication: Redox-driven mineral and organic associations in Jezero Crater, Mars Article: NASA Says Mars Rover Discovered Potential Biosignature Last Year Press conference The ~100 authors don't find a good way this could have formed without life, but also can't rule it out. Now that they have shared their findings with the larger community someone else might find an explanation - or maybe it was actually made by life.
View full post »

Thread 'Does it make sense to build new radio telescopes?'

TL;DR Summary: In 3 years, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) telescope (or rather, a system of telescopes) should be put into operation. In case of failure to detect alien signals, it will further expand the radius of the so-called silence (or rather, radio silence) of the Universe. Is there any sense in this or is blissful ignorance better? In 3 years, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) telescope (or rather, a system of telescopes) should be put into operation. In case of failure to detect...
View full post »

Thread 'Our Beautiful Universe - Photos and Videos'

This thread is dedicated to the beauty and awesomeness of our Universe. If you feel like it, please share video clips and photos (or nice animations) of space and objects in space in this thread. Your posts, clips and photos may by all means include scientific information; that does not make it less beautiful to me (n.b. the posts must of course comply with the PF guidelines, i.e. regarding science, only mainstream science is allowed, fringe/pseudoscience is not allowed). n.b. I start this...
View full post »

Similar threads

Stargazing Can You Capture Colors on Consecutive Nights with a Telescope?
Replies
4
Views
1K
Mathematica This Week's Finds in Mathematical Physics (Week 241)
Replies
8
Views
4K

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top