Captured NGC 300 Spiral Galaxy on Tuesday night in the constellation of Sculptor
A difficult target at only magnitude 9 brightness plus my focal length of only 1000mm and using a DSLR are limiting factors
Even dithered subs and darks couldn’t improve the SNR to an acceptable level in this image
A bit disappointed with the result , but you can’t expect to much out of a DSLR I suppose
32 x 5 minute dithered guided subs
25 x darks
8”f 5 newt on an EQ6-R mount
Canon 600D
ISO 800
PH2 guiding ( 0.85 to 0.95 arc sec error )
Stacked in DSS
Processed in Startools
You’ve taken a photo of an object 6 million light years away and you’re disappointed? You’ve captured the shape of the galaxy nicely. I’m not sure if you have the option in startools but if you could process the galaxy itself whilst leaving the stars unstretched you might end up with a better contrast that shows the Galaxy off better ? Was this from your bortle 8 home ?
Martin, pleeese don't put down DSLRs; with good gear, skill, and perseverance,[ and quite a lot of money] amazing stuff can be produced with a DSLR. The highly respected AP whiz Sarah Wager in her early days used a DSLR, and produced stunning images that often were hard to pick from high quality dedicated AP camera images. The same goes for Tony and Daphne Hallas. One of their M31s was glorious.
raymo
Thanks all for commenting
Ryan
I probably stretched the image a little to much which blows out the stars.I tried stacking various amounts of subs but you can’t escape all that noise I’m afraid
Maybe on another night I might do 3 or 4 minute subs and see how it goes, plenty to learn
Raymo
I’m not putting down DSLR’s at all , I’ve followed Jerry Lodriguss from day one , I have all his e books and his information was invaluable
I took an image of the Pavo Galaxy back in May at mag 9 and it came out so much better. I love my 600D and will be using it for a while yet before upgrading to OSC
It’s probably my in experience in capturing and processing that the image didn’t turn out to my expectations
Steve
Thanks , it is a good image but not a great image , still a lot to learn
Sorry Ryan I didn’t answer your question, it was captured at my weekender under Bortle 3 , although seeing wasn’t that good
I could never shoot 5 minute subs in Sydney , 2 minutes is my limit in Sydney
Cheers
I’m probably setting the bar a bit to high or looking at too many Astro books with images taken by huge observatory’s
My 8” f5 newt is a great scope , and the EQ6-R is a brilliant mount ( a huge improvement on the HEQ5 , not to say the HEQ5 is not a great mount ) and has proven itself time and time again , the 600D is a great camera but noise is always going to be a problem
I guess you just have to manage it as best you can through experience ( plenty of late nights )
