M83 Southern Pinwheel Galaxy

[Startrek (Martin)]

Captured M83 Southern Pinwheel Galaxy as my last imaging session before the rain set in
35 x 4 minute dithered subs
15 x darks
ISO 800
PHD2 guiding
Canon 600D unmodded
Stacked in DSS
Processed in Startools
Rain and cloudy weather for at least a week according to the forecast up and down the NSW coastal strip

[casstony]

Very nice Martin. I hope to do as well when I try the 8" SCT on galaxies.

[Anth10 (Anthony M)]

Nice M83 Martin,
Plenty of detail in the arms and ha coming through too with splashes of pink seen. I have found startools to be quite handy in noise reduction and general smoothing but I have steered clear of using deconvolution and magic when applying it to stars. It has a tendency to over saturate the centres as well as leaving smudges surrounding them. Overall you’ve managed a captivating image. Well done.
Anth

[Karlzburg (Karl)]

Looks great Martin, I should have a go of it when I’m done imaging my current DSO.

[Startrek (Martin)]

Tony
Thanks for the nice comment
This image was taken with my 6” f6 newt which did a great job. Looking forward to capturing M83 on my new 8” f5

Anthony
Thanks so much , I did manage to capture just over 2 hours of data which exposed some good detail.The DSLR was running at 34deg C which is still way to high. I’d like to capture M83 on a cool night ( DSLR at 25deg C ) which would make a big difference in the final image
Still learning Startools after using it for nearly 9 months, it’s a shame Ivo didn’t compile a proper detailed manual as the Startools generic manual was never finished and the version 1.3.5 by Steven Statts is very basic and doesn’t go into great detail to explore scenarios
So many variables to explore but it’s great software for the beginner and you always get a reasonable result
Cheers

[Startrek (Martin)]

Hi Karl
Thanks for the kind comment
Finally just got my new 8” f5 and EQ6-R Mount , I’m away for 2 weeks attending a wedding and visiting family along the north coast so can’t wait to start using the new rig early April
It raining and cloudy for a week and a bit so my trip has come at a good time
Cheers

[xelasnave]

That is a magic image Martin.
I wonder if there is someone there imaging us☺
Alex

[Startrek (Martin)]

Thanks Alex for the kind works

As Anthony mentioned I was a little to heavy on deconvolution as the bigger stars looked artificially enhanced or over saturated
Nevertheless I’m really happy the results I’m getting at the moment due to putting in some serious hours ( early morning hours ) and processing lots of data. Also added “dithering”!to my procedures which is making a lot of difference to the final image
I now have my GSO 8” f5 and EQ6-R Mount which will be set up ready to use early April
Thanks again

[mynameiscd (Andy)]

Beautiful image Martin.
You have done the hard yards and are now getting fantastic results.
Really crisp and the colours are spot on.
Cheers
Andy

[Startrek (Martin)]

Thanks Andy
Can’t wait to chase after some other galaxies , they are dim little rascals
Having a break from AP while visiting family plus a wedding etc
Back into it with my new rig early April
Cheers