M16 Eagle above Sydney skies

[Startrek (Martin)]

1st time imaging M16 Eagle Nebula under Sydney’s light pollution
6” f6 Bintel newt on an HEQ5 mount
PHD2 guiding ( moved the guide scope from off set shoe bracket on to a losmandy bar along top of tube rings )
Mount not balanced that well but guiding was ok around 1.20 to 1.40 arc sec error
Seeing was average , plenty of dew around and a few annoying wispy high clouds drifting by
ISO 800
Canon 600D with Baader coma corrector
42 x 2 minute dithered guided subs
20 x darks
Stacked in DSS
Processed in Startools

Thanks for looking , comments most welcome

[Bobbyoutback]

Well done

Bobby

[Nikolas (Nik)]

Great effort and nice definition with an uncooled camera. Well done

[xelasnave]

Sydney sky and a six inch...what more does one need. Well done.
Alex

[Startrek (Martin)]

Thanks All
I was intending to capture 2 hours plus but the clouds rolled in
Still happy with the outcome
I forgot to mention I don’t use any filters either ,Startools does a great job of cleaning up the image removing most of the gradients and noise
Cheers

[muletopia (Chris)]

Gee Martin I don't know how you put up with such viewing conditions, sure plays havock with your star resolution so well done.


Chris

[Startrek (Martin)]

Thanks Chris
Yeh it’s a struggle imaging in Sydney, but fortunately I have a weekender on the NSW south coast with Bortle 3/4 skies and considerably more unobstructed views of the night sky. I keep my 8” f5 imaging newt and my 12” Goto visual scope down there ( my Astro getaway )
Cheers

[ChrisV (Chris)]

I reckon that's pretty damn good for an hour an a half. Come on, get 6 hours and blow us all away!!

[Sunfish (Ray)]

Well done . Has the three dimensional shape of the eagle in there which is good for a short run of exposures. Can look small and pretty flat in my short run.

[Startrek (Martin)]

Thanks Chris and Ray
Yes we all want more data but either fatigue, cloud, dew or a big tree ends our imaging session
Cheers

[mynameiscd (Andy)]

Great image Martin,
Like Ray said its got a real 3D look to it.
Pillars are looking clear and defined as well.
Must be a challenge with Sydney's LP especially framing with a dslr.
I find it hard with zero LP so in Sydney it must be a nightmare.
Well done,
Cheers
Andy

[Ant0nio (Tony)]

Great result Martin, pleasing colours also.
Tony

[LostInSp_ce]

Considering all of the constraints you had to deal with on the night, it's turned out well for a first crack.

[Startrek (Martin)]

Thanks Andy, Ray and LIS
Andy
I use BYEOS, framing, focus and capture software as my laptop is connected to my mount , DSLR, guide camera etc...2m away
It makes that part of AP quite easy under LP skies
Also I use EQMOD and Stellarium for tracking and Goto ( don’t use the Synscan hand controller anymore , except for PA ) so finding objects is also very efficient and accurate
Nevertheless the light pollution and neighbours lights are very frustrating but you get use to it and work around it the best you can, I put up tarps to limit the direct glare to my OTA , but light bounces off everything
Thanks again