NGC300 through Mike's finderscope

[cometcatcher]

I don't know where this belongs. I'm not a beginner but it's not a pro shot either!

It was a great night last night! The neighbours had their spotlight pointed right into the backyard but the observatory walls shield the light.

I had a go at galaxy NGC300, something I haven't imaged before. Some info about it.

"NGC 300 lies only 6 million light years away, spans nearly the same amount of sky as the full moon, and is visible with a small telescope toward the constellation of Sculptor.... It is the brightest of the five main spirals in the direction of the Sculptor Group."

Details: Bintel 8"F4 Newtonian, HEQ5 Pro, 486 x 30 seconds unguided with a Pentax K-5 in the brand new roll off roof observatory. It is sooooo good to finally have an observatory!

[lazjen]

Nice effort. I can relate to the neighbours and light. It's starting to get interesting trying to dodge the various sources. :/

[cometcatcher]

Thanks Chris. I used to have a tree there that blocked the neighbours light but I had it chopped down. Now I can see the sky better along with their lights. Win some lose some I guess.

[Placidus]

Definitely belongs here :thumbsup:

Beautiful overall impression of the galaxy, clear demo of lots of its star-forming regions, and a good haul of distant friends.

[strongmanmike]

Gee, I wish my finderscope could do that Kevin! :eyepop: A respectable NGC 300 :thumbsup: It is a rather bland galaxy but still worth shooting, I decided to add Ha and OIII for just this reason.

The observatory makes all the difference huh? Have you had any discussions with the neighbours about the light? Often tricky but compromises can be found (sometimes)...good luck.

Mike

[cometcatcher]

Thanks Mike & Trish!



Thanks Mike!

The neighbours wife works night shift and is a bit afraid of their dark car shed. Their light illuminates their car shed but our backyard is directly in line after that. We are growing mandarin trees along the boundary (to replace the big avocado we cut down), which in a few years will screen out their lights. In the meantime the obs does a good job.

[strongmanmike]

Aaaah, yes, the'ol lights keep the boogieman away belief....are they at least on a timer?

[RickS]

Very nice image, Kevin. Congrats on the new obsy!

[cometcatcher]

No timer. They go all night and probably into daylight as well. You can see the carport and some lights in this piccy.

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/attachment_browse.php?a=205254



Thanks Rick! It's good to have a home for the telescope.

[strongmanmike]

Dang!...oh well, the observatory still looks very cool :thumbsup:

Mike

[Flugel88]

impressive detail for an unguided pentax

[Tony_]

Nice image Kevin!

This one isn't that easy - fairly low surface brightness - you have done very well with it.
An observatory would be nice - the full set up each time is a killer and wastes time. My backyard isn't suitable - but at least I got a shed now to keep everything in so it is a bit easier.
Also no neighbors would be good - my neighbors don't go to bed until at least 4am on weekends. Luckily I've got trees and a shed to block most of the light.

Tony.

[cometcatcher]

Thanks Michael!



Thanks Tony. I remember trying for it with my F9 refractor a couple of years ago and was unimpressed. It needs a dark sky too.