A couple of galaxies

[Mickoid]

Had another go last night from suburban Melbourne while we approach a new moon with clear skies. I decided to shoot a couple of galaxies that were favourably placed between trees and buildings and were a bit more of a challenge from light polluted skies. Popular M104 and not so photographed M61. M61 is part of the Virgo cluster so a few faint friends have appeared in the frame. Warm nights here in Melbourne are creating issues with noise on uncooled cameras. More subs would have helped but I can't justify the extra time needed when sleep is more important. Something must be sacrificed!

M104 - 20 x 1min 1600 iso darks, no flats.
M61 - 3 x 1min, 7 x 40 secs 1600 iso darks, no flats.
SW f 5.5 Esprit 100 and Canon unmodded 550d on HEQ5 pro.

[Anth10]

Hi Mickoid,
You've managed again to resolve galaxies with your esprit in less than perfect conditions. The sombrero is very clear considering the noise from the warm temp that evening. You must be happy with this. As for M61 this is a very small galaxy and you've done exceptionally well to get such a clean image too. More time would always improve your overall result as always but I can understand jamming in time is always difficult. Maybe some darker skies over the school holidays perhaps?
PS that field flattner really makes a difference, crisp to the far edges. Really like these widefield images.

[Mickoid]

Thanks for your encouraging words Anth10, I'm having a lot of fun with this little scope but with only 550mm of focal length to play with, some of these objects a rather small and difficult to resolve. Moon will be waxing over the next few weeks in a lead up to the full moon at Easter, so I may be restricted to just capturing the brighter objects over the break.

[ZeroID]

Hi Michael, same problem for me, rather small target even with a 100mm ED @ f7. But your pix are pretty dang good all the same. I rather like the look of a galaxy embedded in a sea of stars.
The only real answer is a bigger f # and more aperture to keep the exposure time reasonable.

[Somnium]

i love looking at images like your M61. there are so many galaxies in that field it is an amazing example of the scale and scope of the universe. keep up the good work.

[Mickoid]

Glad you're enjoying the widefield shots I've been posting. Yes, the huge expanse of space really makes you realise how insignificant we all are spinning around this star in a far away galaxy. It hurts your brain thinking about it really and like you said, seeing so many galaxies scattered around the field makes you wonder what we're all doing here.

I had a look at some of your astro shots on Facebook and they are really top shelf stuff. You have great skills in this hobby and your time-lapse video of the building of the observatory is very entertaining. Love the special appearance of the cat over seeing the construction site , could have been a council building inspector in disguise :lol:

[Somnium]

they are a bunch of freeloaders, didn't lift a finger:)

[LostInSp_ce]

Another couple of great wide field shots Michael. I really like that Sombrero one. You're really putting that scope to work. :thumbsup:

[sil]

ditto. I'm just going to go have a little cry now.