NGC 253 Sculptor Galaxy under Sydney Skies

[Startrek]

Took the opportunity to image a galaxy ( NGC 253 Sculptor Galaxy ) in Sydney during the new moon period as we had 2 clear nights in a row on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.
Haven’t imaged a galaxy in Sydney for quite a while
I’ve watched “Cuiv the lazy geek” on YouTube image galaxies under a white zone Bortle 9 in Tokyo using hundreds of 30 sec and 60 sec subs. His galaxy images are excellent
Used a similar philosophy with plenty of short subs imaging in suburban Sydney under Bortle 7/8 skies and 2 storey homes either side of me with exterior lights blasting my yard all night
Pretty happy how the image turned out

6” f6 GSO Bintel newt
Skywatcher EQ6-R mount
ZWOASI2600MC camera set in Ascom to highest dynamic range Gain 0, cooled to -10C
Baader MPCC Mk3 Coma corrector
289 x 60 sec subs ( dithered every 3rd sub )
40 x Flats ( 1 sec )
40 x Bias
Tracking and Goto EQMOD and Ascom Stellarium
Frame focus and capture APT
PHD2 Multistar guiding ( 0.70 arc sec error total )
Stacked in DSS
Processed in Startools V1.7 OSC Linear data set

Original frame version
Rotated version

Comments welcome
Thanks

[Stephane]

Wow, beautiful shot Martin. The detail in the galaxy is awesome.

I love the results of shorter exposure times with hundreds of subs in terms of light pollution. There are many youtubers who have had tremendous success with this (including Cuiv!)

I see you still use a coma corrector even on the bintel f/6. What light pollution filter do you use? I hope I can get shots half as good as that one day.

[Placidus]

A good result.

[Bassnut]

Given thats RGB in sydney, thats excellent!, sharp as!.

[Dennis]

Really nice - well done.:):thumbsup:

Cheers

Dennis

[Startrek]

Stephane,
Thanks , a lot of effort and time for this result
No external filters used , the 2600MC has an internal UV/ IR cut protective window
Cheers
Martin

[Startrek]

Thanks Mike and Trish 👍

[Startrek]

Fred,
Thanks
I didn’t know what I was going to end up with as I’ve never used such a technique before , but it worked out ok so very pleased especially under less than ideal conditions for AP
Martin

[Startrek]

Thanks Dennis,
It’s amazing what this little 6” newt can pull in over a few hours under heavy LP
It’s been my cheapest outlay in AP , only cost me $299 about 4 years ago
Cheers
Martin

[gregbradley]

Thats an excellent Sculptor Martin.

Lots of short images is like a form of planetary lucky imaging. I think I'll give it a go as well because even with a good mount there is certain amount of blurring that occurs in longer exposures from the guiding corrections and seeing.

Greg.

[multiweb]

That is so good Martin. Sub zero cool. :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

So much better au naturel than some colorful creative pizza rendition I saw yesterday. :lol:

https://m.facebook.com/bintelshop/photos/a.3626586054027659/4577882672231321/?type=3&source=48&__tn__=EH-R

[RobF]

Yep, very satisfying image. Nice one.
(mmmm, pizza...!)

[xelasnave]

I am no expert Martin but I know what I like and I think you have produced a wonderful image...and from Sydney and with "only" a six inch Newtonian reflector telescope... Really that should be in bold .. just think how many more folk would get started in astrophotos if they bought a Newtonian 6 inch rather than wasting time saving for a 80mm...mind you I have used one in the early days so I know just how good they perform.
Again well done..I would like to see what you could do from the South Coast Dome with the Eight inch..just how significant would the difference turn out to be...
Me getting better and spent three days setting up..which is equivalent to your 30 minutes;)
Alex

[Startrek]

Thanks Greg,
I was going to push 90 sec subs ( tried a few ) but I think 45 sec to 60 sec on my little rig was a good sweet spot in regard to SNR and with 300 subs it worked out ok
Don’t know what the point of diminishing return is but I suspect it might be +500 subs )
Cheers
Martin

[Startrek]

Marc,
Thanks so much
Cheers
Martin

[Startrek]

Thanks Rob 👍

Martin

[Startrek]

Alex,
Thanks very much
Appreciate it
Yes both of us have been waving the flag for years regarding the humble 6” newt. My choice was the 6”f6 rather than the 6” f5 as it had 150mm more focal length and a little less forgiving with collimation and coma.I bought it from Don at Bintel over 4 years ago and he fitted a crayford dual speed focuser ( they only came with single speed )A year later I replaced the primary mirror springs with locally made heavy duty springs ( Better Springs Sydney ) and wow what a difference it made.
I have imaged this galaxy from the Dome with my 8” f5 newt but no where near the same amount of integration ( only 2 hours whereas the Sydney image was 5 hours, big difference )
Glad your getting better and more able ( it doesn’t matter how slow things take to do , it’s the fact you are doing it , that’s the most important thing )
Best Always
Martin

[gregbradley]

How large are the individual files?

Did you use Deep Sky Stacker? Does it take a long time to stack them all?

Greg.

[Startrek]

Greg,
Individual fits files from the 2600MC are huge 50MB ea ( irrespective of sub length duration )
If you read my post in software computers regards DSS and stacking duration , it explains it all how I went from a 6hr 20 min stacking time to just 45 mins ( Thanks to Glen ) although what’s unusual is that I tried stacking with short exp Flats ( 0.25 sec up to 1 sec ) and the stacking time reduced even further from Flats that were + 2 sec ( same quantity of 40 ea and same Bias 40 ea )
The Star detection reduction in DSS did the trick though at the end of the day ( from 50 stars to 25 stars ) DSS only needs +8 stars to align

Cheers
Martin

[alpal]

Hi Martin,
that's what I like to see -
a great job with modest equipment -
you don't have to mortgage your house
to take a wonderful picture - even under light pollution.


cheers
Allan

[Ryderscope]

Great work Martin. Looks like you are developing some good techniques for imaging and overcoming some of the challenges. That’s one of the fun things with our hobby as well :thumbsup:

[Startrek]

Thanks Allan,
Yeh it’s great little budget newt with some decent focal length.It was and still is advertised on Bintel’s website as primarily a visual telescope.However I’ve imaged everything with this scope so for me it’s more of an Astro graph
Cheers
Martin

[Startrek]

Thanks Rodney
Very happy with the result
Always trying new things to improve my images
It’s never ending this hobby, plenty of challenges and obstacles but plenty of rewards too
Keeps you on your toes
Cheers
Martin

[CoolhandJo]

Love the detail and colour

[Startrek]

Thanks Paul 👍