M83

[Estram]

This turned out better than I hoped.

Recently acquired an 8 inch Newt, and given the clear skies in Sydney thought I would give it a spin.

First time imaging with a newt, so didn't expect it to go perfectly

Pretty sure collimation and focus weren't quite right
No coma corrector yet
And pushing the limits of my HEQ5 pro mount.
I think my flat frames didn't correct properly either so ended up with some funny gradients so had to keep the background quite dark

However, all in all I had a lot of fun playing with a new scope!

About 3hours of integration time with the ZWO 533mc pro at -10c, 90s subs, from light polluted Sydney. Stacked and processed in pixinsight.

[Mickoid]

That's a fine result from your first go imaging with a Newtonian Michael. An 8 inch on a HEQ5 is not easy to balance and it's probably pushing the recommended payload for that mount as you say but 'Proof is in the Pudding' and the result is a pretty dam good pudding! Focus may have been a bit off but poor seeing can also soften the look of stars and reduce detail as well, so your focus may have been ok. You've also processed this image very well, natural looking and good colour balance, so extra points for that! I'd say you had a very successful session with your new scope so here's hoping you'll be showing us a lot more of what it can do, maybe with the help of CC in the future :thumbsup:

[Estram]

Cheers for the reply!

Had the scope back out tonight and do think focus was partly off with the m83 image, although seeing wasn't great early on either.

Suspect I will alternate between this scope and my refractor a bit - the refractor is certainly easier to manage but there's something appealing about the challenge of the newt for smaller targets

[Dave882]

Really nice image Michael. Yes maybe a bit soft but great colour and detail still revealed. Well done!