NGC 253 Sculptor Galaxy from NexDome Obs

[Startrek]

Captured NGC 253 Scuplptor Galaxy for the second time within a week or so , but this time 220km away from my NexDome Obs under Bortle 3 Skies and a bigger scope.
I was at my dark site retirement retreat for 4 days but only had one clear night where conditions were extremely poor. A first quarter moon descending in the north west with heavy dew by 10pm made for tough imaging conditions, not to mention poor seeing,. My guiding reflected the poor conditions
Nevertheless I was keen to image this galaxy for the first time with my 10" Scope under dark skies.
My session only lasted a 3 hours

NexDome Obs
Bortle 3 Skies
Conditions poor , heavy Dew and poor seeing
First Quarter Moon
10" f5 Klaus Helmerich carbon fibre Newt ( focal length 1250mm )
Skywatcher EQ8-R Pro Mount
ZWO 2600MC cooled to -10C , Gain 100
No Filter ( only internal UV/IR Cut protective Window )
Guide Scope: 60mm Orion with Helical focuser
Guide Camera : ZWO290MM
100 x 90 sec subs ( dithered every 2nd sub ) About 2.5 hours of usable data
20 x Flats
20 x Bias
EQMOD and Stellarium
APT
PHD2 Multistar Guiding ( 1.00 to 1.50 arc sec total , terrible guiding ( see sawing ) but still managed nice round stars , they are just more bloated than with tight guiding )
Stacked in Deep Sky Stacker
Processed in Startools v1.8 OSC Linear data set

Quite please at how much faint detail I could expose with such limited data under poor conditions with the bigger scope. ( Gives me confidence when conditions are good and can capture significantly more data eg: 6 to 10 hrs ) It was satisfying dealing with minimal gradient compared to my City Suburban Bortle 8 location !!

Astrobin link below for better resolution ……
https://www.astrobin.com/g3cti7/

Comments welcome

Thanks for looking

Martin

[Stephane]

Hi Martin, great detail in this image considering poor conditions and low integration time. The stars still look quite nice given the guiding error. I love the warm glow in the center gradually cooling off. Great job!

[Startrek]

Thanks Stephane
This Galaxy is around for while so I’d definitely like to capture more data at both locations
It was nice to run the Dome again after being away since April
Hope you’re getting some Sky time out of that Sidereal f4 Newt !!

Cheers
Martin

[RobF]

Always a pleasing galaxy and the dust lanes coming out nicely. Hope you get to use the setup more - sounds like a great astro escape.

[petershah]

lovely detail :thumbsup:

[Stephane]

Thanks, but unfortunately not. I’m getting the motherboard of the zwo camera replaced after an unfortunate drop.

[Dave882]

Nice work Martin that’s certainly got a lot more detail and reach. I love the colour that’s coming through and even some Ha in the core that’s wonderful!!

[Startrek]

These things can happen, you’ll be back imaging before you know it
Hope you receive the camera soon
All the best

[Startrek]

Thanks Rob, Peter and Dave ,
Much appreciated
Yes the image came out quite well for just over 2 hours , crappy conditions ( my Dome exterior and decking was saturated with dew by 11pm ) and a OSC
My new Mono rig will be ready next week to use so looking forward to that new venture

Cheers
Martin

[Addos]

nice one Martin, shes a top target that one!

[Startrek]

Thanks Adam

[Ryderscope]

Nice work Martin. You’ve laid the groundwork and shown how good your new set up is. The image has scrubbed up well particularly considering the conditions.