m104

[allan gould]

I was going to image NGC6744 but it had not cleared the tree tops so I decided to switch to M104 to kill some time. I managed to get 12x10 in Luminance subs (1x1) and 6x5 min subs for each of RGB at 2x2 binning.
Images were taken with 10"SCT at fl of 2500mm, guided with PHDGuiding , stacked with DSS and processed with PS3. I was pleased that I managed to capture some of M104's globular clusters but I'm not sure of the limiting magnitude of the image.
Hope you like and comments welcomed.

[Dennis]

Hello, Allan

I like it! That is an excellent image – I love the detail in the dust lanes and the hint of colour in the galaxy. Great shooting at that focal length!

Cheers

Dennis

[jjjnettie]

Oh Allan, I can only dream of getting a shot as good as that.
It's beautiful!

[allan gould]

Thanks for the comments Dennis. Not as good as some of yours but I'm aspiring to get there.
I was surprised that for only 2 hr of data the amount of detail I captured and I was perplexed toward the end of my run that suddenly I had a slight star trailing in the last 2 frames. When I attempted to go to NGC6744 I got motor stalls on the G11 and that when I checked my balance. I was way out and so after re-balancing the mount, stars in the following NGC6744 shot were pinpoint and so I was happy again.

[allan gould]

Jeanette
Really its the equipment, but thanks for the kind comments.
Allan

[TrevorW]

Top shot Al aperture rules on this one

[strongmanmike]

Fabulous shot Alan, some strong colours in there too along with the details, top work :thumbsup:

This may help here (http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/125755939/original)

Mike

[allan gould]

Thanks Trevor, it certainly does.



Mike - I managed to get 14 of your globular clusters and one galaxy (other than M104). I figure that my limiting magnitude is just over 20 but the sharpness of my image does not approach that of yours. Its not bad from the suburbs but no matter how bitterly I weep and moan my wife refuses to shift to the glorious dark & remote regions of Queensland. :shrug:

[h0ughy]

awesome Gouldonio and Sidonio together - love your work Allan!

[peter_4059]

Top shot Allan, stars look great.

[Paul Haese]

Your best image so far. Stunning is how I would describe this image. Good detail, great colour and stars look great too. You are really hitting your straps now. Fantastic work.:thumbsup:

[multiweb]

Wow! That is really very good Allan. Very nicely done. :thumbsup:

[Suzy]

:scared2: Whoa, that is so amazing! I can see all those little knots within the dust lane. Just incredible!

Is that a tiny distant galaxy I see at the bottom right of the pic next to that big yellow star on the left of it?

[SkyViking]

Awesome image :) The colours are really nice and you've even captured the distant double face-on spirals in the background. They are visible as two faint dots next to each other in the 7:30 position near the outskirts of M104's halo (You can recognise them as spirals in the big high-res ESO/HST images).
Thanks for sharing this lovely view.

[Virgs]

Alan you have arrived! This is a definate leap forward and your best image so far. Excellent detail.

[Stevec35]

That's a very nice M104 Allan. The resolution looks excellent. The only slight criticism I would have is that some of the bright stars look distinctly green. There is a free photoshop plugin called HLVG for removing green colour contamination that I use a lot that might help there.

Cheers

Steve

[marc4darkskies]

Lovely shot Allan! Great detail and colour but as Steve suggests just a bit of green around the stars.

Cheers, Marcus

[allan gould]

Thanks to all of you that have made comments as they are much appreciated and - have a look - because you asked for it a Sidonio to remove green artifacts from the stars. Thanks Steve and Marcus for pointing it out as I forgot about HLVG to cure the problem. Been a while Tony since you and I got out under the stars, maybe next time I come South.

[allan gould]

Thanks for the kind comments Suzy and yes it is a small spiral galaxy that you see and there are a few more if you know whee to look.
Allan

[Octane]

Allan,

You are producing some of the finest images posted in this forum.

Everything you do is hitting the nail on the head at the moment. Long may it continue.

Fabulous work, mate.

H

[allan gould]

Thanks Humayun,
But I've learnt so much from the members of IIS that is where the advancement has come from. Members here have all given their tips and procedures that help with the processing of the data which is where the real art lies.
That and throwing an exorbitant amount of money to accumulate precious pieces of glass, aluminum and electronics.

[Stigandi]

Awesome shot. Great detail in the galaxy plane...... Bravo.