I've always wanted to see EVERY Messier object. With my old 4.5" Tasco reflector I was dismayed how difficult some objects where to find let alone see! When I bought my 8" I was determined to fix this once and for all. Then came the imaging bug, so of course I had to IMAGE them all.
To the best of my knowledge 105/110 are visible from Brissy latitudes. In April at Leyburn I was finally able to capture M101, 108 and 109 during some precarious (almost horizontal) imaging through bushes and trees (I'd carefully chosen my spot in the afternoon precisely for these antics
).
Most are pretty dodgey, but I learned a heck of a lot cutting my DSLR then CCD teeth on many of these. A ton of fun and of course now I'll have to go back and do most of them again having struggled a bit further up the learning curve
The final gallery (or current gallery
)is
here
Final 2 "heads on the wall" are below - M109 (7x3min Lum) and M108 (just a few 3min subs). These were both only about 8 or 9 degrees above horizon at transit when imaged.
Yay!
