[Stephane]

Hi all,

Below is my first ever image of a galaxy. No filters used based on IIS advice (galaxy filters post). I am happy I followed the advice as this image came out better than I expected given the light pollution in Melbourne.

In regards to processing, I think I am slowly getting the hang of star reduction and masks. I used masks to clear up that terrible Nikon background noise. Tried deconvolution for the first time too. I had some dust showing up because I used some old flats, but I think I managed to "hide" them. Post-processed a little in Lightroom too for further noise reduction and a little sharpening. The stars are a little bright for my taste with some unnatural looking haze around them.

Please feel free to comment and critic so that I can improve. Thanks again for all your help and encouragement.

Many thanks and clear skies,
Stéphane


Integration: 80 x 180" = 4 hours
Callibration: 30D, 40B, 20F
Camera: Nikon D7000 (ISO: 800)
Guiding: ASI120 MC (PHD2 error < 0.7)
OTA: Bintel BT200 f/5
Mount: EQ6-R pro
Filter: None
Coma corrector: MPCC MkIII
Process: PixInsight, Adobe Lightroom