A long time ago in a Galaxy far, far away...

[Andy01 (Andy)]

Hi All,

Was imaging a new DSO target until 2am last night, (will post that later) but it was still so clear in suburban Melb that I decided not to waste a rare opportunity so kept going and tried another target, NGC 55.

This was between 2.00 and 4.30am, but I was very exited to get a result!

This is my first attempt at a galaxy, and I'm reasonably happy with it. Especially considering it's so dim that I couldn't even see it in the frame!
12 x 10 mins SBIG 8300 osc, darks applied.

The stars are a little bit eggy, maybe 10min subs are pushing the capabilities of the EQ6 mount? Any suggestions?

As always comments and critique is welcome.

[rmuhlack (Richard)]

That's a good start. The stars are elongated in a different direction at the bottom of the frame to what they are on the right hand side, which i think would be more consistent with CCD tilt rather than guiding (where I would expect the direction of the elongation to be consistent across the entire frame). Are you using a flattener at all?

My NEQ6 can manage 10min subs using my truss VC200L (which weighs >12kg with the camera and guider) if I am careful with polar alignment, so your setup (which i suspect is lighter) should be capable of 10min subs also.

[Andy01 (Andy)]

Hi Richard, thanks for the input

Yes, I'm using a flattener. Also there's an IDAS filter screwed in between the camera and flattener, so maybe that's where CCD tilt is coming from?

My OTA weighs 6 kilos and the camera is only about 1kg, ad a bit fot autoguider and flattener and it's probably around 8 kg all up.

Cheers

AC