NGC4945 near Southern cross

[billdan (Bill)]

Since I got my Orion thin OAG going I've been going mad taking 15 min subs of everything.
So this is the first of about 5 galaxies I've taken. This was taken over 2 nights about 3 hours per night.

I didn't need to stretch the image very much only adjusted the saturation.

Hope you like it.
Cheers
Bill

EDIT: Here is the link to the 16bit PNG file, if anyone wants a play with the data.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/4fs47eduel...20DDP.png?dl=0

[el_draco (Rom)]

Exquisite....

[DJScotty (Scott)]

That's very nice.

The OAG is a must have piece of kit as far as I am concerned. Trying to integrate mine into my camera lens contraption.

Beautiful image!

Scott

[glenc (Glen)]

Thanks Bill.
The image also shows mag 10.1 NGC 4976 and mag 12.4 NGC 4945A.

[RickS (Rick)]

Another nice one, Bill.

[Ross G]

Great looking galaxy photo Bill.

Sharp and detailed.

I love the colour contrasts and framing.

Ross.

[billdan (Bill)]

Thanks guys you are all too kind.

AA5 has a de-blooming feature which I tried to get rid of the blue halo's but as you can see it didn't do anything.

I am so pleased with the performance of the OAG compared to the guide scope, even though the PHD graph looks like the Swiss Alps. I am getting consistently less than 1 arcsec RMS guiding.

Thanks

Bill

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

This is a great shot Bill, well done If you want to reduce those big blue halos, have you tried working on them in Photoshop? AA6 has masking features now too.

Mike

[billdan (Bill)]

Hi Mike,

I don't have Photoshop, I have been using Photoscape (freebie) for editing which handles 16 bit data but it is a bit basic.

I have just added a link to the original 16bit PNG file, if anyone wants a play.

Cheers

Bill

[Slawomir (Suavi)]

Nice image Bill, and also beautiful round stars

[billdan (Bill)]

Thanks Suavi, coma corrector helps a lot with the round stars.

We've been blessed with clear skys this past week that for once coincides with a new moon ( which is rare for SE Qld this time of year ).

So I have been a bit sleep deprived this week, going to bed at 5-00am and getting up at 10.00am.

Bill

[RB (Andrew)]

Very nice image Bill.
Well done.

Originally Posted by strongmanmike

If you want to reduce those big blue halos, have you tried working on them in Photoshop? AA6 has masking features now too.

Mike

I actually like them Mike, adds a nice look to the image I reckon.

[rustigsmed (Russell)]

some nice pics Bill!

[Decimus (Richard)]

A beautiful image, Bill. A galaxy, stunningly jewel-like stars...Picture perfect!

Cheers,
Richard