M104 The Sombrero Galaxy - enhanced stellar stream
This was taken over three days, two with good to excellent seeing (FWHM 1.5" - 1.9") one with more mortal seeing (FWHM 2.0" - 2.7")...So I collected 9.5 hrs of luminance, mostly on the two good nights and 3 hrs of colour on the poor night, all the while observing with the 18" Dob under magnificent skies, had a ball! ..actually and it was difficult, but we were able to spot the Mag 16.6 spiral galaxy, lower right of M104 in the image, in the 18" Dob...very cool.
Have to say, I'm quite happy with the result and such good conditions makes processing quite a bit easier
With the superb conditions on hand, I was keen to go after/reveal, four things
1) the faint dusty extensions at either end of the disc
2) the super faint looping star stream, that's waaaay out in the huuuuge halo, miles from the core of the galaxy
3) to clearly reveal the spiral nature of the two tiny interacting galaxies just below the disc
4) reveal the extent of the massive halo...it almost fills the whole 1/2 deg FOV!
...aaaaand I got'em all! So cheers to that
Three cool captures distant interacting spiral galaxies, faint dusty extensions and an outer loop
The full frame full res version see the massive halo! (If on your phone turn your screen brightness up ).have a surf around with the screen sliders
Enhanced Stellar Stream and Galaxy Halo NB: I needed just a little more space at the top left and a little more exposure, to make the entire orbiting stream (it encircles the entire galaxy!) more obvious, doh!
An enhanced two hour exposure, using the WHT 4.2m telescope at La Palma is attached
Wow Mike,
that's the best picture you've ever taken.
The comparison to your Wallaroo site shows the gains you've made -
getting as good as 1.5 arc seconds resolution has made a huge difference.
It's the closest you've ever come to a CHART32 picture: http://www.chart32.de/images/objects...m104_VW100.jpg
Mike,
Stunning Sombrero exposing incredible detail around the inner core region rarely seen
One of the best I’ve ever seen
You must be stoked
Martin
( posted from Plymouth, UK )
Thanks so much for the positive responses, guys, luv ya's all
Allan, regardless of the 32" aperture and supreme quality of their scope, a FWHM of 1.5" seems, so far at least, to be my kinda semi regular practical standard for a good night at Eagleview so, unless I get some lucky nights, as time goes on, I don't think I will get the regular 0.8" that Chart32 enjoys...but I am more than happy, the 1.6" range is pretty regular up here, so I'll take that ...my site is slightly darker than Cerro Tololo though, so that's a little win
Bart, dont you dare!
Trevor, my name is in fact spelt "Michele" (Italian for Michael)*so you nailed it
Spectacular Mike. If you have a cloudy night perhaps you could try tracking down some of the globular clusters around the galaxy. I am pretty sure your pic will contain at least a 100 of them.
Cheers
Geoff
Allan, regardless of the 32" aperture and supreme quality of their scope, a FWHM of 1.5" seems, so far at least, to be my kinda semi regular practical standard for a good night at Eagleview so, unless I get some lucky nights, as time goes on, I don't think I will get the regular 0.8" that Chart32 enjoys...but I am more than happy, the 1.6" range is pretty regular up here, so I'll take that ...my site is slightly darker than Cerro Tololo though, so that's a little win
Mike
Hi Mike,
with the El Niño in Australia starting to happen soon it will
give you even better seeing conditions.
As you have the highest observatory in Australia you
might get better than 1 arc second seeing.
Chart32 also has adaptive optics and is a multi million dollar scope.
You would have to go an order of magnitude greater in expense
to take better pics - maybe an RC with adaptive optics?
It's not worth it as sooner or later you'll get 1 arc second seeing
which might continue on good nights for years.
Anyway - you've got to be happy with what you've got now -
the results are amazing.
Holy moly Mike that is just fantastic!! Amazing detail on the inner dust rings and capturing the outer stellar stream as well, just awesome. Amazingly well done 👏👏👏
Adding to the praise of others, it's a good thing you're judging at the Australian Photographic prize this year, because if you weren't and entered this, it would likely be a strong candidate to win!
Well & truly justifies the big move to your mountain eyrie!
Thanks so much everyone so glad it resonates, it's a classic target and one I have imaged only five times over a nearly 40 year period (1984, 2005, 2010, 2014 & 2023), man how imaging has changed in that time! .. been a journey for sure and of course, this is obviously by far my best result
Cheers Geoff and a great idea, Rolf Olsen did exactly that with his M104. I have gone significantly deeper in steadier conditions, so might give it a shot?
Allan, god I hope you are right re the El Nino!
Mat, David and Mark, thanks a lot guys, so glad you enjoyed it so much
Andy......aaaah, hmmm?, damn, never thought of that ..and I certainly wouldn't mind a RedCat?...ok, I resign
Thanks everyone ...and get your entries in to the APP
Breathtaking!! I particularly like the identification of the fainter objects to check out such as the dusty outer regions and that "ultra faint star stream loop". Very clever and a great way to evaluate just how good this image is and to use as a benchmark for others
Last edited by Ryderscope; 25-06-2023 at 05:36 PM.
..actually and it was difficult, but we were able to spot the Mag 16.6 spiral galaxy, lower right of M104 in the image, in the 18" Dob...very cool.
).have a surf around with the screen sliders
so, unless I get some lucky nights, as time goes on, I don't think I will get the regular 0.8" that Chart32 enjoys...but I am more than happy, the 1.6" range is pretty regular up here, so I'll take that 
..and I certainly wouldn't mind a RedCat?...ok, I resign 
...and get your entries in to the 
