Despite quite a bit of cloud through the middle of the night, those staying up at 10 Chain were rewarded by nice views of M31 and 33 by 3am. I'm still fiddling with the M31 data I took. This was almost an afterthought before the fog stopped everyone. Its probably becoming a cliche, but I didn't realise how wonderful this object is. I guess its just a nice size for my field of view.
Could do with more data to help tame the noise, but I'm happy (and starting to scheme about more data at Astrofest perhaps )
5 x 5 mins, 450D ISO 800, calibrated, autoguided on the 8".
Many many thanks again Peter for letting us enjoy your dark skies.
Don't know if it's my eyes but the bottom bit of the galaxy looks like it's been chopped off.
Carl, I can assure you no galaxies were harmed during the shooting of this data...
Re the noise, I probably have oversharpened the centre and over-fuzzed the outskirts. I can see enough to convince me to have another serious go sometime though.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hagar
Very nice image for a short exposure Rob. Nice sharp image as usual.
Thanks Alex - had to get something up to show I'd done something after your great M45 and Triffid! I was getting quite lazy (tired?!) at this stage. I kept moving the mount a bit between each shot to try and get it centred a bit better. After the 3rd shot realised I was wandering FURTHER away each try because the autoguider on refractor gives a different image to DSLR on reflector of course. Oh well - forced me to learn how to set a reference frame in DSS if nothing else - and surprised the stacked image didn't suffer too much.
Quote:
Originally Posted by renormalised
Glad to hear that...might have had to report you to the RSPCG if you had
Another attempt at shooting/processing will be eagerly awaited
Agreed - better not to mess with those RSPCG dudes - where were they anyway when the antenae galaxies collided? - or M51 - they should have seen that coming...
Very nice work Rob. Some nice features showing there. Haven't seen too many M33 images posted here. Nice to see one.
Looking forward to a repro. Lots of potential thats for sure even with the short exposure time.
Well done.
Thanks Matty - its a very nice galaxy for sure. A bit Goldilocks - not too big, not too small....? Qld Astrofest is only a few weeks away now. I'm hoping the moon won't stop me getting some more shots now I have an idea of exposure and field framing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Prickly
Rob,
Sensational shot.
David
Many thanks David!
Quote:
Originally Posted by jjjnettie
It's beautiful Rob.
Thanks Jeanette - I've always wanted to have a go since Paul's wonderful effort late last year....
Quote:
Originally Posted by pmrid
Rob, that's excellent. It's so crisp. And the detail and contrasts in the core are outstanding. Glad you were able to do so well.
Peter
Many thanks Peter - had such a great time on Sat night enjoying your hospitality, and over the moon to have had a chance at this one.
nicely framed image, works just right for your setup.
clive
Thanks Clive - I think I'll definitely be revisiting when the next opportunity comes up. Can't see it from home alas, not that it would be worth trying from the 'burbs anyway.
Thanks Paul. I enjoyed looking at your shots and observatory too. Sounds like you've been bitten by the astrophotography bug bad too. It really is amazing what a good quality digital camera can show nowdays....
)
, but there is a bit of noise in there. 
