Ok probably not a good idea to post this after Peter's effort
Here's my first image of NGC4945, "presented looking like a fly spec on a sheet of A4".
This was captured on the 4th or 5th of March, I can't remember - it's all a blur from the clear skies and sleepless nights I had back then.
I don't have the exposure details on me, they're on the other laptop - i'm pretty sure it was around 12 exposures @ 4 minutes each, ISO800. ICNR and flats applied.
Diffraction spikes created from 2 pieces of wire.. probably not the best choice due to the rainbow colours it produced. It was an interesting experiment, but not something i'll use on every image.
Ok probably not a good idea to post this after Peter's effort
Here's my first image of NGC4945, "presented looking like a fly spec on a sheet of A4".
Peter's was an amazing image for its detail, but I actually prefer the scale you've presented at Mike. Shows the galaxy as an "island universe" perched way beyond the bright curtain of Milky Way stars, and really makes you sit and think about the distances and scales involved. Well done!
Mike, thanks. That wider field is just what I need to be able to target that adjacent NGC 4976 on my next observing session! As far as I can work out, Stellarium shows it as a 6th mag orange star?? Any image I can find does not agree that there is any such star nearby.
I agree - I'm not sure those "diffraction spikes" add much to the image.
That looks real good Mike. The less compressed version shows the image off nicely. Often images taken with small aperture scopes are ruined because of over cropping so sometimes the scale has to be kept down.
Good result Mike. The old basic formula of aperture and long focal lengths applies to galaxy imaging. Wide field images are great to show a perspective, but if you want the intricate details, you need some power. Well done. Look forward to seeing more.
Thanks for your comments guys.. I know that these galaxies aren't the best targets for an ED80, but since i'm so new at DSO imaging, I haven't imaged any of these "favourites" before.. so I just had to get them out of my system.
Plus, there was no big nebula complex for me to see.. tarantula is behind a tree or 3, I've done eta (still processing), and Sagittarius hasn't risen high enough yet.. I'll get to them
I think my next DSO imaging scope will be an 8 or 10" fast newt.. that'll give me the focal length I need for a more "in your face" view.
I've almost finished processing more data from the last 2 weeks.. at least I've got a break now with moon staying up later each night.
Ngc4945
Shows the galaxy as an "island universe" perched way beyond the bright curtain of Milky Way stars, and really makes you sit and think about the distances and scales involved. Well done!
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