NGC 253 Sculptor Galaxy 6” GSO Newt Sydney skies

[Startrek (Martin)]

I haven’t imaged NGC 253 Sculptor Galaxy for nearly 2 years in Sydney so took advantage of some clear late nights / early mornings just over a week ago.
Starting imaging late as the Galaxy didn’t rise above 30deg until 10.30pm
Captured 200 x 90 sec subs over 2 nights with my trusty little 6” GSO newt ( cost me $200 back in 2017 )

Bortle 7/8 Sydney suburban skies
6” f6 Bintel GSO newt
Skywatcher EQ6-R pro mount
ZWO2600MC cooled to -10C Gain 100
TS GPU Coma Corrector
No filters ( just internal IV IR cut protective window in 2600MC )
200 x 90 sec dithered guided subs ( discarded about 22 subs )
40 x Flats
60 x Bias
PHD2 Multistar guiding ( 0.50 to 0.60 arc sec total )
EQMOD, Stellarium and APT
Stacked in DSS

Processed in Startools V1.8 OSC linear data set

Used the latest version of Startools which has a completely unique Decon module ( SV Decon ) Spatially Variant Deconvolution which does not apply one set level of Decon across the whole image but takes SPF samples you identify across the whole image and applies unique Deconvolution as required for each specific area , very intuitive and the results are excellent compared to the older traditional method

Native frame version
Crop version

Comments most welcome
Thanks

[rustigsmed (Russell)]

Nice job Martin - that 6" newt looks to offer crazy bang for buck.

[Startrek (Martin)]

Thanks Russell
That 6” has been a great little scope under horrible Sydney light pollution
I’m sure the LP is getting worse in Sydney each year
I never ever remember having so much gradient to deal in my images back in 2017
I’m fortunate to have my semi dark site with Dome on the South Coast NSW at Bortle 3 , but the last few months have been difficult to back get down there

Still very happy with the result under less than ideal conditions

Cheers
Martin

[MortonH]

Cracking result.

[LKD (Luke)]

Really nice image, great result

[Startrek (Martin)]

Originally Posted by rustigsmed

Nice job Martin - that 6" newt looks to offer crazy bang for buck.

Thanks Russell
If you can’t afford a frac get yourself a 6” newt , the most underused underestimated scope in AP and yep best bang for buck ( Bintel have the 6” newts for around $400 these days )

Martin

[Startrek (Martin)]

Originally Posted by rustigsmed

Nice job Martin - that 6" newt looks to offer crazy bang for buck.

Originally Posted by MortonH

Cracking result.

Thanks
Much appreciated

[Startrek (Martin)]

Originally Posted by LKD

Really nice image, great result

Thanks Luke

[Dave882 (David)]

Lovely shot Martin. Got tonnes of dusty detail there! Can’t wait till you get the 10” on some of these targets from a dark sky!

[petershah (Peter Shah)]

beautiful shot....this just pops up but is still very low from the observatory in Spain....I really want to image it

[Craig_]

A fantastic result!

[Startrek (Martin)]

Thanks All
Much appreciated

As with the Helix , I decided to reprocess the Sculptor to try and sharpen up the detail a bit

Startools V1.8 again
Used Bin 35% to improve SNR at the expense of some loss in resolution ( originally Bin 50% )
HDR from 30 to 40
Sharpen, dark 60 light 40
SV Decon 12 x iterations
Colour slight adjustment of saturation and balance
De Noise 5 pixels to 6

Attached revised images

Thanks for looking
Martin

[Mavspace (Paul)]

Amazing work Martin !

[Addos (Adam)]

very nice effort Martin! i shudder thinking about doing broadband from a bortle 6, let alone an 8!

[Startrek (Martin)]

Originally Posted by Mavspace

Amazing work Martin !

Thanks Paul
Appreciate it

[Startrek (Martin)]

Originally Posted by Addos

very nice effort Martin! i shudder thinking about doing broadband from a bortle 6, let alone an 8!

Thanks Adam,
I’m extremely fortunate to have my Dome and 10” Carbon fibre newt under Bortle 3 skies on the NSW South Coast , but haven’t been able to get back down there for months. Heading down next week for 4 days and also during October and the holiday season ( and I’m retired ) Lots of commitments with kids and grandkids at the moment , so in Sydney when imaging you just work out how to cope with heavy light pollution both broadband and narrowband
It’s certainly not easy and requires loads of data which I’ve found out through advice and help from folk on this forum
Very satisfying when you can process a half decent image under those conditions

Cheers
Martin