Sculptor Galaxy under Melbourne skies

[Mickoid (Michael)]

I took this on Monday night from Bortle 6 skies in outer Melbourne with a waxing crescent moon in the west. Using a ZWOASI120mms, the SW Esprit 100 framed this nicely on the tiny sensor but some cloud and scope balancing issues meant quite a few subs were discarded. I ended up with just under 90mins of integration time with only 18 unguided subs each through the LRGB filters. Exposures ranged from 60 to 70 seconds with darks but no flats. This sensor crops the field of view so much, there was little point using a field flattener. There's obviously a far bit of noise and gradient issues due to the lack of data but with bad weather approaching and an early start for work the next day, it was all I could manage for the night.

[multiweb (Marc)]

Awesome close up.

[Mickoid (Michael)]

Originally Posted by multiweb

Awesome close up.

Thanks Marc, can't get close with a 550mm focal length but the ASI120 sensor sure crops it tight! 📏✂

[AdamJL]

This needs more praise. Excellent work from that little workhorse camera. That's a lot better than I thought it could turn out.

[Mickoid (Michael)]

Originally Posted by AdamJL

This needs more praise. Excellent work from that little workhorse camera. That's a lot better than I thought it could turn out.

Thanks Adam, I'm glad you can appreciate the ability of this entry level camera. I haven't taken the plunge in outlaying big dollars on a dedicated astro camera yet. I bought this as a guide camera, to try autoguiding with my DSLR but have found I can use it for planetary and some deep sky as well.
You can see the results of using it for planetary imaging in the Solar System section above. So you're right, it is a little workhorse camera for me.