M57 and galaxies galore

raymo · #1 09-09-2015, 03:37 PM

Quality not the best as very low in the sky, and short imaging window between roof and trees. Also obvious coma. Dozens of galaxies visible if you magnify your screen.
4 x 30 secs @ ISO 1600
raymo

blink138 (Pat) · #2 09-09-2015, 05:41 PM

had no idea there were so many galaxies around m57 raymo!
they do not seem to show up on stellarium?
pat

Somnium (Aidan) · #3 09-09-2015, 06:02 PM

are you sure they are galaxies Ray? they may be stars that have been elongated due to coma or collimation issues.

blink138 (Pat) · #4 09-09-2015, 06:21 PM

i think you may be right aiden, looking at images of m57 there are deffinately a couple of fuzzies but not that many i dont think
pat

raymo · #5 09-09-2015, 06:39 PM

I have no idea what they are; the fact that they are all orientated in the same direction told me that they weren't galaxies, and had to be artefacts
within the optical train. I thought I'd have a bit of fun, most of us would
know that there is no galaxy group anywhere near that area.
Could be a little bit of dew on the camera sensor or the scope's mirrors,
or a bit of wispy very light cloud. My collimation is pretty good.
It didn't appear on my other images that night, so I suspect cloud could
be the culprit. I just remembered that M57 got dimmer frame by frame, so I think
it must be cloud.
raymo

Atmos (Colin) · #6 09-09-2015, 06:42 PM

It does look like you are getting a bit of coma and field curvature.

raymo · #7 09-09-2015, 06:48 PM

The coma is unavoidable at f/5 Colin. I think my last post clears up the mystery.
raymo

Atmos (Colin) · #8 10-09-2015, 07:03 AM

I assumed that you would have been using one of those Baader Coma Correctors, the MkIII does a pretty good job :-)

raymo · #9 10-09-2015, 11:04 AM

Always wanted one, but couldn't afford one. Always something more
important to do with my pension. Aidan has very kindly said that I
can have his when his scope upgrade happens in six to nine months.
Usually my field is wide enough to allow me to crop off the worst
of it.
raymo

Somnium (Aidan) · #10 10-09-2015, 06:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by raymo

Always wanted one, but couldn't afford one. Always something more
important to do with my pension. Aidan has very kindly said that I
can have his when his scope upgrade happens in six to nine months.
Usually my field is wide enough to allow me to crop off the worst
of it.
raymo

hopefully sooner, i might have my new scope by the end of the year

raymo · #11 10-09-2015, 07:50 PM

Whenever, thank you very much indeed.
raymo

rustigsmed (Russell) · #12 11-09-2015, 09:41 AM

good stuff Raymo, M57 is too low for me to attempt, it is a small object thanks for sharing.

Looks like what happens to my subs when dew/fogging occurs, softens focus and makes the coma a bit more prominent because the stars are bigger. still you've bagged the Ring neb - you could go for a tighter crop if you were inclined to.

Cheers

raymo · #13 11-09-2015, 11:51 AM

Hi Russ,thanks for the comment on 6752; regarding M57, this is the hardest object of interest for me to catch. It appears, very low, between my neighbour's house and a tree for a bit under an hour. The present
image quality doesn't permit enlargement. I'll have to try again.
raymo