M51 LRGB 2022

[frant]

Had a bit of a break from imaging, but recently got back into it.
This is an attempt to try and combine luminance shot at 642mm and RGB at 338mm on a dual scope rig, to maximise acquisition; the setup yielded 20 hours of data over just 2 nights.
My processing is quite clearly rusty...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/90472923@N03/51977918509

Imaged over 2 nights, near Cambridge UK.
25th and 26th March 2022.

Image Details:
20 hours 4 mins total exposure.
62 x 600s Lum 1x1 (10 hours 20mins)
105 x 120s Red 1x1 (3 hours 30mins)
95 x 120s Green 1x1 (3 hours 10mins)
92 x 120s Blue 1x1 (3 hours 4mins)

Scope - Altair Astro Wave Series 115mm Refractor, Planostar 0.79x reduced to 642mm/F5.54.
Sensor - Atik 383l+ Mono CCD + Baader Lum filters. -20degC.
Scale - 1.73 arcsec/pixel.

Scope - Altair Astro 70EDT-F 70mm triplet refractor, 0.8x field flattener for focal length of 338mm @ F4.8.
Sensor - Altair 1600M Hypercam + Baader RGB filters. -10degC.
Scale - 2.31 arcsec/pixel.

Mount - Altair Astro Pier mounted iOptron CEM60.
Guiding - Lodestar X2 and SX OAG with PHD2.
Sequence Generator Pro and PixInsight.

Thanks for looking.

[Juno16]

Very nicely done! A fine image of a beautiful galaxy.

[STEVE333]

Welcome back Richard. Long time no see!
Your image looks nice to me. Maybe you see more on your monitor than we see here on the forum? Some nice internal details without being too crisp.

Cheers,

Steve

[Ylem]

Very nice capture Richard!

[MariusD69]

Awesome! Great job, Richard!

[messier 111]

majestic shot , thx .

[bobharmony]

Looks very nice to me, Richard. Good to see you back in the game!

Bob

[Gordon]

Congratulations Richard on having your image selected as todays TSS APOD!

app.php/article/4-3-2022-tss-astrophoto ... of-the-day

[helicon]

Very nice capture and congrats on the APOD!

[Unitron48]

Great take on one of our favorites. Congrats on the APOD award.

Dave

[Hondo]

Nice job Richard. Good to see you back in the game and congrats on the APOD! I have also had a bit of a "forced" break from imaging due to some health issues but things are looking better for me. I am awaiting arrival of a new QHY286M with matching FW and OAG and hope to get some good use out of it. Take care and all the best.

[STEVE333]

Congats on the APOD, well deserved.

Steve

[jthommes]

Excellent image Richard. Congrats on the APOD.

[Makuser]

Hi Richard. A superb M51 (Whirpool Galaxy) image in LRGB. Excellent contrast, core and sparkly spiral arm details. And the little companion NGC 5195 shows up nicely too. Also in the lower right of your capture you caught IC 4263. Thanks for sharing this work with us Richard and congratulations on receiving the well deserved TSS APOD Award.

[frant]

Thanks everyone, and especially for the warm response to my return to the fold

[frant]

Glad to hear things are looking up for you Scott.

Nice job Richard. Good to see you back in the game and congrats on the APOD! I have also had a bit of a "forced" break from imaging due to some health issues but things are looking better for me. I am awaiting arrival of a new QHY286M with matching FW and OAG and hope to get some good use out of it. Take care and all the best.

[Johnny Carter]

Oh my, this is fantastic, well done.

[BABOafrica]

Congratulations on the APOD award.

Very nicely captured and processed.

BABO

[XCalRocketMan]

Beautiful capture and process of this well imaged galaxy. You've done a great job on it - congrats on the TSS APOD.