Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Ursa Major (UMa)  ·  Contains:  M 101  ·  NGC 5457
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M101 from red zone, Alex Varakin
M101 from red zone
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M101 from red zone

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
M101 from red zone, Alex Varakin
M101 from red zone
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M101 from red zone

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Description

My 2019 galaxy season was a bust - I was taking data for M106 over many nights but when I processed it, I found that several larger dust particles on filters produced moving dust motes. Despite all my efforts, I could not remove them from calibrated images.

This image is the redemption, taken with all possible precautions against dust motes:

1. Diligently taking flats after every session

2. Unplugging filter wheel before taking L data, so the wheel does not move during the startup

3. Removing dust from filters and sensor

4. Do not wait for collecting all the data but processing it and reviewing after every night

This 10" RC is still new to me and I was expecting that it would not require much refocusing because it has CF tube, but it turned out that it is very sensitive to temperature, so many subs in this image were slightly out of focus. I included them in stack, but as a result, the stars are slightly bloated.

Considering that the image was taken 20 miles from NYC, I am very happy with the result.

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M101 from red zone, Alex Varakin

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