Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Ursa Major (UMa)  ·  Contains:  Bode's Galaxy  ·  Cigar Galaxy  ·  M 81  ·  M 82  ·  NGC 3031  ·  NGC 3034  ·  NGC 3077
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Bodes M81 and Cigar M82 Galaxy's, Ken - Modern Astronomer
Bodes M81 and Cigar M82 Galaxy's
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Bodes M81 and Cigar M82 Galaxy's

Acquisition type: Electronically-Assisted Astronomy (EAA, e.g. based on a live video feed)
Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
Bodes M81 and Cigar M82 Galaxy's, Ken - Modern Astronomer
Bodes M81 and Cigar M82 Galaxy's
Powered byPixInsight

Bodes M81 and Cigar M82 Galaxy's

Acquisition type: Electronically-Assisted Astronomy (EAA, e.g. based on a live video feed)

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Description

This is an image that I have been trying to get for a while. Something always went wrong, clouds, tracking issues, poor alignment, mount issues. I had it all. Finally on February 29, 2024, It was clear enough to try again. Using my 8" Evolution on my AVX mount and with my Hyperstar4, I got. For 4 hours my Starsense Autoguider perfectly kept the two galaxies in alignment. Adding the Hyperstar is the only way my SCT would ever get both galaxies in the same image. On this session, I learned something new about the CPWI software and the StarSense Autoguider; Celestron added PHD2 alignment to the equation. This was a game changer. For the first time since I got the autoguider, I had zero movement.  I took 4 hours of 30 second subs using Sharpcap. At the top right of this image you can see NGC 3077. I think I messed it up in processing. When I separated the stars from the DSO's it was there. However, after more processing in Pixinsight, it got smaller.  Not sure why... But hey this is a learning experience. Any image I take of a DSO makes me happy.

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Bodes M81 and Cigar M82 Galaxy's, Ken - Modern Astronomer