Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Ursa Major (UMa)  ·  Contains:  Bode's Galaxy  ·  M 81  ·  NGC 3031
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M81 Bode's Galaxy, Greg Bass
M81 Bode's Galaxy
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M81 Bode's Galaxy

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
M81 Bode's Galaxy, Greg Bass
M81 Bode's Galaxy
Powered byPixInsight

M81 Bode's Galaxy

Equipment

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Description

Imaged over 3-nights at the end of February (24th, 26th, 28th).

I continue to work out little "challenges" that arise from attempting to automate as much of the data acquisition process as possible with a 25-year old fork mount and C8.  Once the scope is polar aligned and the RA setting circle is calibrated, it's a simple effort to "push" my scope to the target's coordinates.  I then go inside and remotely access the laptop connected to my mount via WiFi.  If the target isn't in the camera's field of view, I'll plate solve to determine where I am pointed, then controlling the RA and Dec motors remotely, via PHD2, I reposition the scope and frame the target. At that point I let the Advanced Sequencer in NINA do its thing and I head off to bed.

One night the camera's cooling power cable caught on the edge of the wedge and came unplugged, so I lost a few hours of data (note to self: cable management).  Include a night of poor seeing and another night of poor guiding when I overlooked accurately focusing the guiding camera, and three nights of data acquisition proffers 3 1/2 hours of usable images.

Comments

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  • M81 Bode's Galaxy, Greg Bass
    Original
  • Final
    M81 Bode's Galaxy, Greg Bass
    B

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M81 Bode's Galaxy, Greg Bass