Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Canes Venatici (CVn)  ·  Contains:  IC 4277  ·  IC 4278  ·  M 51  ·  NGC 5194  ·  NGC 5195  ·  Whirlpool Galaxy
M51 - The Whirlpool Galaxy - LRGB, Gina
M51 - The Whirlpool Galaxy - LRGB
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M51 - The Whirlpool Galaxy - LRGB

M51 - The Whirlpool Galaxy - LRGB, Gina
M51 - The Whirlpool Galaxy - LRGB
Powered byPixInsight

M51 - The Whirlpool Galaxy - LRGB

Equipment

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Acquisition details

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Description

Captured May 2013 over several days.

A combination of long and short exposures processed into a combined image.

Scope - MN190

Camera - Atik 314L+

Filters - Baader LRGB CCD

Long subs guided with OAG, Lodestar and PHD

Processed with Photoshop CS5.

I used the 30s Luminance data to sharpen the centre of the galaxy as this was with much better seeing and hence sharper - as follows :-

    Duplicated the 30s Luminance image to form a base layer for the working image
    Sharpened this image
    Added the "all" Luminance as a new layer
    Made a Mask for the new layer (Layer 1)
    Selected Layer 1 Mask (Alt click)
    Gaussian Blurred the Mask
    Stretched and clipped the Mask
    Inverted the Mask to used as a hole in the "all" image to expose the Background sharpened 30s data
    Flattened the image
    Cropped to remove alignment border and saved as PNG.

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M51 - The Whirlpool Galaxy - LRGB, Gina