Messier 104, better known as the Sombrero Galaxy, is a target that is a favorite from my boyhood.
Unfortunately, it is a challenging target for me as it is positioned very low in my skies and falls in a narrow gap between two tree lines that only give me about a maximum of two hours of exposure a night. I have never been able to image it before, as the weather in the past prevented it.
This year, getting a late start to my imaging, I was determined to try and image it.
At this point, it was already at the zenith when astronomical darkness rolled in, and I would only get about an hour an evening. The moon would soon become a problem, so I only had a few days to grab it. On top of all that, we have had the smoke from the tragic Alberta Wildfires in our skies. The Jet stream brought the bulk of the smoke to the south of us, and I decided to image through the thin smoke we still had.
So - to summarize: I would likely have short integrations (Too little Time), I would be imaging at a low angle, looking through a lot of atmospheres ( Too Low in the Sky), and I would be looking through smoke (Too Much Smoke...)
So what could go wrong - right?
I need up getting only 1.7 hours of LRGB integration - and with the smoke, I knew the image would be bad. But you need to have the "first" image so that you can come back and create a better one so you can show everyone how your skills have grown - right?
I processed the image as best I could, and it came out.... well.... OK. Not great by any means - but to be honest, better than I expected. I credit the amazing camera I used (ASI2600MM-Pro) and the amazing tools now available in Pixinsight!
So please enjoy my mediocre Messier 104 shot!
The full story behind this project, as well as a step-by-step processing walkthrough, can be seen here:
https://cosgrovescosmos.com/projects/m104Thanks for looking!
Clear Skies,
Pat
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