Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Canes Venatici (CVn)  ·  Contains:  IC 4263  ·  IC 4277  ·  IC 4278  ·  M 51  ·  NGC 5194  ·  NGC 5195  ·  Whirlpool galaxy
Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
M51 taken using the MicroObservatory, Erik Westermann
Powered byPixInsight

M51 taken using the MicroObservatory

Equipment

Loading...

Acquisition details

Loading...

Description

I created this image using the MicroObservatry (link below). Taken from 16 one-minute exposures in various conditions throughout December. The MicroObservatory is free for anyone to use and is actually how I got into imaging using remote telescopes.

The image is monochrome but I added some Red and Blue.

Processing focused on reducing noise. I stacked and processed using MaxIM DL along with a DDP stretch, added color. In Photoshop I made the background darker and retained detail using a curves adjustment layer, along with Google's Nik Dfine 2 filter to reduce noise. The image is a little out of focus - I plan to integrate some more observations in the future.

Link to the MicroObservatory:

http://mo-www.cfa.harvard.edu/OWN/index.html

Comments

Sky plot

Sky plot

Histogram

M51 taken using the MicroObservatory, Erik Westermann