Imaged M81 and M82 galaxies on the nights of March 22-23, 2019. This was my first attempt at imaging galaxies other than M31. Tougher to get a nice image of these little characters with my widefield setup than my usual emission nebula targets! I captured a few hours each of one-shot color (OSC) and narrowband H-alpha data on these targets over four nights in late March 2019. This image only uses 1 night of the OSC data as the images I generated with the additional data weren't as good due to less than ideal conditions on subsequent nights.

For the OSC images, this was my first use of a IDAS LPS-D1 light pollution reduction clip filter for my Nikon D5300. After the fact I learned that I didn't have the custom white balance set correctly for the new filter. In general, my experience to date has been that LPS filters are a big help when I image targets in my Southern sky (looking directly towards a freeway and downtown DC). I've heard LP filters aren't the greatest for galaxies, so I'll have to capture some data without the LP filter for comparison.

Updated version (Rev. B):

Generated from original OSC RGB data and H-alpha NB data using the Pixinsight NBRGB combination script. Red was augmented by H-alpha data with a scale factor of 1.5.

Ha data:

Imaged on March 22, 2019 with WO GT81 at F4.7 (382 mm focal length) using Flat6A II field flattener/0.8x reducer, Optolong 12nm H-alpha Filter, and full spectrum modified Nikon D5300.

Calibrated using batch pre-processing (BPP) script using darks, bias, and flats. Extracted red channel. Registered and stacked using StarAlighment and Integration. Total integration time of ~2 hours using 17 subs at ISO400 x 360 sec. Post-processed in Pixinsight: Cropped, gradient removal with ABE, MLT noise reduction, stretched using Histogram Transformation Tool, Curves Transformation, TGVDenoise, HDR Multiscale Transform, Local Histogram Equalization, and Morphological Transformation.

Original OSC version:

Imaged on March 23, 2019 with WO GT81 at F4.7 (382 mm focal length) using Flat6A II field flattener/0.8x reducer, IDAS LPS D1 Clip Filter, and full spectrum modified Nikon D5300.

Pre-processed using PixInsight Batch Pre-Processing (BPP) script. Images calibrated using darks, bias, and flats. Stacked 37 subs (180 sec at ISO 200) for a total integration time of ~2 hours. Post-processed in Pixinsight: Cropped, gradient removal with ABE, MLT for noise reduction, Background Neutralization, Color Calibration, SCNR, stretched using Histogram Transformation Tool, Curves Transformation, HDR transform, Local histogram transform, and Color Saturation boost.