The largest spiral galaxy NGC 5371 clearly shows some pink star-forming regions. This is a feature of the AstroDon E-series RGB filters, the red filter is a bit more narrow than usual and naturally enhances the contrast of H-alpha regions.
Luminance from this image came from my GPU corrector and OAG, color was captured with the ESHR corrector and guide scope. Both datasets were easy to align.
Telescope modificationsSo far, all images from my ONTC were focused manually. Focus on the carbon tube is rock solid and I often only need to focus once for an entire night, or even multiple nights of imaging. It does take time to focus manually and I have to rely on bright stars. Autofocus would be a nice convenience feature to have, as it enables full in-sequence focus and temperature monitoring. More automation means more sleep while the gear is outside! So, after 2 years I finally attached my Pegasus FocusCube 2 to the Moonlite focuser.
Next, I fabricated a cooling solution for the primary mirror to reduce thermal plumes. More info about this build can be found on my blog page:
https://astrovirusblog.wordpress.com/2022/07/20/telescope-modifications/Shooting with the modified ONTC has been a fun journey in 2022. We had lots of clear nights at the end of Spring, so plenty of opportunities to test my ESHR coma corrector and telescope modifications!
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