Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Ursa Major (UMa)  ·  Contains:  Bode's Galaxy  ·  Cigar Galaxy  ·  HD85161  ·  HD85458  ·  HD85533  ·  M 81  ·  M 82  ·  NGC 3031  ·  NGC 3034
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M81 and M82 Deep Integration, drblevy13
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M81 and M82 Deep Integration

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
M81 and M82 Deep Integration, drblevy13
Powered byPixInsight

M81 and M82 Deep Integration

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Description

This image represents my first attempt at a > 100 hour integration.  I always wanted to try something like this, but it was impossible before having an observatory.

I ended up using two cameras (both ZWO ASI 2600MM Pros) because the one on my other scope kept disconnecting and I needed to swap them out as part of the troubleshooting process.  This lead to additional unique challenges in this integration as it meant adjusting for rotation before and after camera swaps, shooting multiple sets of flats and assigning different sets of dark frames to different sessions depending on the camera used.  It was definitely an educational process: Astro Pixel Processor really made the situation much easier to handle.

Eventually, I hope to have an even faster scope than f/7, but overall even at that relatively moderate focal ratio, the image does display some nice nebulosity around M81 and M82 that I hadn't been able to see with any of my prior attempts.  My daughter and I also had fun picking out the innumerable "tiny" galaxies scattered throughout the image when we zoomed in.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed shooting it!

Comments

Revisions

  • M81 and M82 Deep Integration, drblevy13
    Original
  • M81 and M82 Deep Integration, drblevy13
    B
  • Final
    M81 and M82 Deep Integration, drblevy13
    C

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M81 and M82 Deep Integration, drblevy13