Slowly, but surely I am coming back....my first light from The Alentejo Remote Observatory

Last year my husband and I decided to relocate in Europe for a few years.  This was also a good opportunity to find a new home for my modest equipment.  I was lucky to find a great place, not very far from where I will live in Portgual.  

A year after I started my research, here it is... the first light from the only telescope operated by a puertorrican (at least to my knowledge) in Alentejo territory. This is Messier 63 in the constellation of Canes Venatici. Its spiral arms are not as clearly defined as those of a classical spiral galaxy. That is why it is classified as a "Floculent" Galaxy. Its yellow center is very striking and a lot of dust surrounds it. In the image you can also see multiple "tidal streams" that may be the remnants of satellite galaxies that interacted with M63 in the past. The pink knots are regions rich in Alpha Hydrogen and therefore "nurseries" of intense star formation. This the result of about 15 hours of integration using broadband and hydrogen alpha filters.

This experience has taught me that operating a telescope at a remote observatory,  hundreds of miles away from you is labor intensive and requires a lot of preparation and dedication. Things don't always go well, and when you solve one problem, another one arises that tests your abilities and your patience. I still have to solve an unexpected issue with the focus of my guide camera, I am still figuring out the ideal exposure time based on my new imaging location, I think the collimation of the telescope is a bit off, and it would not hurt for me to make sure that I do not have "tilt" in the optical train. The list will never end, but...hey! this is part of the fun!!

Every time I finish an image, I compare my results with those of others. For this particular galaxy, I found it very striking to see a wide variety of interpretations of it. Being a galaxy that emits its own light, I would expect very similar results accross the board. In my case, I was surprised to see a cloud of dust that seems to reflect the color of the brightest stars in the galaxy. Other images show the same dust and the "dust lanes" in more ocher tones. But...that's the beauty of this hobby... It allows us to observe and admire the universe in one and a thousand ways, all beautiful and each one unique, in the same way that every human being is.

Thanks for watching!! 
— Feeling wonderful