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M81 - Bode's galaxy, Tom Gray

M81 - Bode's galaxy

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Description

Bode's Galaxy, but not as he remembered it! I took this late after trying comet PanStarrs, but forgot to add in a focal reducer. Considering it is at f10 and focal length 2000mm, I am surprised it came out as well as it did. Seeing was reasonably steady at zenith but there was a thin high cloud. Just a hint of the outer spiral arms - I'm sure a clear night at f6.3 or f3.3 would add a lot more detail in an hour, but it was my first effort so I thought I'd post it anyway, if only as a yardstick for subsequent improvement.

I processed the raw LRGB data from my DSI-IIC OSC using Penumbra v0.6, to stack and align, then Startools to process the resulting image. When I look at others' images, I realise just how much more time needs to be put into this Galaxy. A wider field of view (at least as wide as my tiny DSI chip can manage) will provide better perspective. I might also try and incorporate some H alpha data from my Optolong NBF.

The important thing is to keep trying...

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