M64 and nearby IFN

G

Ginge

Well-known member
Hi all!



While I'm struggling to marry an ASI6200 to my Epsilon 180ed using an Octopi I've been processing data acquired back in February 2020 that I initially discarded as I had framed the image with a strong star just outside the field of view, resulting in some nasty reflections. As the point of the image was the juxtaposition of M64 with a nice band of IFN the reflections became an at the time insurmountable problem for me. However recent software developments has made it easier to isolate the problem in a way that makes it easier to fix. So here it goes, the far-away M64 and more local IFN shot with my old QSI583wsg before it died. A total of 17 hours and 40 minutes of LRGB exposure from my snowy observatory in the woods.

Larger version can be found here: https://astrob.in/6flcei/0/

Optics: Takahashi Epsilon 180ed
Camera: QSI 583wsg
Mount: 10Micron GM2000 HPS
Exposure: R: 31x600s, G: 12x600s, B:12x600s, Lum: 51x600s
Filters: Astrodon LRGB Series E Gen II
Acquired with TheSkyX and processed in PixInsight

Shot from Bjarkebu Observatory near Ytre Enebakk outside Oslo/Norway on several dates in February 2020


Clear skies!

Ginge



M64 1500.jpg
 
Wow, that certainly is a fantastic image! I have never ever seen the galaxy in a widefield that shows so much detail!

Just out of interest, because I often struggle with that myself: how do you know that IFN is there? Looking at the DSS images, I can't see IFN in the region because the gradients in the data are far too strong for such faint signals.

CS Gerrit
 
Thanks a lot! I'm sad to say I don't have a very smart solution to IFN-spotting though I wish I did. I tend to look for very deep images online, preferably of much wider field than my own to find areas that might be of interest for my FOV. Of M64 I couldn't find that many, maybe a handful, so that instantly triggers my interest for having a go at it. Had I'd been living in different environment where clouds are fewer and summers not without astronomical darkness at all I would probably sacrificed a few night chasing structures I didn't know was there, but good nights for astrophpto are too precious here. But if you haven't checked Rogelio Bernal Andreo's wide field work on IFN you could definitely use that as a source of information on where to point your scope.

Clear skies!
Ginge
 
Hi Ginge,

thanks for your response. I already used RBAs material as information source. However, I am increasingly interested in fields that were captured very seldom and mostly use my very wide field 50mm double setup. So it is very hard to find data that have such a wide field.

CS Gerrit
 
AstrGerdt said:
Hi Ginge,

thanks for your response. I already used RBAs material as information source. However, I am increasingly interested in fields that were captured very seldom and mostly use my very wide field 50mm double setup. So it is very hard to find data that have such a wide field.

CS Gerrit
Click to expand...
I agree
 
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