M83 "Southern Pinwheel Galaxy"

[troypiggo]

Best I could do with my ED80 and SLR. I'd like it a little bigger, but it's my first galaxy. 5x8min shots, no darks :(

http://piggo.com/~troy/photos/2009/2009_02_28/m83.jpg

[chris.bailey]

Awesome! Good round stars show its all working a treat.

You may want to back off the black point a little, sky looks a bit black. also have you tried drizzle and a custom rectangle in DSS, will give you a slightly larger image to play with.

[troypiggo]

Thanks for the tips, Chris. I didn't touch the black point at all, but it was a dark site.
Not sure what you mean about "drizzle" and "custom rectangle" - I'll look into it.

[MidnightSun]

Nice clean job with that one. There's alot to play with in DSS I'm just starting to fool with. Shot in RAW?

[Scoobs]

Great shot, shame we never have clear skies in the Uk :(

[chris.bailey]

I didn't touch the black point at all, but it was a dark site.


That then is quite astounding. Even with a Light Pollution filter an 8 minutes frame for me would have quite a bright background

[troypiggo]

The site was amazing. About 2-2.5hrs west of Brisbane. The sky and stars. I couldn't stop staring up all night long. Just half an hour after sunset there were more stars visible than where I live at best viewing.

[dpastern]

Another excellent image, congrats on your first Galaxy Troy!

Dave

[Celestron]

Beautiful shot !

[troypiggo]

Thanks guys. Man it's hard to compose in the dark when you can't see what it is you're trying to compose through the viewfinder. I've got some ideas for next time, but still not easy without "live view".

[dpastern]

Thanks guys. Man it's hard to compose in the dark when you can't see what it is you're trying to compose through the viewfinder. I've got some ideas for next time, but still not easy without "live view".

I had the same issue. What I did on Friday night was focus, take a shot, check sharpness (on the camera's LCD screen since I didn't have the laptop going). Adjusted focus, taking note of the focus indicator on the focusing barrel, took another shot and repeated it. It's slow, very slow, but I managed a half decent shot. Focus could have been better on my attempt, and star trailing is apparent from 30 seconds due to poor polar alignment, but...could have been worse ;-)

I believe you can use stuff like Maxim DL or CCDSOFT to measure the FWHM (I think that's the acronym) to determine maximum sharpness. Maxim DL has a DSLR version of its software as well. It's pricey though.

Dave

[Canon Pete]

Troy , well done with that , one to be proud of mate

[troypiggo]

Thanks Pete.

Dave - I made a Bahtinov mask the other day. Didn't use it on the weekend because I had no way to fix it in place temporarily, but (will) make focusing much easier. Very cool but simple idea.

[Adrena1in]

Such a fantastic shot, at the moment it's your images which are inspiring me to get out again and try my new 70mm APO!

[chris.bailey]

I have a long list of targets that are all now sitting in an ideal spot for me BUT night after night of cloud or seeing that has FWHM readouts all over the place. I have not imaged anything now for nearly a month and have only had two decent sessions this year!!!!!

[Adrena1in]

I have not imaged anything now for nearly a month and have only had two decent sessions this year!!!!!

Well that's two more than me! Finally got my ZS70 mounted last night though, so I should be good to go the next time it's clear...

[troypiggo]

Bring it guys! :)

[chris.bailey]

Well that's two more than me! Finally got my ZS70 mounted last night though, so I should be good to go the next time it's clear...

Could be a bit of a wait looking at the forecast. It is just so frustrating at the moment. I dont ask for much, just the odd clear night. I really thought we were all systems go last night but the seeing was so awful it was impossible to focus.

[Nighthound]

Wholey Moley Troy, this is great!

I missed this one, I've been away shooting wildlife(with a camera). I'm really impressed with the color/detail and tracking is spot on. Now you're cookin'!!

[markjpcs]

Very nice shot!

[troypiggo]

Thanks very much guys. I'd have liked more reach, but worked with what I had.

[Jim G]

Man. That's great! One day I'd love to get my hands on an astro setup and do stuff like this.

[ebann]

Man... I'd definitely want to retire in Brisbane... went there for my honeymoon (along with Cairns and Airlie Beach). Add good dark skies to the mix and it's the place to be! Great image!

[dpastern]

Man... I'd definitely want to retire in Brisbane... went there for my honeymoon (along with Cairns and Airlie Beach). Add good dark skies to the mix and it's the place to be! Great image!

I wouldn't say good dark skies in Brisbane. A drive of a few hours and you're talking though.

Dave