Updated Smart Telescope Image - Bode Galaxy M81

[wornish]

Just over an hour Saturday night using the Dwarfe II. I thought I would try it out on a faint galaxy.

This is Bode Galaxy, Messier 81. 100 x 15sec images. Think I can get more detail if I let it run for another 100 or so more.
As usual, I was impatient to see the potential.

 

[wornish]

Can't not take advantage of a clear night sky with the Dwarfe II.
This is M81 from Sunday night. I stacked the best 200 x 13-sec images out of 330 taken.
Post processed quite a bit. Still not happy with the colour but at least I can now see more detail.




This is the output before cropping shows the frame rotation that the scope is dealing with.

 

[GreenNinja67]

The field rotation is the only thing putting me off getting the Seastar S50.

I know an alt-az mount will do this but hopefully an equatorial mount will be available at some point to alleviate this.

 

[wornish]

You can reduce the field rotation a lot if instead of mounting the Dwarfe vertically on a tripod you adjust the ball head on the tripod so that the Dwarfe II body is pointing at Polaris. The stacking software does a good job of de-rotating before stacking. M81 is almost at the zenith right now so the rotation is very noticeable.

Not seen any sign of a smart (GoTo) GEM scope that does not need polar alignment. If you want to do long exposures to get faint nebula there is no option but to use a GEM mount and guiding. The latest ZWO cameras now include a second sensor that means you no longer need a seperate guide scope and camera, so it's getting better.