Image Links | |
Published image | Full resolution |
Annotated image | Full resolution |
Target Information | |
Main Target Designations | M82 |
RA Center | 9h 55m 51.188s |
DEC Center | +69° 40' 40.23" |
Rotation | -0.679° (North is up) |
Pixel Scale (as posted) | 0.867 arcseconds/pixel |
Exposures | |
LRGBHa | 590'/390'/390'/400'/660' |
L subframes | 59 x 600" @ 1x1 |
R/G/B subframes | 39/39/30 x 600" @ 1x1 |
Ha subframes | 33 x 1200" @ 1x1 |
Total Integration | 40hrs 30min |
Period of Acquisition | Jan 2020, Feb 2020 |
Location | Animas, NM |
Equipment | |
Imager | SBIG STF-8300M |
Telescope/Lens | TS Optics N-AG12 12" Newtonian Astrograph @ f/4.56 |
Mount | Mesu 200 Mk II |
Guiding Apparatus | OAG-8300 |
Guiding Camera | QHY5L-II |
Filter Wheel | FW8-8300 |
Wide Filters | Astrodon Gen II LRGB |
Narrowband Filters | Astrodon Ha 5nm |
Accessories | |
Coma Corrector | TS Optics 3" N-AGK3 |
Collimator | Howie Glatter 650nm laser |
Focusing | Feather Touch True 3.0" with Focus Boss II |
Software | |
Acquisition | Sequence Generator Pro |
Guiding | PHD2 |
Processing | PixInsight 1.8 |
At long last, I've completed an image from a new set of gear that I installed for remote control in Animas, New Mexico in January 2020. The system includes both a new mount and a larger 12" Newtonian scope. Compared my old trusty 8" Orion astrograph, the added focal length and resolving power I now have at my disposal shines through in this image of the ubiquitous Cigar Galaxy (M82).
As my "first light data set" from my new setup in January and February 2020, I wanted to go deep on the area under dark skies, and for good reason. It's simply breathtaking how far the starburst jets extend perpendicularly from the galaxy's plane into the dark of Bortle 1, especially when considering the galaxy itself is 18,500 light years in diameter! These starburst jets are a source of endless fascination for amateurs and professionals alike. In fact, NASA's SOFIA recently (2019) discovered through infrared astronomy that the starburst winds, already known to drive the material of those jets, also drag the galactic magnetic field perpendicular to the galaxy, thereby creating an amplified drive of this material to the extents we see in this image of the region.
As with any data set from new gear, it took a while to work through processing as I acclimated to the character of the data (and that's not considering the 2 years of no-DSO rust I had to knock off!). This turned out very pleasantly, and I'm excited to continue to improve on my dozens of upcoming data sets!