M51, the Whirlpool Galaxy

[crimbfighter]

Very nice image. Out of curiosity (I’m new to deep space objects myself), why such short exposures when you have what appears to be a tracking mount and guiding setup?

I was having issues with my guiding that night (I traced it to a bad ST4 cable on my mount). As a result, I was only able to take unguided exposures. At the high focal length of my scope (2000mm) the tracking on my mount isn't good enough to prevent start trails without guiding during long exposures. 20 seconds was the longest I could get. Even at that, i still lost probably 20-40% of the subs.

 

[SquarePeg]

Great photo. I love the level of detail. Amazing!

Envy.

Oh how I would like to be in a place with less light pollution and humidity. A 20 second exposure here yields anything but a black sky. I'm hoping this winter at the lake cabin I can get something even remotely close to your results.

I have the same unit @ 6". Does the gigantic hood really help?

Yesterday I got the Sky Adventurer tracker and plan to take with me when I travel to clients in Colorado and LA. In LA I plan to take it up to Mt. Wilson.

Oh, and I can't blame only on conditions and equipment, I have a lot to learn.

“Located in Great Falls, Virginia, about 35 minutes outside of D.C., Observatory Park is a dedicated stargazing spot on The Turner Farm, a public area managed by Fairfax County. It's popular with amateur astronomers and astronomy clubs because it's far enough from the city lights to offer good dark sky quality.”

 

[photoflyer]

“Located in Great Falls, Virginia, about 35 minutes outside of D.C., Observatory Park

Good to know. About a half hour away. Hopefully it is open.

 

[RichardProtium]

Nicely done! I have a shot of M51 archived somewhere from a decade ago, but it doesn't have nearly as much exposure time or detail.