Since the Moon was still going to be very bright last night, I decided to continue imaging in Draco (which is in the North). I came across NGC 4236 which is a very large barred spiral galaxy. I found this while scrolling through SkyTools (Imaging). It is so large that it almost fills the entire image.
When I turned on the software for the Falcon Rotator I found there was an update ... which included a correction to the Falcon driver. This should fix the recent problems that I had with SGP ver 4.1. I decided to continue using SGP ver4.0 at least for this event.
I started imaging at about 9:30PM at which point NGC 4236 was already past the meridian. I was able to capture 120 images (2 minute subs) before it was too low in the West. I used 11 inch SCT and ZWO ASI 2600. Settings were: 0 deg C, 2x2 binning, gain 100.
Platesolve worked flawless all night. Actually not quite true. My first attempt at about 9:15 failed - I believe it was still to bright and with my setting of 8 sec exposure for platesolving could not find enough stars. waiting until 9:30 solved that problem.
NGC 4236 is a barred spiral galaxy about 11.7 million light years away. It is part of the M81 galaxy group.
Roger
NGC 4236 Spiral Galaxy (Caldwell 3)
NGC 4236 Spiral Galaxy (Caldwell 3)
Roger M.
Celestron CPC1100 EDGE, Stellarvue 130T refractor dual mounted on iOptron CEM120 on permanent pier mounted in Observatory. Imaging camera ZWO ASI2600 OSC, guide camera Lodestar or ZWO ASI290MM.
Celestron CPC1100 EDGE, Stellarvue 130T refractor dual mounted on iOptron CEM120 on permanent pier mounted in Observatory. Imaging camera ZWO ASI2600 OSC, guide camera Lodestar or ZWO ASI290MM.
Re: NGC 4236 Spiral Galaxy (Caldwell 3)
Roger, awesome colors on the object! Did the color come in with the camera imaging or did you do something with processing ?
Frank N
Stellarvue 80mm APO, Skyguider Pro, Celestron AVX
"I'm a seeker too. But my dreams aren't like yours. I can't help thinking that somewhere in the universe there has to be something better than man. Has to be"
Taylor in "Planet of the Apes" 1968
Stellarvue 80mm APO, Skyguider Pro, Celestron AVX
"I'm a seeker too. But my dreams aren't like yours. I can't help thinking that somewhere in the universe there has to be something better than man. Has to be"
Taylor in "Planet of the Apes" 1968
Re: NGC 4236 Spiral Galaxy (Caldwell 3)
Frank
The colors are 'natural'. I used Pixinsight PCC (photometric color calibration) and did not do any further color adjustments other than slight saturation increase.
Roger
The colors are 'natural'. I used Pixinsight PCC (photometric color calibration) and did not do any further color adjustments other than slight saturation increase.
Roger
Roger M.
Celestron CPC1100 EDGE, Stellarvue 130T refractor dual mounted on iOptron CEM120 on permanent pier mounted in Observatory. Imaging camera ZWO ASI2600 OSC, guide camera Lodestar or ZWO ASI290MM.
Celestron CPC1100 EDGE, Stellarvue 130T refractor dual mounted on iOptron CEM120 on permanent pier mounted in Observatory. Imaging camera ZWO ASI2600 OSC, guide camera Lodestar or ZWO ASI290MM.
Re: NGC 4236 Spiral Galaxy (Caldwell 3)
Wow. It certainly has a different "look" than the other galaxies we normally see on these pages. Whimsical, I'd say. It carries the essence of a Midsummer NIght's Dream. Someone had to say it. Might as well be me.
Very nice, Roger. That would be one I'd like to see in a very large telescope for real. Thanks for posting,
Tom
Very nice, Roger. That would be one I'd like to see in a very large telescope for real. Thanks for posting,
Tom
Tom H
"Science knows no country, because knowledge belongs to humanity, and is the torch which illuminates the world. Science is the highest personification of the nation because that nation will remain the first which carries the furthest the works of thought and intelligence." - Louis Pasteur
"Science knows no country, because knowledge belongs to humanity, and is the torch which illuminates the world. Science is the highest personification of the nation because that nation will remain the first which carries the furthest the works of thought and intelligence." - Louis Pasteur
Re: NGC 4236 Spiral Galaxy (Caldwell 3)
Tom
Thanks .... the galaxy is actually quite large-- about 2/3 the size of the Moon so using a large telescope you would have to use a very wide field eyepiece. It also has a fairly low surface brightness so you would need a fairly dark sky.
I agree that this would be a really interesting object for observing.
Roger.
Thanks .... the galaxy is actually quite large-- about 2/3 the size of the Moon so using a large telescope you would have to use a very wide field eyepiece. It also has a fairly low surface brightness so you would need a fairly dark sky.
I agree that this would be a really interesting object for observing.
Roger.
Roger M.
Celestron CPC1100 EDGE, Stellarvue 130T refractor dual mounted on iOptron CEM120 on permanent pier mounted in Observatory. Imaging camera ZWO ASI2600 OSC, guide camera Lodestar or ZWO ASI290MM.
Celestron CPC1100 EDGE, Stellarvue 130T refractor dual mounted on iOptron CEM120 on permanent pier mounted in Observatory. Imaging camera ZWO ASI2600 OSC, guide camera Lodestar or ZWO ASI290MM.