I decided to image the M97 - M108 combination last night. I imaged this pair a few years ago, but only acquired about 1 hours data with older camera. So I decided to give it another try. I really like imaging areas of the sky that have multiple objects since it gives me a sense of the vastness of space. This pair is interesting since it includes a planetary nebula and an edge-on galaxy.
I used SVX130 refractor and ZWO ASI2600 OSC camera. Autoguiding with SV90 refractor and ZWO ASI290 camera. The night started out a bit windy, but settled down as the night went on. I used SGP4 to manage all equipment and set the exposure to 2 minutes, -20 deg C, binned 1x1, and gain of 100.
I started imaging around 8PM and shutdown around 2AM. I managed to acquire 175 images (2 minutes) and 50 flats (0.1 seconds). Tracking was good all night with exception of some wind gusts. Image processing with PixInsight.
M97 is a planetary nebula about 2,030 light years away. It is estimated to be about 8,000 years old. M108 is a barred spiral galaxy seen edge-on. It is 45.9 million light years away.
This was a really good test of the new Lindy USB3 5 meter cable. No problems. Looks like a keeper.
Roger
- M97-M108 Master_DBEdiv_SPCC_BXT_NXT_GHS_MLTsharp_Curves._MLT5321_HT.jpg (18.66 MiB) Viewed 644 times
