Observation by John Hughes: Messier 82

Uploaded by

Mr John William Hughes

Observer

John Hughes

Observed

2021 Apr 06 - 21:50

Uploaded

2021 Apr 10 - 12:58

Objects

M82

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Constellation

Ursa Major

Field centre

RA: 09^h55^m
Dec: +69°41'
Position angle: +179°57'

Field size

0°37' × 0°27'

Equipment

StellaLyra RC8
ZWO ASI1600mm Pro Cool
SkyWatcher EQ6-R Pro
ZWO OAG & ASI290mm mini
Chroma 1.25” LRGB filters

Exposure

Gain 139, Offset 30

Location

North Essex, UK

Title

Messier 82

About this image

This was the second outing with the RC8 this time taking a look at Messier 82.

In 2020 I captured this galaxy along with Messier 81 with my 4” refractor and when I purchased the RC8 I really could only think about pointing it towards M82 first. That starburst region is so dramatic.

This image was captured during one night and is presented in LRGB. Exposure time was 120s across each filter with a total integration time of 4.3 hours.

More data was captured earlier in the week but I had to bin it. Whilst the scope was guiding well I came across flexure for the first time and over the course of a night I watched my images drift consistently in one direction. The next day "Operation Tighten Everything" kicked in and that night I hoped I had solved the issue but sadly I hadn’t.

"Operation Acquire an OAG” was a challenge and solved with an eBay purchase. Then “Operation How The Hell Do I Use This Thing” started. Nothing new there!

The rest as they say is history and “Stella” as my RC8 is now known continues to throw out challenges. But when you can get this close to M82, I don’t really care.

Files associated with this observation

M82_LRGB_WB_RS.jpg (1.7 MB)

Like this image

Ron Arbour, Grant Privett, David Basey, Martina McGovern, Jeremy Shears, Mike Harlow, Callum Potter, Peter Mulligan, Callum Wingrove

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