Observation by David Davies: M68, NGC 4590 in Hydra

Uploaded by

David Davies

Observer

David Davies

Observed

2022 Mar 24 - 01:00

Uploaded

2022 Mar 24 - 17:52

Objects

M68

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Constellation

Hydra

Field centre

RA: 12^h39^m
Dec: -26°43'
Position angle: +0°12'

Field size

0°35' × 0°27'

Equipment

8-inch Ritchey Chretien telescope
QSI 683 camera with Astrodon RGB filters
Skywatcher EQ8 mount

Exposure

5 x two minutes, each of RGB, binned 2 x 2

Location

Cambridge, UK

Target name

M68

Title

M68, NGC 4590 in Hydra

About this image

I keep a list of the Messier objects that I image and M68 is listed as being too low to observe. It reaches around 10.4 deg altitude at my location at which point it is skimming just above the branches of the trees at the end of the field behind my observatory. It is visible above the trees for barely an hour. Last night presented an opportunity to try to observe it, but the sky had become very dark with haze and only a few of the brighter stars were visible by eye. Nevertheless, I had a go.

I've recently rediscovered the power of binned exposures with my QSI camera, giving an effective pixel size of 10.8um and an ideal image scale of 1.3"/pixel on my 8" RC telescope. My previous experiments with binned exposures were mixed and I stopped using the technique.

The attached image is the result of just 10 minutes of exposures each of RGB, 5 x two minutes each, binned 2 x2, as M68 cleared the tops of the trees briefly. Despite atmospheric dispersion, poor sky transparency, horrible seeing and a severely attenuated blue component, I am happy to share the image. I suspect that it is rarely observed in the UK.

Files associated with this observation

M68.jpg (1.4 MB)

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Tim Haymes, Alan Thomas

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