M81/82 (UMa)

M81/82 (UMa)

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Date/Site: 23. March, 1., 3. and 4. April 2021. Remote observatory on the AAR club's site in Presberg
Exposure/
Filter:
R: 18 x 300 seconds,
G: 19 x 300 seconds,
B: 17 x 300 seconds,
L: 74 x 300 seconds (-20°C)
Camera: Moravian G3-16200 with Astronomik Type II-filters
Optics/
Instrument:
250mm f/4,7 Newton with VIP-3010 Paracorr on 10Micron GM1000 HPS
Guiding: Lodestar attached to a 61mm-finder,
focusing: Microtouch and FocusMax,
data acquired remotely using CCD-Commander and MaximDL 6,
processing: MaximDL 6 and PixInsight 1.8

Deep images of the surroundings of M81 and M82 show a lot of Integrated Flux Nebula (IFN).
Apart from this signal the stacked data unfortunately showed a lot of strange spots and gradients. There was no reliable way to discern signal from bias, especially in this region of the sky. This presentation therefore restrains a bit concerning the background.
 

M81/82 (UMa)

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Date/Site: May 5. and 6., 2016, ITV, Gedern
Exposure/
Filter:
Lum 6 x 5 minutes,
red 6 x 5 minutes,
green 6 x 5 minutes,
blue 6 x 5 minutes (-20°C)
Camera: QSI 632 with SBIG- and Baader-filters
Optics/
Instrument:
4"-TMB refractor of the AAR on 10Micron GM1000 HPS
Guiding: Lodestar attached to a 61mm-finder,
focusing with USB_Focus and FocusMax,
automatic image acquisition with CCD-Commander and MaximDL 6,
calibration: MaximDL 6, processing: PixInsight 1.8

For the first time ever I went to a star party with the full imaging gear and not only with the intention to observe visually. Silently I had my doubts if it would be wise to set up the fragile equipment at a busy site like the International Telescope Meeting Vogelsberg. But I wanted to test the TMB-refractor with its new focus-motor in order to be ready for the planned trip to La Palma.
Already on the site was Thomas, head of the Rhine-Main-Taunus-astro-aficionados, later to be joined by my old buddy Ben from Munich and by Tobbe from Lausanne, who brought his 20“ flexrocker-Dobson. On their websites Ben and .de/itv2016.html" target="_new">Thomas posted very colourful narratives catching the wonderful spirit of the four days we stayed there.
I had imaged the Bode galaxies from my terrace with the same equipment only two nights before and I wondered how much a difference the decent rural sky of the Vogelsberg would make compared to the sky of a small town on the river Rhine. The difference is enormous. For this image I used only the frames captured at the ITV.

© Friedhelm Hübner, last revision:  09.12.2024