Thank you yall , I didn't post the one that looks like m81 but, this shows more detail. It only has 602 subs in Lrgb but, it took time to get my lxd55 to guide for 60s and I hope to get more out of the old mule. I gathered 20s , 30s, 45s and 60s on this target= 602lrgb. Cropped and enlarged and some of last years data need to be removed because of bad focus and image shift , I'm learning and next year it'll be better.

m81 5th batch

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I've hit my limit with {m81}, I need more data from my Po'man imaging rig. I might keep working with my data but, it's not going to get where I want it at the present. I've got a big ole hardwood and weather that has brought me to the conclusion that enough is enough for this year.

m81

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I feel the pain Brian , now nothing but, downpours all Mother's Day weekend . My problem is , I get the arms extended then when adding the Blue channel , it starts diminishing the arms , URGGG ! Finding the proper balance is a very fine line.

Brian , nice job on Bodes Galaxy . I'm still beating my head against the wall , I thought the hard part was stacking the 10, 20, 30,45 and 60s subs . Processing this galaxy the way it's supposed to be is becoming a real bugger .

Great catch Brian , I like the detail and color .

I started out with a webcam and an f11 / 80mm refractor imaging the moon, planets and red giants and it was on after that , my handicapped tail fell into the "money pit" . Paid $150 for a telescope bundle and $ 100 for a good webcam . I had the laptop but, nowadays you can hook your smartphone to your scope. Do plenty of research it's awesome with the right info.

That's hard to grasp "Smoking gun" That's Deep Brian.

That's amazing , cameras and telescopes make this stuff within reach of us stepping beyond our boundaries . Awesome job Brian.

I use Pscs2 with levels, curves ,color balance {highlights , midtone and shadows} Astronomy tools plug-in to do a lot of clean up Brian , I've got about 500 more subs mostly L . I've still have to stack , align , and process . I use AIP4win to stack and process what I can . It's all practice to me and one day it'll click and everything will have a good flow . I appreciate the tips you gave me , it makes my images better. I've started working on this data pile 6 days ago and I've deleted so many tries and hopefully I'll be able to get it with the hint of blueish color and my background will be correct . The good thing is my guiding is up to 60s and I'm feeling confident about raising it to 90s but, this processing is another kind of monster that I have to tame.

It's coming along and I have to keep adding year after year due to the obstructions that I deal with. I'm taking it one step at a time and I'm now taking the 60s subs . Last years data is what I started with and over 1/3 were out of focus , the old crayford that came on my tube kept slipping. I've got that problem solved and I'm getting better with the AF every night I'm out.

M81 Bodes Galaxy

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I've realign the planes of my color channels , my images were worse than these . I realign the color channels manually , I don't know if Pi has that tool Ed.

Bodes galaxy is approx. 11.74 million light years away from Earth Dick , according to the constellation guide to the night sky and 12 million ly from our star.

Those are looking pretty darn good Ed , though I don't look or image our Star . As for Planetary processing AS and registax and final tweaking in Ps is all I use . KUDOS !

Pixel Stan 77, I just started shooting galaxies with HDR and bumped up the gain +10 from what the manufacturer set @ 174 . I've tested unity gain and HDR seems to do better IMHO , it's all personal preference {I guess}. I'm making my way through the handbook of Astronomical Image Processing "Richard berry , James Burnell " I'm learning things and getting a better handle on how and why I should do this and do that. I just wish I could remember what and how I setup when it's running good, instead of fighting the mount and myself almost every night I'm out .

Bodes Galaxy 3rd stack of data

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I took your advice Brian and added more L data, processing takes a lot of time . I have to walk away from it all the time .I'm looking forward to see the awesome detail you pulled on this target Brian . Which camera did you use?