Mike's Astro Photos

I had to take a break from astrophotos for a little while at the beginning of the year to focus on some Earth based projects. In addition to not having the time, I had lost some of my inspiration and motivation for the work. When I finally got back into it, I realized there were a bunch of things I had been doing wrong. I had been rushing through the process to get to the end result, but not spending the time on the details and fine points needed to consistently create quality photos. As a result, fundmental problems with my procedures were preventing me from seeing clearly. After some time away, these errors were apparent and I spent a good bit of effort on each aspect trying to perfect it or at least get it working better. After a few weeks of slow paced, calm progress I started to get the results I was looking for (or at least better results!)

Here’s my first galaxy photo of the new year, Messier 81, aka Bode’s Galaxy. For reference purposes, here’s a Hubble photo of the same object.

Messier 81 – February 10th, 2013

Here’s a an extra big high-res 3200×3200 version of this galaxy picture.

Photo Details
M81
LRGB 1200x600x600x600 Minutes Each
Total exposure: 5 hours
Camera: Apogee U16M
Guider: SBIG 402 with MMOAG Off Axis Guider
Telescope: RCOS 14.5
Mount: Paramount ME
Location: Auberry, CA
Date: Feb 5,6,7 2013
Software: The SkyX, MaximDL, FocusMax, CCDAutoPilot, CCDStack, Photoshop