M51 The Whirlpool Galaxy

Whirlpool Galaxy
M51 The Whirlpool Galaxy

I finally got my autoguider in focus, and turned to M51. I was never able to guide on this object with the LX600, but the little StellarVue guide scope has no trouble locking.

This is a first light image from my latest (v3) filterwheel. I switched from MacOS to Linux and I haven't figured out the processing yet. The program I'm using doesn't seem to have a "make this black" function, or a "make this white" function, so the background is odd colored.

  • LX600 12" f/8 telescope
  • SBIG STF-8300EN CCD
  • 36 x 120 seconds luminance
  • 30 x 60 seconds each R,G and B
  • 1615px x 1051px
  • January 2021
Whirlpool Galaxy
M51 The Whirlpool Galaxy

A few more tweaks to the guider, and a new power box, and I got this image of M51.

  • LX600 12" f/8 telescope
  • SBIG STF-8300EN CCD
  • 50 x 90 seconds luminance
  • 1200px x 864px
  • March 2021