M27 - Dumbbell Nebula

With a relatively clear sky last night, I set out to image M27.  By the time I had set up my equipment and performed a solid polar alignment, more cloud had rolled in and the moon was starting to become factor, but I managed to capture 6 light frames at ISO800, for a total exposure time of 9 minutes.

The Dumbbell Nebula (also known as Apple Core Nebula) is a planetary nebula in the constellation Vulpecula, at a distance of about 1,360 light years.

Quite happy with the result, given the relatively poor seeing conditions.  I'll definitely try this again once conditions improve, possibly extending the exposures slightly.

M51 - Whirlpool Galaxy

After a couple of weeks of cloud, last Thursday saw a clear sky during the early evening so I thought I'd set up my gear and see if I could image M51.  It's not the easiest target for my scope, as it's quite small and I have a relatively short focal length.

I took 20x90s lights, 5x90s darks all at ISO1600.  Unfortunately I was only able to use 4 of the lights, as the cloud cover had rendered most of the images without detail.

M51, the "Whirlpool Galaxy" is an interacting spiral galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici

I'm really chuffed with this one.  I'm hopeful that with a clearer sky and more data, I can reduce the noise in the image and maybe bring out some more of the colour too.