M51 in Coma Canes Venatici 26th March 2020 @ 22:59 UT
From the first frame, this became my favourite Messier galaxy (so far). A great spiral galaxy with amazing detail and the bonus of interaction with NGC 5195.
Image: 15 seconds x 124 frames (1860 seconds total), gain 6584, bin 2x2, Raw 14, black level 99, camera temperature 6.8 deg C, 1 dark. Stacked in SharpCap Pro 3.2.6248.0. The image was stacked and adjusted in SharpCap. The image was scaled down and cropped in GIMP. As always all the processing is performed 'live' in Sharpcap as more frames come in I colour balance, stretch the image and apply noise reduction and/or shaprening.
The image below has been cropped and a high-pass sharpening filter has been applied along with noise reduction.
Equipment: Celestron CPC-800 at F5.9, Alt-Az mount, Altair Astro Hypercam 294C Pro Cooled (fan), Celestron Focuser, CPWI controlled remotely via Microsoft RDP and ASCOM.
Astrometry: M 51 is 28 million light years distant.
Charles Messier discovered M 51 in 1773.