M68 in Hydra 26th March 2020 @ 01:44 UT
M68 was only 10 degrees above the horizon. My second attempt was 12 deg above the horizon.
Image: 15 seconds x 25 frames (375 seconds total), gain 6579, bin 1x1, Raw 14, black level 99, camera temperature 6.6 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.
I also tried for the nearby galaxy M88 but it was too faint to see. It look like the maximum altitude for M68 is 12.5 degrees. Will try again to capture a better look at this globular cluster.
Image: 15 seconds x 75 frames (1125 seconds total), gain 6584, bin 2x2, Raw 14, black level 99, camera temperature 7.6 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.
The second try (27th March 2020 @ 00:48 UT) was much better even though the viewing experience was not the best. 12 degrees altitude is the best from my location and is the equivalent of having 5 to 6 atmospheres of air between the camera and the object!
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 68 is 34,000 light years distant.
Charles Messier discovered M 68 in 1780.