M101 from Kelling Heath

[MarkS]

Friday night (24 April) at the Kelling Heath Star Party.

5 hours total exposure in 5 minute subs.  Modified Canon EOS350D on Celestron C11 with F6.3 focal reducer.  EQ6 mount guided by a 300mm lens with x2 converter and a modified webcam using PhD Guiding.

Conditions were slightly gusty, which played havoc with my guiding but doesn't seem to have affected the final result too badly.

Mark



Full size is here:
http://gallery.orpington-astronomy.org.uk/albums/userpics/10046/m101kelling.jpg

[Mac]

That is excellent.

[RobertM]

That's very nice indeed Mark, an excellent result, well done.

From what you've posted, I get the feeling you could brighten the image just a tad, relinquishing some of that inky black background to bring up a little more depth - just a thought !

[Daniel]

Wow, Mark, that's fantastic, so much detail in those dust lanes. Good to see a fellow DSLR'r getting such amazing images, maybe I can get a bit more life out of my 40D before I think about getting an Astro Camera!

[Fay]

Mark, knew it would be fantastic. Really nice, perseverance paid off

[Rocket Pooch]

Thats not bad at all.