M81M82

M81, BODE'S GALAXY (NGC 3031), AND M82, THE CIGAR GALAXY (NGC 3034)

PLUS DWARF GALAXY HOLMBERG IX

HaRGB image (Hydrogen-Alpha emphasized to show star-forming regions in M81 and "jets" in M82), taken early March, 2008 (click on image for larger size):

Uncropped Version:

Image acquisition and processing details:

Telescope:	Takahashi Epsilon 180, f/2.8.
Mount:	Celestron CGE, remotely controlled with NexRemote.
Camera:	SBIG ST-10XME cooled to -20C, internal guiding. All images binned 1x1.
Filters, Exposure Times:	AstroDon HA 210 min (21x10 min), Red/Green/Blue 45 min each filter (9x5 min each). Additional data was obtained but discarded.
Dates:	03/04, 03/05, 03/06, and 03/08/08.
Moon Phase:	14% to 0%
Location:	Xanadu Observatory, Backyard in Tucson, AZ
Software:	MaximDL, TheSky, CCDInspector, CCDStack, Adobe Photoshop
Notes:	The Dwarf Galaxy Holmberg IX is the tiny bluish smudge above M81. This was one of my first targets with the Epsilon 180.

"LRGB" image taken 12/16/06 and 12/21/06 (click on image for larger size):

Here is the 12/21 data only (uncropped):

Image acquisition and processing details:

Telescope:	William Optics Zenithstar 105mm APO refractor, f/5.6 with 0.8 FR/FF.
Mount:	Celestron CGE, remotely controlled with NexRemote.
Camera:	SBIG ST-10XME cooled to -30C, internal guiding. All images binned 1x1.
Filters, Exposure Times:	AstroDon Lum 150 min (30x5 min), Red/Green/Blue 60 min each filter (12x5 min each). Additional data was obtained but discarded.
Dates:	12/16/06 and 12/21/06.
Moon Phase:	25% on 12/16, 0% on 12/21/06.
Location:	Xanadu Observatory, Backyard in Tucson, AZ
Software:	MaximDL, TheSky, CCDInspector, CCDStack, Adobe Photoshop
Notes:	The Dwarf Galaxy Holmberg IX is the tiny bluish smudge above M81. I rotated the camera 90 degrees on the second night, so the combine process required some cropping of the image. I hope to add some H-Alpha data eventually to highlight the jets shooting out from M82.