M81 Bode's Galaxy

Constellation: Ursa Major        Distance: 12 million lightyears

M81

Click for full resolution (3027 x 2208)

Image spcefications:
  • Exposure: 4 houres, LRGB = 150:30:30:30 minutes
  • Camera: SBIG ST-8300M, Temp -25 ° C, Baader LRGB filters
  • Instrument: TEC 140, focal distance 980 mm
  • Mount: Losmandy G11
  • Guiding: TS Off Axisguider, Starlight Xpress Lodestar autoguider and PHD
  • Location: Etoile St. Cyrice, France
  • Sky Quality Meter: 21,42
  • Temperature: Ambient: 9° C
  • Date: 3 and 4 may 2011

Image acquisition with ImagesPlus 4.0 Camera Control (all at -25° C) with dither:
  • 6 Luminance of 15 min, binned 1x1
  • 6 Red + 6 Green + 6 Blue of 5 min, binned 2x2
  • 20 Flat fields per channel with Aurora Flatfield panel
  • At home, camera in fridge:
  • 20 Dark frames of 15 min + 20 Dark frames of 5 min
  • 20 Flat darks (per channel) + 20 Bias frames

Processing in ImagesPlus 3.82:
  • Automatic Image Set Processing per channel:
  • calibrate, normalize, grade, align and combine (Min Max Excluded Average)
  • Reduce High Low Pixel
  • Digital Development (DDP)
  • Deconvolution Adaptive Richardson Lucy

Processing in Registar:
  • Align Luminance, Red, Green and Blue results
  • Combine RGB

Processing in Photoshop CS3:
  • Combine Luminance and RGB with Lab Color (Split RGB and Combine Lum, a, b)
  • Curves
  • Levels
  • Selective Color
  • Plugin: Noise Ninja
  • Noel Carboni's astronomy tools: Star size reduction