M81 – Spiral Galaxy in Ursa Major

M81 – Spiral Galaxy in Ursa Major – Asro-Tech RC8, ASI294MC Pro

Telescope: Astro-Tech 8” f/8 Ritchey-Chretien, Orion Atlas EQ-G

Camera: ZWO ASI294MC Pro, 0C, Gain 200

Filter: 2” Orion Imaging Skyglow Filter

Guide scope: Astro-Tech 60mm, Meade DSI Pro II, PHD

Exposure: 52x240sec, saved as FITS

Darks: 32x240s, saved as FITS

Flats: 32×0.25sec, sky flats taken at dusk

Average Light Pollution: Red zone, Bortle 8, poor transparency, bright moonlight

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 17.9 mag/arc-sec^2

Stacking: Mean with a 2-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: Nebulosity, Deep Sky Stacker, Photoshop

M81 is a beautiful spiral galaxy that is interacting with the nearby M82. The sky conditions for imaging this delicate galaxy were far from optimal, but it is still neat to see the beautiful sweeping arms tinged with blue star forming regions resulting from a close encounter with M82.