M51, Whirlpool Galaxy in Canes Venatici

 

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Exposure Data: 3/6/2002.  LRGB: 19x5m, 6x5m, 6x5m, 6x8m. RGB binned 2x2. -20°C, 1.0 arc-sec./pixel.
 
Processing: Acquired in CCDSoft, reduced, combined and aligned in Mira. double size and RGB combine in Maxim. Lum 5 iterations in CCDSharp. LLRGB with RL used for second L. First L flattened at 55% Unsharp mask in bright areas, light gaussian blur over dark areas, curves and levels in Photoshop.
 
Optical System: 10” Ritchey-Chretien @ F/7.2, ST-8E NABG/CFW-8A CCD camera, STV/eFinder, AP900GTO mount.
 
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