M81 - Bodes Galaxy
M81 - Bodes Galaxy
Zoom
Image
Go To
M81 - Bodes Galaxy
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
2015-Apr-12
17x5m + 11x4m, total 129m
AFT, MaximDL, CPT
E11, 0.7xFR, EQ8, A80Mf, LSX2
Messier 81, Bodes Galaxy, is a large, bright galaxy found in the Ursa Major constellation.
This image was taken from the Blackfoot Staging Area near Edmonton. The exposure time is a little short, just over two hours.

While taking this image the wind whipped up and blew my astro-tent into the telescope. It knocked over a bunch of things and whacked the telescope pretty good.

It was such a mess and late enough that it shut me down for the night. And it was all my fault too. The tent wasn't secured properly and rather than keep an eye on it, I took a nap instead. Guess that's what happens when you sleep on the job.

After I woke up and found the debris that had once been a fully operational imaging rig, I despondently packed up in the dark and headed home. The entire night was clearly ruined and a bunch of gear was probably broken or at least damaged. It was hard to tell in the dark and I just threw it all in the van and high-tailed it out of there.

But no, even though the night was was cut short by disaster, there was still valid data on the laptop and the resulting image came out not too badly. And other than a few minor scratches, all the gear worked just fine too.

A lucky break for sure.

Images of M81 and M82
M81 imaged with an 11" EdgeHD SCT and a Nightscape NS8300 OSC camera
M81 - Bodes Galaxy
M82 imaged with an 11" EdgeHD SCT and a Nightscape NS8300 OSC camera
M82 - Cigar Galaxy
Mosiac of M81 and M82 imaged with an MN190 Mak-Newt and and STF8300M CCD camera
M81 and M82
Full resolution JPEG Image
Galaxies
Main Index
Home Page