AO-8 and another M101

Got an AO-8 to try some internal autoguiding! This has been on the wish list for a couple of years, and finally when it is in the budget it was out of stock for a while. It is having the same issues as the "regular" internal autoguider, in that it is a challenge to find a good guide star. However, it is much more successful for the LX200 once one is available. Here is a picture of the autoguider on the camera:

http://www.fortlewis.edu/observatory/image_detail.asp?ID=207

M101 is actually the second target, but the first light image of M99 is here:

http://www.fortlewis.edu/observatory/image_detail.asp?ID=205

Last night I got to concentrate on M101. I will need to get another adapter to "shorten" the distance to the focal reducer, since this extra stuff in the track makes the system ~f5.5 instead of f6.3. Opinions wanted - should I go back to 6.3? I think I can see effects on stars in the corners, but the extra FOV is useful. M101 barely fits here. The link also has a full resolution binned 1x1 version. That works out to ~0.58"/pixel.

http://www.fortlewis.edu/observatory/image_detail.asp?ID=206

As always, processing suggestions welcome. Thanks for looking.

Charlie

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