M51.

My friend Mike Newton just completed his roll off roof observatory. He has an ST8E/CFW and a 1200 AP goto. Hes waiting on a 16" Royce mirror. So... for the time being Im letting him use my 8" celestron tube. He wanted me to put this pic on my server so he could post to AP. I thought Id post it here, I think its pretty good.
So heres M51 prime focus through my 8". Im not sure exposure times, but if anyones really that interested I can post it later.
Tony.

Attached Image:

That's a beaitful M51, really sharp/detailed and also nice and deep. Very nice!

A few tips to take it to the next level:

* The white point for blue is a little high; lower it to bring out more blue in the spiral arms;

* The black point for red is a little low, and the overall image black point is also a touch low. This gives the background a reddish cast. Fixing the black points will clean this up nicely.

* After the above adjustments, you will probably find the image a little dark. A small non-linear histogram boost (e.g., Curves in Photoshop) will restore brightness balance.

Ron Wodaski

Beautiful shot Tony!
Thanks for sharing!!


Ivan