The
May Observing List motivated me to catch M53 for a second time, and M94 for my first time. Just like
last time, I used
α Com just below M53 as an anchor star to help me compose my shot in a way that would let me take multiple photos back to back while keeping the blob in frame.
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| 1 min 22 sec total exposure, stack of 82 subs, 71 darks, 53 bias at ISO 6400, 1.3 sec, 300mm, f/5.6 | |
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| Original (uncropped) same as above |
M94 was new to me, but I located it without much trouble. There is a small asterism (6 stars, each around mag 8.5) only 1° from M94 that looks like a kite or a magnifying glass. Composing my shot based on this asterism made it much easier to ensure M94 stayed in frame while taking multiple photos back to back.
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| Stack of 195 subs, 71 darks, 53 bias, ISO 6400, 1.3 sec, 300mm, f/5.6 |
The asterism was obvious enough for me to make note of it in my observing notes, which mostly consist of acquisition settings for my DSLR. Whenever I do a bunch of Messier Objects in the same night, I can't always tell them apart until after processing - so I started writing down the order and settings for each one
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| My asterism reminder in my observing notes |
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M94 brings my Messier total to 63 objects!
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