Leo's Triplet: A Glimpse Through a Giant Dobsonian
This week, we're diving into the wonders of the Leo Triplet, a captivating group of galaxies in the constellation Leo. Captured by an amateur astronomer using a formidable 24-inch Dobsonian telescope, this image showcases the power of dedicated equipment and skillful processing.
The Gear and the Process
The image was acquired using a 24-inch Dobsonian telescope, specifically at an f-ratio of F2.55, further refined by a 0.75x Nexus Coma Corrector. The acquisition involved 351 sub-exposures, each lasting 3 seconds, over a total of 19 minutes. From this impressive dataset, the best 70% of 300 subs were stacked, effectively utilizing 12 minutes of imaging time.
Bringing Out the Details with PixInsight
The post-processing workflow relied heavily on PixInsight, a powerful suite of tools for astronomical image processing. Key steps included:
- ImageSolver: Used for plate-solving and alignment.
- Spectrophotometric Colour Calibration: To ensure accurate and natural colors.
- Generalised Hyperbolic Stretch: A technique for stretching the dynamic range of the image.
- Curves Transformation: Applied for fine-tuning saturation.
- Range Selection: Utilized to create masks, allowing for targeted saturation of the galaxies while protecting the background.
- NoiseXTerminator and BlurXTerminator: Professional tools for noise reduction and sharpening.
A Deeper Look at the Triplet
The Leo Triplet consists of three bright galaxies: M65, M66, and NGC 3628. These galaxies are gravitationally bound and offer a fantastic target for both visual observers and astrophotographers. The detailed processing highlights the subtle dust lanes within NGC 3628 and the spiral arms of M65 and M66.
For those interested in the technical aspects or wanting to see the raw capture and processing steps, a video is available at .
This image serves as a testament to what can be achieved with accessible, yet powerful, amateur astronomy equipment and dedicated processing knowledge. Happy stargazing!
