GSO 6"RC Proper Deep Sky First Light

Finally... a clear night without a layer of high mist...

I knew what I was going to do, so got setup, used a 1 star sync with EQMOD, then the goto to M51, and that plonked M51 within the FOV of the 450d on the RC.

16 x 10 minutes @ ISO800, darks and flats
Imaging setup: GSO 6" RC, Canon 450d
Guiding: QHY5v, Konus Vista 80s
Mount: HEQ5
Software: PHD, APT, DSS and PS



I could have framed it better, but the image scale is a big improvement on the 80ED... This is uncropped.

There are a couple of issues... I discovered that my normal Av mode flats, again came out underexposed... I've no idea why, but as I knew what I was looking for, that was easily dealt with. The collimation is out, using liveview zoomed, I did a quick star test, and the airy disk has a slight list, but I wasn't going to let that stop me, as I really just wanted to get some data with it. I found when dismantling that I hadn't tightened both thumb screws, so may have had some camera flex, and I'm not 100% convinced I nailed focus.

But... I'm happy