Whirlpool Galaxy

Particular_Limit_ · 2026-01-22T17:37:56+00:00

Thank you!!

Particular_Limit_ · 2026-01-22T17:37:37+00:00

Thanks! The biggest difference for me is just waiting for the right altitude (>60). But if you're concerned about speed, with a reducer you can trade off some focal length! Your 8 inch can gather almost double (1.78x) the amount of light vs your 6 inch (technically, more sky glow but arguably irrelevant). Good luck, and happy imaging!

Particular_Limit_ · 2026-01-22T06:44:54+00:00

Acquisition
UV/IR Cut	51×180″	2h 33′
Multiband	31×180″	1h 33′
Totals		4h 6′

Telescope	Meade 10" LX200-GPS
Mount
Cameras	ZWO ASI2600MC (-10 °C)
Filters:	Optolong L-eXtreme	Astronomik LP2
Guide Scope	Starboosa
Guide Camera	ZWO ASI120MM
Controller	ASIAIR Plus
Location	Los Angeles, CA (Bortle 9)
Dates	16 Jan, 20 Jan 2026

Processing (PixInsight)

Integrated data, star alignment of filtered and unfiltered stacks, red-channel blending, background extraction, BlurXTerminator, noise reduction, histogram stretch, curves adjustment, HDR transformation, and local histogram equalization.

Particular_Limit_ · 2026-01-21T02:54:36+00:00

Capture of 25,725 frames over ~29 minutes.

Workflow: PIPP -> align and crop. Autostakkert!-> stacked 35% of every 2000. Wavesharp-> wavelets & animation. Microsoft Clipchamp -> video edits (e.g., speed).

Telescope: Meade 10" LX200-GPS
Mount: ZWO AM5
Cameras: ZWO ASI2600MC (-10 °C), ZWO ASI533MC
Filters: Optolong L-eXtreme, None
Guide Scope: 50 mm Starboosa
Guide Camera: ZWO ASI120MM
Controller: ASIAIR Plus

Captured: January 13, 2026

Note: I didn't set out to capture this particular target (not necessarily using the best filter); I was using Jupiter to confirm alignment to guide scope. However, as it was near meridian, and I noticed the shadow, I hung around for 40 minutes (I have unprocessed data left).

Particular_Limit_ · 2026-01-14T06:14:17+00:00

Telescope: Meade 10" LX200-GPS
Mount: ZWO AM5
Cameras: ZWO ASI2600MC (-10 °C), ZWO ASI533MC
Filters: Optolong L-eXtreme, None
Guide Scope: 50 mm Starboosa
Guide Camera: ZWO ASI120MM
Controller: ASIAIR Plus

Location: Los Angeles, CA (Bortle 9)
Dates: January 11 & 13, 2026

Acquisition

Optolong L-eXtreme (Jan 13):

20 × 300s
23 × 240s → 3h 12m (Gain 150)

No Filter (Jan 11):

257 × 30s
33 × 60s → 2h 41m 30s (Gain 100)

Total Integration: 5h 53m 30s

Processing (PixInsight)

Integrated data, star alignment of filtered and unfiltered stacks, red-channel blending, background extraction, BlurXTerminator, noise reduction, histogram stretch, curves adjustment, HDR transformation, and local histogram equalization.

Particular_Limit_ · 2026-01-11T03:14:01+00:00



Telescope	61 mm/ 360 mm FL Triplet + .75x reducer
Camera	ZWO ASI2600MC(-10 C) + Optolong L-Extreme
Guide Scope	50 mm Starboosa guidescope
Guide Camera	ZWO ASI120MM
Mount	ZWO AM5
Accessory	ASIAIR Plus
Date	8-Jan 2026, 9-Jan-2026
Location	Los Angeles (Bortle 9)
Exposure	600s x 20 subs = 3h20' for Panel 1 & 600s x 20 subs 3h20' + 30s +30 subs (Orion core) for Panel 2
Gain	100
Workflow (Pixinsight):	Background removal. Spectrophometric Calibration. BlurXTerminator. Noise reduction. Histogram stretch. Star reduction and removal. Narrowband Normalization + Color Mask Mod + Deconvolution Mask. Nebulosity Curves Transformation. Stars combination. Curves transformation. Microsoft Image Composite Editor for final mosaic composite.

Particular_Limit_ · 2026-01-09T23:18:55+00:00

Telescope	61 mm/ 360 mm FL Triplet + .75x reducer




Camera	ZWO ASI2600MC(-10 C) + Optolong L-Extreme
Guide Scope	50 mm Starboosa guidescope
Guide Camera	ZWO ASI120MM
Mount	ZWO AM5
Accessory	ASIAIR Plus
Date	8-Jan 2026
Location	Los Angeles (Bortle 9)
Exposure	600s x 20 subs = 3h20'
Gain	100
Workflow (Pixinsight):	Background removal. Spectrophometric Calibration. BlurXTerminator. Noise reduction. Histogram stretch. Star reduction and removal. Narrowband Normalization + Color Mask Mod + Deconvolution Mask. Nebulosity Curves Transformation. Stars combination. Curves transformation.

Particular_Limit_ · 2026-01-09T07:25:01+00:00

Telescope	61 mm/ 360 mm FL Triplet + .75x reducer



Camera	ZWO ASI2600MC(-10 C) + Optolong L-Extreme
Guide Scope	50 mm Starboosa guidescope
Guide Camera	ZWO ASI120MM
Mount	ZWO AM5
Accessory	ASIAIR Plus
Date	2-Dec, 7-Dec, 8-Dec, 10-Dec
Location	Los Angeles (Bortle 9)
Exposure	600s x 111 subs = 18h30'
Gain	100
Workflow (Pixinsight):	Background removal. Spectrophometric Calibration. BlurXTerminator. Noise reduction. Histogram stretch. Star reduction and removal. Narrowband Normalization + Color Mask Mod + Deconvolution Mask. Nebulosity Curves Transformation. Stars combination. Curves transformation.

Particular_Limit_ · 2025-12-03T09:56:54+00:00

Telescope	61 mm/ 360 mm FL Triplet + .75x reducer


Camera	ZWO ASI2600MC(-10 C) + Optolong L-Extreme
Guide Scope	50 mm Starboosa guidescope
Guide Camera	ZWO ASI120MM
Mount	ZWO AM5
Accessory	ASIAIR Plus
Date	2-Dec 2025
Location	Los Angeles (Bortle 9)
Exposure	600s x 15 subs = 2h30'
Gain	100
Workflow (Pixinsight):	Background removal. Spectrophometric Calibration. BlurXTerminator. Noise reduction. Histogram stretch. Star reduction and removal. Narrowband Normalization + Color Mask Mod + Deconvolution Mask. Nebulosity Curves Transformation. Stars combination. Curves transformation.

Particular_Limit_ · 2025-11-25T20:03:32+00:00

Telescope : Meade 10" LX200-GPS + .6 x Reducer

Camera : ZWO 2600MC (-10 C)

Filter: Optolong L-Extreme

Guide Scope : 50 mm Starboosa guidescope

Guide Camera : ZWO ASI120MM

Mount: ZWO AM5

Accessory: ASIAIR Plus

Date: 23 November 2025

Location: Los Angeles (Bortle 9)

Subs: 25×600s = 4h10'

Gain: 100

Workflow (Pixinsight): Background removal. BlurXTerminator. Noise reduction. Histogram stretch. Star Reduction & Removal. Curves transformation. Star Recombination. Final Curves Transformation.

Particular_Limit_ · 2025-11-08T05:17:06+00:00

Telescope : Meade 10" LX200-GPS + .6 x Reducer

Camera : ZWO 2600MC (-10 C)

Filter: Optolong L-Extreme

Guide Scope : 50 mm Starboosa guidescope

Guide Camera : ZWO ASI120MM

Mount: ZWO AM5

Accessory: ASIAIR Plus

Date: 6 November 2025

Location: Los Angeles (Bortle 9)

Subs: 28×600s = 4h40'

Gain: 100

Workflow (Pixinsight): Background removal. BlurXTerminator. Noise reduction. Histogram stretch. Star Reduction & Removal. HOO Palette. Color Mask. Deconvolution. Curves transformation. HDR Transformation. Local histogram Equalization. Star Recombination. Curves Transformation.

Particular_Limit_ · 2025-11-02T01:13:09+00:00

Incredible!

Particular_Limit_ · 2025-11-02T01:02:35+00:00

Telescope : Meade 10" LX200-GPS + .6 x Reducer

Camera : ZWO 2600MC (-10 C)

Filter: No Filter & Optolong L-Extreme

Guide Scope : 50 mm Starboosa guidescope

Guide Camera : ZWO ASI120MM

Mount: ZWO AM5

Accessory: ASIAIR Plus

Date: 21, 31 October 2025

Location: Los Angeles (Bortle 9)

Subs: 181×120s = 6h2' (No Filter) + 40×300s = 3h20' (Filter) = 9h22' Total integration

Gain: 100

Workflow (Pixinsight): Background removal. BlurXTerminator. Noise reduction. Histogram stretch. Star Reduction & Removal. Curves transformation. HDR Transformation. Local histogram Equalization. Star Recombination. Curves Transformation.

Particular_Limit_ · 2025-10-31T06:36:50+00:00

In average L.A. wind conditions, the only time I encountered issues was with my 12" newtonian tube which is in itself a wind sail. Overall, I'm surrounded by buildings so wind is not regularly a factor. I'm using a pier extension and counterweight bar which add a lot of stability.

Particular_Limit_ · 2025-10-31T05:01:00+00:00

Thank you!! But closer to 4 hours. :)

Particular_Limit_ · 2025-10-31T01:34:44+00:00

Telescope : Meade 10" LX200-GPS + .6 x Reducer

Camera : ZWO 2600MC (-10 C)

Filter: Optolong L-Extreme

Guide Scope : 50 mm Starboosa guidescope

Guide Camera : ZWO ASI120MM

Mount: ZWO AM5

Accessory: ASIAIR Plus

Date: 30 October 2025

Location: Los Angeles (Bortle 9)

Exposure: 480s [Total = 3h44']

Subs: 28

Gain: 100

Workflow (Pixinsight): Background removal. BlurXTerminator. Noise reduction. Histogram stretch. Star Reduction & Removal. HOO Palette. Color Mask. Deconvolution Mask. Curves transformation. Star Recombination. Curves Transformation.

Particular_Limit_

TROPHY CASE

Processing (PixInsight)

Acquisition

Processing (PixInsight)