M88 - spiral galaxy, image 2

Authors: Magnus Nyborg, Jakob Selbing
Object: M88, spiral galaxy
Exposure: 9 x 300 s(= 45 min), manually guided
Equipment: MX5-C through Meade LX200 at f2.9 (with Meade f/3.3 reducer).

Comment: Shot under a pale evening sky with a descending Moon, this image of M88 exceeded our expectations; swirls and dust clouds in this beautiful spiral galaxy are clearly resolved.

The image represents a last, successful astrophotography session before summer spoils any deep-sky observing plans. After nearly 2 years of more or less succesful photographing we now feel we have overcome most problems that have arised in Landeryd Observatory. We plan to do some servicing on our Starlight-Xpress MX5-C CCD camera, and upgrade the CCD to a B-chip (a more sensitive chip). Also we will take a look at what can be done to eliminate the devastating noise that appears to arise whenever we turn on the lights while shooting a light frame with the camera.