M51

M51 and the new Edge

Over the course of 2 days I spent close to 16 hours on Mount Seymour stargazing.  A significant portion of that was used to image M51 and the M57 to try and test out the optics on my new Edge 11" telescope.  Unfortunately I also noticed that my motorized focuser kicked the bucket so I now either need to repair or replace it; focusing a SCT with the standard mirror control is unbelievably frustrating.  Anyway, M51 presented me with a great opportunity to compare the quality of my old Celestron 8" with my new 11" because just a few months before I imaged M51 with the old scope.  And as an added bonus I even have an image of M51 through my Televeue 85 mm.

The two SCT telescopes imaged M51 for about the same amount of time so the images are pretty easy to compare. 

M51 through Edge 11" - 12 x 5 min

M51 through Celestron 8" - 15 x 3 min

M51 through 85 mm Televue 12 x 3 min

Comparing these shots I'm definitely the most impressed with the Edge, but it is also the scope that needs the most work to use.  Its bigger, which makes it more difficult to set up (and the mount is quite a challenge to physically move when polar aligning).  The longer focal length also means it needs to be better focused, which is why my motor focuser really needs to be fixed.  I'm quite excited about the prospects of continued imaging through it!