Although the image I submitted of the dumbbell nebula was recent, M27 was also one of the first pictures that I took back in 2007 that actually had some quality. Again it was only a single exposure of 157 seconds but I was amazed and proud of it. In my early days of using various telescopes visually, I could easily see the resemblance to a dumbbell, but after imaging it, the “apple core” has become the more common resemblance for me. Although I am proud of my most recent image of M27 that let the “butterfly wings” reveal themselves, my 2007 picture will always remain as my facebook cover photo given that it was the picture that gave me the inspiration and confidence to dive deeper into astrophotography. Life unfortunately throws us quite a few curve balls that derail our plans. It took me 15 years since that time to get back into this hobby. Viewing and imaging M27 easily brought me back onto that path, and the calmness and peace that I get while out imaging and stargazing.
- Taken – November 8th, 2022 in Rockwood ON
- 5h 50m - 70x300s lights, 30 flats, 30 dark flats, and 50 darks
- Askar 130phq with an asi294mc pro camera, gain 120, L-Extreme filter, cooled to -10
- EQ6R-PRO with wo50mm guide scope and asi120mm guide camera
- Asiair Plus used for image acquisition
- EAF used for focus
- Pixinsight used for stacking and image processing