M81 - "Bodes Nebula"

Heres a shot from last night.

M81 - Bodes Nebula (Galaxy in Ursa Major)

webtreatz.com/component/option,com_zoom/...geNo,3/key,23/hit,1/

Details under the image.

Hi Dave,
Yuo see to have the tracking very well setup, did you have to pump up the levels to get the spiral structure, I also tried this galaxy once, its a tough one due to the low surface brightness, as it requires long exposures.

Dave,

The arms pretty much came out on the 10min exposures, however Images Plus has a digital development tool which uses an algoritm to decide how to best apply levels to get the best balance between the object and the background. I would have liked to get more frames to get the S/N ratio up a bit more.

I've also reprocessed this to what I think is a better colour balance and a little sharper. I'd be interested to see which one you guys prefer.

Take 1;

webtreatz.com/component/option,com_zoom/...geNo,3/key,23/hit,1/

Take 2;

webtreatz.com/component/option,com_zoom/...geNo,3/key,24/hit,1/

I prefer Take 2.

What is the difference? It seems sharper to me.

Later,

Jed.

2 does seem sharper, maybe more focused looking, but the stars are a bit severe, the stars in 1 look slightly better but the background glow + soft galaxy aren't the best, its a hard decision, but I think 2 wins out.