Final Rosette and Markarian's Chain

I've been in conversations with Ken at MainSequence Software about some issues with SGP.  SGP (Sequence Generator Pro) is the software that essentially runs all my equipment - the telescope, cameras and focuser. It is the tool I use to remotely operate the telescope.

It seems that some functions of the software weren't working properly with my QHY10 camera.  New software was released and so I had to test it to let Ken know if the fixes worked. So, Tuesday evening the skies were fairly clear and I could test the software. And, since the Rosette was still visible in the west I decided to get those additional subs I wanted to add to my existing set to really get the final image to have as little noise as possible (a later post will explain this process for anyone that is interested. For now just know that the more images you stack together, the less the noise).

With 56 subs stacked and processed (2.8 hours of image integration) here is the final result.

Rosette Nebula (NGC 2238)
EdgeHD-11 w/Hyperstar
QHY10 camera - 56x180sec

I was also able to get a photo of Markarian's Chain - a stretch of galaxies that forms part of the Virgo Cluster. It is called a chain because, when viewed from Earth, the galaxies lie along a smoothly curved line. It was named after the Armenian astrophysicist, B. E. Markarian, who discovered their common motion in the early 1960s.

Markarian's Chain - M86 and M84 to the right; M87 lower left
EdgeHD-11 w/Hyperstar
QHY10 -  41x180sec 

If you zoom in on the image you can see many more galaxies scattered about in this rich region of the constellation Virgo known as the Virgo Cluster.