M53 - Revisited

I wanted image something other than a galaxy so I decided to re-image M53 since it was over two years since I last captured this object. I took about 55 exposures on May 1 thinking it was clear, however, there was lots of moisture in the air and there were very thin high clouds.  I processed the the data anyway and produced an image that was a bit better than the one I did two years ago but I knew I could do better.  M53 is a globular cluster located 60,000 light-years in the Coma Berenices constellation. It interesting in that it is metal-poor compared to other clusters. Also interesting, there seems to be a tidal connection between M53 and its diffuse neighbor, NCG 5053, which is in the lower left of my image (source: wikipedia).

My processing has improved significantly since then as well as my capture regime.  I choose to keep it wide field as I liked the background which I did not darken as much as I normally would.  Also, I again used APT for camera control.  The newest thing I did was controlling my mount with Stellarium. This was really cool and much simpler than I imagined.  I did not think I would like controlling my mount with Stellarium as much as I do but it is a big time savor for me especially since I have to change the orientation of my telescope in order to open and close the roof of my astronomy shed.

M53
Location: Happy Frog Observatory, Monroe, CT
Date: 05-08-18

Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i(a), AstroPhotography Tool APT)
Telescope: Orion ED80 80mm f/7.5 Apochromatic Refractor Telescope
Barlow: None
Focal Length: 600mm
f/7.5
Focal Reducer: Orion 0.8x Focal Reducer for Refractor Telescopes
Mount: Orion Sirius EQ (HEQ5)
Filter: Astrodon UV/IR
Autoguiding: QHY-5L-II-M attached to an Agena 50mm Guide Scope with Helical Focuser
Exposure: 37 x 90s

ISO: 1600
Temp: 10 C
Post Processing: Deep Sky Stacker, Photoshop, Gradient Exterminator, Astronomy Tools
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