Let's Photograph the BLACK EYE GALAXY!

In this video, I photograph the 'Black Eye Galaxy' from my backyard using a camera and telescope!
My Camera: bit.ly/45uK7r8
My Telescope: bit.ly/47aNh3l
My OTHER Telescope: bit.ly/3OD9gdo
IMAGE PROCESSING GUIDE: bit.ly/astro-processing
Gear Used to Make This Video:
Camera: amzn.to/3uQsGz6​
Lens: amzn.to/2Oicd60​
Microphone: amzn.to/2MIRbgq​
Music:
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[@JML_Astrophotos]

As both am astrophotographer and astrophysics student, i love the more informative details about these DSOs like in the start of this vid! Very weird core action in this galaxy!

[@michaelsaltsman7550]

Amazing work as always RIP Alyn Wallace id say this ones for him 😓

[@wooddogg8]

OMG, I was in the hospital for the last week. Just looked this up...I did not know. How tragic. 😢

[@Mike-1000]

WHHHHAAATTT he's dead !!! He was just a young lad.

[@EricTheCat]

Indeed. He will be greatly missed.

[@tonydd1735]

Always watched his videos on his KZbin channel, great guy. Only 34 years old 1st April, RIP Alyn

[@Mike-1000]

A statement from his family : Just to avoid any misunderstanding or misinformation, we would like to clarify: his immune system was weakened due to a pre-existing condition, and a simple gall bladder stone infection spread rapidly, causing multiple organ failure, resulting in his untimely demise.

[@tribble1027]

Thanks for posting a real and authentic video showing the challenges you had with imaging this target! Nicely done!

[@human_1248]

this is amazing. One of the best astrophotographers I have ever seen!

[@Hidden.Light.Photography]

Very well done and well constructed! I love how you went through the entire process and shared the challenges you faced and how you overcame them.

[@JML_Astrophotos]

I see an astrobackyard video, i like

[@khutikhuti]

I got lost for a good 15 mins looking at all the little faint background galaxies, tons of them in that image, love it 👌

[@TheHoaxHotel]

Galaxy season best season

[@IAMDRREMULAKK]

I'm no expert, but a lot of people will say not to put that dew heating band around the front piece of the SCT that holds the corrector, but rather behind it, on the metal of the tube itself, where it conducts the heat better. Also, as far as not having a dew shield, you can just wrap something (reflectix, foam rubber, etc., anything really) into a tube shape, and hold it on with velcro straps.

[@AstrophotographyUnderMSSkies]

Exactly what I did with my Celestron C6; cheap foam mat with velcro attached. I also very lightly applied "straps" of electrical tape to help it hold shape. Not the prettiest thing in the world, but it works.

[@AstroBackyard]

I thought about the foam rubber idea - but it was a little too flimsy to take a decent flat frame!

[@rodneyjamesmcguire]

Outstanding.

[@jamesloo8404]

Great job in showing your challenges and image stacking process. Very educational!

[@M64.]

Yo I have been waiting for this!! Thank you for sharing your amazing works with us.

[@TheLastStarfighter77]

Crisp and pure, absolutely astonishing! Thanks for sharing these amazing images with us, Trevor 😍🌌🏆

[@jacklemon1515]

Amazing x Love it

[@square1162]

Woe, fantastic! Thanks for explanations!

[@astronomybob]

Great image and video Trevor!

[@SupposeEarth]

Great Results ❤👻🌍

[@King-hn6nu]

Bande ka set up hi esa hai result toh aege hi 😂❤

[@VirtualF-4Thunderbirds]

Awesome Catch!

[@GhostSenshi]

Great video bro. Clear skies

[@Airmadillo]

You have no idea how much I enjoy this as a person with OCD, I would say much more than a person without it. Than you very much for sharing this type of experience.

[@louisegan8568]

Amazing job

[@AstrophotographyUnderMSSkies]

Agreed, you did end up with a great shot, but it is nice to see some of the difficulties and challenges played out, as well as solutions to overcome them. Great work as always.

[@jesuschrist2284]

Never knew about sky background ty for another great video

[@Jcorban08]

Hi Trevor. Awesome work with the super refractor! I’ve always admired your talent with video production too! As a side note, I was recently watching some interviews from the UK’s Practical Astronomy Show. There was a significant number of astrophotographers who said you inspired them to get into the hobby. Cool, huh? You’ve undoubtedly have been (and currently are) a positive influence in this amazing hobby to more people than you know. Clear skies!!

[@Si-fp2ij]

Nice work Trevor! Good move changing scope and thanks for showing how you decide which frames to discard. I haven’t used DSS and I’m guilty of loading every frame into WBPP so might have to change my ways 😂 Cheers Simon

[@renjigaming9034]

always a good day when you upload

[@macubasu]

Nice!

[@marcnorthey4180]

You always wow me brilliant thank you inspiring that’s all I got to say.xxxx

[@jongoldsby]

I use that dew shield on my C8. Great for flats, especially so when I attach the Hyperstar. I also added the Celestron dew ring.

[@sakuntharanaweera2457]

❤Thank you, Mr. Trevor.. These videos are very useful for beginner astro-photographers like me..❤ I enjoyed every single bit..❤ once again, Thank you so much.. love from Sri Lanka 🇱🇰..

[@marcnorthey4180]

All I got to say is WOWxxxxxx

[@ianlauerastro]

Nice work dude, the Black Eye Galaxy is a tough one!

[@popolz]

Love the idea of running the subs through deep sky stacker first.. giving a shot now.

[@TheSfyfe]

Man, processing galaxies in Photoshop is CHALLENGING. How do you manage it, especially with less than ideal data? I made the jump to Pixinsight because I couldn’t get broadband objects to look quite natural like I can in Pi. Very well done overall! 🎉

[@KingLoopie1]

I just use the dew shield that came with my Lx200 10". One of the previous owners made it from a round, black waste basket. It fits right and with a little tape it stays put. Or use rolled black cardboard. Anything will work and to me at least, that's better than spending more money that could be put toward other, more important things. Unless you're swimming in money! 😉

[@astrocarone9671]

Seeing that Moon made me nervous! Great image man!

[@AstroQuest1]

Lovely image as always Trevor. It was worth an attempt the first night even though it did not work - you discovered you need a dewshield with the Edge. Cheers Kurt

[@astroo_kiddo]

Respect astrobackyard

[@matthewbrown8679]

Very nice. Im glad you got over your frustration and got an image. I just had 4 clear nights in a row with minimal moon (but bortle 6), and probably wasted half my time fighting both mount issues, focuser issues, and my own mistakes. One night my focuser stopped working, and the next night I realized that powerlines and trees made my target choice of the sliced onion galaxy a poor one.

[@dustyhammer7569]

Gotta give ya credit, that’s a hard galaxy to photograph. Many others who attempted this on Astrobin had a similar result

[@EricTheCat]

Great image. Years ago one cloudy night I pondered how I could improve my images and concluded that more integration time was the answer. Wondering why I was doing such short times when I was dedicating a night on only one object I checked my notes and it was dew every time. Of course then I got a dew heater as soon as I could.

[@user-lt9py2pu6u]

My biggest scope is a 115 f7 refractor, so I can't get up close and personal to many galaxies. Also, I am currently living in temporary accommodation which only has limited views of the night sky but these do include Leo, Coma Berenices, Canes Venitici and Ursa Major at this time of the year so I will be imaging galaxy groupings as opposed to individual targets. Your video has convinced me that this is going to be my best option. Thanks Trevor.

[@surgeon1000000]

Hi Trevor, excellent content as always. Please do keep spending time on using SCTs (or SCT with hyperstar) or Newtonians.

[@gptravel531]

Great job! I’ve been working on M64 for a month. With a lot more work to do!!

[@philwachocki7958]

Oooo get that big gun working wow

[@dasimcoes]

Awesome video and image as always. When are you putting the dome back up?

[@user-zo2tl8jg4z]

Nice one!😯 Would really really like to see how С11 would captured the same target.

[@LynAstro]

Cool idea you should capture a exoplanet transit live as it transits!

[@jokerace8227]

Yes, M64 was the first galaxy I photographed since it's one of the brightest that gets high in the sky at meridian, and that camera, mainly intended for imaging planets wasn't exactly great with max exposure, 30 seconds. lol

[@mattestabrook]

Great video, Trevor--one of your best! I enjoyed the information you provided about M64, and why it's a unique target. Also enjoyed seeing you fail! No offense, but it's comforting to see that even a seasoned astrophotographer with a garage full of gear can still be thwarted by the same phenomena--moonlight and dew--as everyone else! Clear skies (and dew-free skies, too), Matt

[@AstroBackyard]

Thank you, Matt! Clear skies

[@markmcmanus7124]

Great video as usual. What guidescope are you using with the SCT? Thanks in advance.

[@josh8560]

Awesome video, Trevor! Your video inspires me and many others with our journey into astrophotography!!

[@icyxxxxx]

Good day when you post 😂

[@anthonyrobida]

Highly recommend Celestron dew heater ring and smart dew heater controller

[@kelyho82]

I also captured the Black Eye Galaxy on March 26th. I got 60-5 minute exposures using the C9.25 with 2600mc pro. I was pleased with it, but the moon was bright.

[@gavinm4120]

Can you go through the process of how you get the photos on to deep sky stacker and how you edit it, thanks so much, love ur videos

[@dalekim1712]

Great video and photo! Wanted to let you know that although you mentioned 17 million light years away, the photo reveal 11:13 says 7 million.

[@AmatureAstronomer]

I photographed M64 the other night, but used an 80mm optical tube with only 560mm focal length and it came out kinds small. Plan to take another with my SCT.

[@Adrian_Astro]

Awesome image Trevor! one question though, how did you get your backyard as your horizon in stellarium?

[@Toxicator85]

Amazing work fun fact Messier 64, discovered in Wales by Edward Piggott living in Llantwit Major. The only such Messier object found in the UK my home town 😊

[@abhisheknamdeo]

Thanks Trevor, your videos inspires me to be rich, so I can buy all astrophotography gears..

[@Reptileowner]

Do you have any tips to polar align without a polar scope and crooked dovetail bar for celestron nexstar vintage silver tube

[@keithhanssen7413]

Bode’s Galaxy is sitting in good position. I’m guessing you’ve already captured that well.

[@subhamnanda2066]

Hii sir big fan❤

[@GediAstro]

Pretty decent image considering the circumstances. I would however love to see the C11 in action. Maybe next time? :)

[@seangross5663]

Hi Trevor. I have a questions that is about what size focal range telescope to go with. Is there an app or program that I can pull up a sky object that I might be interested in shooting and draw a box that would represent the focal length of the telescope I would be shooting with? For example lay a "box" representing a 700 mm focal length over orion/horsehead nebulae and then lay a "box" representing 2000mm over the same object? I have seen that I could get some reducers for most telescopes, but just curious to help maybe be able to help me narrow down which type of telescope I might go with.

[@jswyman-ll3dr]

Trevor, What guidescope and camera do you have mounted on the HD? I have a Celestron 8" which i am looking for a decent guidescope for.

[@luboinchina3013]

@AstroBackyard Another great target you can try with your sct is Cat's Eye nebula. But it is challenging target. Middle too bright and surrounding nebulosity beautifully dim blue.

[@genevieveste-croix7021]

Hi Trevor! 😀 I was wondering with your Celestron 11’’ edge HD what is the maximum exposure time that you can get without trailing? I have the same telescope with a CGE Pro mount and I was wondering what my goal should be 😅

[@perry3928]

Hi Trevor. Amazing shot. Getting pumped for the eclipse. Totality here in Rochester. How do you fare for the event? Thanks

[@AshA-ww8hc]

Hey Trevor. You might want to also invest in a dew heater ring from Celestron. It would make your life much easier with Dew. Take it from someone who has used 11 inch SCTs in hot and humid south USA.

[@paulw7866]

The last time I tried an image of the Blackeye galaxy was 1996 and on Fuji 800 film thru a 10 inch f10 SCT. Needless to say nowhere near your image quality. Thanks for prompting me to try again ! (Personal image is an aperture mask of solar filters on the same 10 inch SCT at a Venus transit star party in Flint Michigan. Thanks for the invitation to that event from Richard Walker, former Flint Longway Planitarium Director!!! Paul Williams, currently Northville MI shooting a Seestar S50.)

[@greglight5808]

Lol this is the only channel that I instantly press the like button before the video starts. Amazing image. Thanks for sharing. Where are you going to be for the eclipse Trevor? I have a private space in the native reserve just outside of Belleville. See you soon at strarfest2024

[@janeclark1881]

Would be interesting to see more about how you processed your colours. To me, that's the most difficult challenge with this galaxy.

[@janeclark1881]

Your misadventure with a dew shield was interesting to see. I'm sure you could buy some plastic sheeting & make one strong enough to take flats. Worst case is to tape it onto the OTA with duct tape (although you can get less messy waterproof adhesive tape). Here in the UK, the time-honoured method of making a dew shield is with corn-flake boxes.

[@paramountobservatory_uk]

Thanks Trevor for the tip of using DSS to drop bad frames, but something I've always found with DSS, unlike your images, DSS only detects a few stars in my images, and don't know of a way in which I can pre-stretch the image to see more stars, I've go the slider down to 2%! This is the main reason for years, I've only been able to do basic processing and never feel my images are the best they could be. I have been learning to use Siril over the past few months, and been blinking the images in Siril to make selection of good and bad images, but this suggestion is way better, but again, if I struggle to see the data, even this starting point is difficult! My camera is ASI533MC Pro, a camera I know you've used and rate, my skies are bortle 7>8 and I use either Narrow (L-eXtreme) or Broadband (L-Pro) filters to reduce the light pollution, can you suggest anything I can do to improve the starting point of my processing, for example to find more stars in my data? Also a big thanks for the videos Trevor, so professionally produced and attention to detail is awesome Clear Skies

[@yobtnirp]

Dang it bro why do I always get hooked into expensive hobbies 😂

[@schwierigerhase8822]

😂same

[@user-it3in1by6j]

What means Dark and flat images? If they are necessary, how to shoot them ? I purchased Askar 80PHQ on AM3, 533mc pro and Antlia D1+D2 set filters and trying to learn.

[@Vantage79]

Trever what equipment did you use on this shoot? Which mount do you use with this telescope? This looks like the setup I working towards.

[@george___43]

I have an edge hd 9.25 do you think that's good enough to view the black eye galaxy?

[@NachoGotz07]

Great vid, I have I telescope but I have a hard time finding deep space objects, and I live on a city, what apps or what methods do you use to record such objects

[@NachoGotz07]

Also I tried to do an exposure photo with my iPhone with Jupiter since I don’t have a good camera, what can I do if in my photos Jupiter moves a lot, I know that it is because the rotation of earth but in your 10 second exposure it didn’t move a bit (the black eye galaxy)

[@gsxr6001984]

The boiled crème treat😂. Great video once again!

[@astroHindi_official]

Which will be a best telescope for deep sky observation

[@RoniVainionpaa-zp8pn]

Hi trevor😃😃

[@bernardoarellano6204]

Was it that book you show in some of your videos? I'd love to have one for myself!

[@luboinchina3013]

@Astrobackyard The difference in contrast of sct with and without dewshield is HUGE. I made myself one using a cardboard, tape and black T-SHIRT because they don't sell them here in China and it stayed on that telescope since then. Also I can't unnotice that you didn't use OAG, I guess couldn't find good stars to guide on? Another thing I have noticed is the huge distance from the reducer to your camera. I doesn't seem to be right.... Isn't that too long of the backfocus?

[@wackyismfishing9023]

Hello, I bought the Apertura AD8 Dobsonian 8" telescope that you recommended in your beginner telescope video. I also recently bought a DSLR camera as well. I tried buying one of the connectors to put my DSLR through the eyepiece, but when I did, it would not focus, I would adjust the focus knob all the way in both directions, but it wouldn’t focus enough to see anything. I was contacting you to see if you can send me the name and possibly a link to the one you use to connect your DSLR to your Dobsonian. The camera is a Cannon Rebel T7 if that means anything.

[@Steve_The_Ignorant_Astronomer]

Trevor , do you ever get water buildup from dew inside your scope. I bought the 9.25 and get a lot of dew buildup inside and had to send it back to Celestron. I never had that happen with my Meade. BTW Celestron sent it back UPS and told UPS not to sent it because was on Vacation and well they delivered it and it went missing.... So UPS payed me out. It was one thing after another with the scope , water inside , I bought a dew ring that made my stars elongated , the coatings came off the corrector plate and then it went missing..... Sorry about the rant.... PS I still have my 10in f6.3 Meade , needs some work mostly on the focus knob.... You know of where I can send ? ( Not to Meade )....

[@GilPaulbert]

Great video, but i don't quite get, why use DSS if you have Pixinsight with WBPP and subframe selector, which analyses images and sorts them by different parameters, not just a score like DSS, also stacking with WBPP produces sharper images. I loved the somewhat different approach, not just show everything that goes right, but also problems you have to deal with, makes it more relatable. Clear skies !

[@isaacmorales4859]

Interesting, you lost me at11:00 but loved the images and your enthusiasm.

[@Kolotatel]

Great result! What is that book at 0:26 it looks really interesting!

[@scottroberson2656]

Hey Trevor will you be getting a pic of Pons Brooks comet ? I hope you do 😎

[@YearZer0777]

Hey. I'm curious about something. I thought when galaxies collide they become an Eliptical Galaxy even if it were 2 spiral galaxies, granted it takes place over a long period of time but I didn't know it can settle back into a spiral galaxy. Also, I'm amazed with your work :) keep it up

[@americanmaker8608]

Do you plan on setting up your observatory at the new house.

[@AstroMaster26]

Its still better than all the photos i have taken 💀💀

[@mikebloodworth9258]

Hi Trevor, Great photo, I am in South Australia and it gets up to 33 Deg Elev here this month so will give it a go when clouds and no moon about lol. I should get about a 4 Hr Window down to 25 Deg Elev. I have an 8" Celestron XLT with Cooled Colour Camera, EQ6 mount and do have the Celestron Dew Sheild Tube and heater element I fitted to the tube + var power to get heat generation to be ideal if needed. :) Just wanted to say the Distance you quoted is wrong. It is 7.36 Mpc not Light Years. Conv to Light years it is 24 M ly. Cheers Mike

[@AstroBackyard]

Thanks Mike! Yeah I noticed that error after publishing. Darn!

[@kristofcappoen43]

Can you tell me what is that book you are using? I am looking for some good literature that help me chose good targets.

[@area51xi]

What pier is that?

[@frogliza9977]

A small error in the end, distance says 7 million light years instead of 17!

[@AstroGuy-kn3zh]

Wow your set up is better than mine My set up is just nexstar 8se and wedges I wish I had I better set up

[@Verox_be.]

Amazing vid ty so much im 17 and saving some money to buy a telescope