M33 is a superb galaxy to image (and observe visually) given its size and itself hosts many NGC and IC objects.
I imaged this galaxy over 3 evenings spread about 4-5 days apart from my heavily light polluted backyard. It is a Bortle Red / White zone depending on which direction you look in. Also the ocean moisture typically hurts transparency so gradients are hard to remove. I struggled for 30 minutes with gradients in post processing before giving up and moving on.
The acquisition was at a 0.52″ / pixel image scale which yielded some good detail.
Looks like I started to hit diminishing returns after the first couple of hours of imaging. The processed image after ~2 hours of data was not much different after 6 hours except the longer stack showed slightly lower noise levels.
Image Details:
190 x 120s Exposures, EdgeHD 8 @ F7.4, ASI2600MC Pro, no filters. Guided with Orion 50mm guidescope and ASI290MM and Metaguide.
Imaged at a 0.52″ / pixel scale.
Processed almost completely in Astro Pixel Processor, image annotations in Pixinsight and noise reduction using Topaz Denoise AI.
Annotated Image:
NGC604:
Here is a crop of NGC604 from the larger image. This is a nebula that I have observed many times with my 14″ dob. Amazing to think it is actually in a different galaxy.
NGC588:
Another really interesting object is NGC588 (towards the top of the frame). It appears bluish green (?) in color with an interesting shape.
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