M51 – Whirlpool Galaxy

M51 – Whirlpool Galaxy

Southeast Massachusetts (bortle 6)

January 2026

Camera: Canon 70D (unmodified)

Telescope: William Optics GT81 IV + Stellarvue SFFX1 Flattener

Mount: Sky-Watcher EQM-35 Pro

Guide: ZWO ASI120mm Mini + 50mm Guide Scope

Filter: None

Control and Guiding: Mele Quieter 4C running N.I.N.A., PHD2, Green Swamp Server

Exposure: 120s × 53 subs (1hr 46min)

ISO: 400

Calibration: Darks, Flats, Bias

Siril: calibration and stacking (with 2x drizzle), Seti Astro AutoBGE and Sharpening, GraXpert Denoise, Starnet++ star removal

Photoshop: Stretching, saturation adjustment, and star recombination