Spiral Galaxy M81 by Rodney Dingman
Spiral Galaxy M81 (Rodney Dingman)

Spiral Galaxy M81 by Rodney Dingman

Photo of the Week for May 16, 2014 This detailed image of spiral galaxy M81 reveals many pinkish […]

Photo of the Week for May 16, 2014

This detailed image of spiral galaxy M81 reveals many pinkish star-formation regions tracing the big galaxy’s twirling arms. Astroimager Roger Dingman of Elkhorn, Manitoba, traced his evolution in astrophotography for SkyNews: “I started out about three years ago with a small telescope to look at the Moon and planets. Then I bought a larger telescope and attached a Canon camera and started taking pictures and just loved it. I soon realized the limitations of astrophotography with a fork mounted scope. So I bought a CCD camera, imaging filters and an upgraded mount and the pictures noticeably improved. Armed with Maxim DL capture software and PixInsight for processing, it was quite a learning curve. Seeking more improvements, I invested in a higher quality Astro-Physics mount and 12-inch Ritchey-Chrétien telescope and an observatory.”

Spiral Galaxy M81 by Rodney Dingman
Spiral Galaxy M81 (Rodney Dingman)

Rodney’s repeated upgrading may sound familiar. It is a common story as the enthusiast delves deeper into astronomy — especially astroimaging. And as the results here show, it can be a richly satisfying endeavour.