UGC 11806 and UGC 11802: two lonely galaxies behind a dense starfield

[Menno555]

I always like to capture lesser known objects that are rarely captured. For that I browse through Stellarium and see what peeks my interest.
That way I did find on the left UGC 11806 (MAG14, 141 million lightyears) and on the right UGC 11802 (MAG15, 138 million lightyears), two lonely galaxies in the neighborhood of the Cocoon Nebula.
In the original FOV there are only 5 known galaxies found according to the NED catalogue, of which there were 3 visible.

I started to capture it at the end of November 2022. Took 5 x 600sec to see if they would show up. They did so wanted to continue later for more data ... but no such luck because since then it was only clouds, rain and wind here
It's too low now to continue, so decided to work with what I have for now. Still a bit grainy, even after NoiseXterminator, and a bit over-stretched but I'm fine with that. It is what it is and I don't like to make a diamond out of a "turd"
And for reference: the apparent size of 1 galaxy is approximately the size of the crater Copernicus.

Bortle 6/7
Meade LX200 8" f/10 ACF OTA
Ioptron CEM25EC mount (no guiding)
Baader IR/UV Cut filter
Zwo ASI071MC Pro camera

Captured with SharpCap Pro @ -10 Celsius / White balance R50 B50
5 x 600 sec / Gain 0 / Offset 4
20 x darks, 50 x flats and 50 x darkflats

Stacked with SiriL and SiriliC

Processed with Siril and Photoshop
Siril: Crop and Histogram
Photoshop: StarXterminator, Camera Raw Filter (blacks, white balance, saturation, clarity), NoiseXterminator

Menno

UGC 11806sm.jpg (491.56 KiB) Viewed 1348 times

[turfpit]

Very good Menno, especially considering the 600s unguided exposures.

Dave

[Menno555]

Thanks Dave!
And yes, this little mount gives me stellar tracking performance

Menno

[oopfan]

Yes, that is impressive!
https://www.ioptron.com/product-p/7102ec-hc.htm

Less than 0.3 arcsec Periodic Error (PE). IMO there is no need for PHD2, only good Polar Alignment (PA) and steady skies.

Well isn't that just great. Ioptron says that model is discontinued.

Brian

[Menno555]

Thanks Brian.
Yes, the CEM25EC is no more. It has a next version though, the CEM26EC. But it's really now for the smaller scopes, it now has for example only 1 screw for the saddle. But on the other hand, it now has build in WiFi.
And indeed no need for PHD2. Have to say though that I'm really at the limit here with my 2080mm focal length. I must use the User Defined Tracking and polar alignment has to be dead on.
But for a way faster scope, the Sidereal or King tracking should work fine. I don't recall the article but there was someone who who used a F/3 scope (I believe) and he centered an object and then left the tracking alone for 3 or 4 hours. And after that time, the object only deviated a tiny bit from the center.

Menno

[oopfan]

Menno,

It's too bad about that 1-screw saddle. I'm spoiled by my StellarVue 2-screw saddle with big 1-inch knobs. It's probably overkill for my 12 lb payload but it gives me peace of mind. BTW, mounts sure have gotten expensive, haven't they? It's sad that people will spend 3 grand on a mount but complain about spending 10 dollars for software. It's been that way for a long time going back to the 80's.

Funny how iOptron invented the acronym RPEC without defining what it actually is. Best I can figure is that it is a closed loop system having optical encoders on the axes. Edit: The "R" in RPEC stands for Real-time but in my opinion that says very little about the supporting technology. It's just a buzz word.

Brian

[Menno555]

Same here Brian. My scope, camera, and so on come at around 15 lb and 2 screws just gives that bit more save feeling.
And yes, think so too it's kinda buzz word. With normal PEC you have to record it. But indeed with the encoder (only on RA with this mount) and the belt drive instead of gear, it can keep track by itself ... somehow

Menno