M51 (Whirlpool Galaxy) in Canes Venatici

This image of M51 was taken from North Scottsdale, Az on Feb. 15, 2013

Equipment: Meade LX850 10" F8 ACF,  SBIG STT-8300M with FW8G-STT FIlter wheel and AO8 Adaptive Optics

Camera Control; Image Calibration, Alignment with Maxim/DL CCD Pro

Image processing with PixInsight, final composition Adobe Photoshop CS5

This image is an LRGB composite:

• Lum: 5 x 480 seconds

• Red: 5 x 600 seconds

• Green: 5 x 480 seconds

• Blue: 5 x 720 seconds