M104 - Sombrero
M104 (NGC 4594, 8.0 mag) is a galaxy in the constellation Virgo, about 50 million light-years away. It owes its sombrero-like appearance to a large and extensive central bulge and a distinctive dark dust band, which is seen almost from the side. The diffuse glow of the vast central bulge is created by billions of old stars. Their total mass is estimated at 1.3 trillion Suns. At the very center of the galaxy is likely a very massive black hole.
This is an attempt to shoot with the OAG, the C11 telescope and the long focal length. This time I also used a reducer and shortened the focal length to 1764 mm, which made it easier to find the subject thanks to the larger field of view. Shooting with the OAG turned out to be more manageable than some experiences suggested. With a little effort and patience, you can find a suitable guide star. Focusing is more difficult, because such a diameter and focus are sensitive to the quality of seeing.
In the corners, the stars are significantly deformed, which corresponds to the configuration used. However, it doesn't matter, because this set-up is not intended for wide fields, but for shooting smaller objects. I tried the processing in two ways. The first procedure used the programs MRAW, Regim and Photoshop, the second DeepSkyStacker and Photoshop. The second variant brought a slightly better result.