This image was taken using the Meade f3.3 focal reducer and the 15 mm extension ring on my 8" f10 LX 200.    Using this combination I achieve a focal ratio of about f5.0.   This image proved very difficult to capture with an 8 inch scope and suburban location.  It is a composite of eight 20 minute exposures guided with the STAR 2000.   They were color converted and combined in Astro Art and then further processed in Photoshop.  Two different images were generated in Astro Art.  One to capture the central area and one to capture the outer regions.  The two images were then combined in Photoshop using a Gaussian Blur mask so that both the bright central region and the very dim outer regions could be captured in a single frame.  This combining technique is described by Jerry Lodriguss in the Jan 2001 issue of Sky and Telescope.  Total exposure is 160 minutes.  Click here to go back.