Imaging with the 8"SCT has been improving lately with some new techniques giving me deeper images.  But there's only so much you can do with F/6.3 without guiding.  On New Year's Eve I was on the driveway and did some imaging at F/4.  The difference was quite striking and the scope pulled down a lot more light in the same time.  These images are all 60 seconds unguided.

These were initial processing attempts

The Andromeda Galaxy - M31 and The Pleiades Star Cluster - M45

These are 60 second exposures unguided

This is the original output from DSS with 9 frames                This was the first attempt at stretching the image

1. Red Xmas light washed out the HH images          2. Levels in PS pulled out a glimmer of The Horse

1.  Some more colour correction in Neb2               2. After subtracting a gradient mask in PS

Next time out will wait until The HH clears the roof