![croppedM101_Final_test.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/nordsteorra/23tSKZjbZhqYfC3wZZvnmn3EZx4tLqtuZNBrQHGqt6KU8ZzP3dt8yunSBrJAN2urrWuAY.jpg)

So i finally did it and got a mount that wont fail me and i went for the Skywatcher EQ6r-pro, i got it second hand but works so nicely, v little mechanical backlash.


![20250430_140511.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/nordsteorra/2423qQnyc1W5KGbM2DouJnAA5gi8tLRxDBeMhUbjsuSVdycLaLtXKCAjJQb4GKRothSVk.jpg)

On top of my mount sit an 80mm triplet refractor from altair astro which gives me nice widefield views of the night sky which isnt ideal at the moment as it is galaxy season and a little more reach in focal length is needed but this is a test and this is the scope i had to hand. The mount should future proof myself for nearly any scope i will get in the future as it can handle rigs up to 20kg with the one in the image coming in around 7kg.


![M101_Final_test.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/nordsteorra/EnyqRnX4YgcZtLg9ojozX6kibTjTWfn55mzyTPSnqDdrJtzqiSD1bwBosqhSkg2FW2w.jpg)

The image i shot was of the M101 spiral galaxy, this galaxy is around 21 million light years away in the constellation of Ursa Major. For processing this image i used around 80 frames stacked using software to increase data in the image and a free software called Siril was used to bring out the details.

I am currently working on a rig for galaxy season using some of my old gear that has lower quality optics but a greater focal length so hopefully soon i will be able to catch some more images of these Island Universes.