Eye of the Raven: M81 with the ST7

Continuing my current fixation on Ursa Major, I re-shot M81 again, this time using mt C6 sct and ST7 CCD. This image is 14 ten minute images median stacked and deconvolved, all shot at F6.3.

Why the Raven?

There are many legends of Raven from many different people. But they are all very similar. Raven is a very important figure in the history of early America. He serves the role of both creator of the world and bringer of knowledge to mankind, though not always intentionally...

Back in the days before there were men and the world, The spirits lived in a dark world of their own under the Great Chief. Raven was one of these spirits. There was no sun, moon, or stars in this world, and everyone bumped around in the dark.

Raven had heard the Great Chief's daughter had powerful medicine locked away in little cedar boxes, but was very jealous and guarded them very well. The biggest cedar box was said to contain a strange light. Raven decided to transform himself into a small hemlock needle and allowed himself to fall into her drinking cup. She drank him down and he became a baby inside her. He eventually emerged as the Great Chief's grandchild. The Great Chief loved Raven very much, thinking Raven was a normal child.

Raven screamed and squawked so that he would be allowed to play with the contents of the cedar boxes. Eventually the Great Chief gave in, as all good grandfathers do, and allowed the child to play with the contents of the biggest box. Raven transformed himself back into his normal form and grabbed the ball of light it contained in his beak. He flew up the smokehole of the Chief's lodge, blackening his feathers in the process.

He was so distracted by the light he was carrying, and the way the world looked at first light, that he did not see the Great Chief transform into an eagle and fly after him. This caused him to drop the light and part of it shattered. The shattered pieces bounced back up into the heavens becoming the moon, and stars. The light itself became the sun.

The sudden light in the world frightened man, causing him to flee to the far corners of the earth. Because of Raven, we have the Sun, Moon, and Stars. Man became stronger because of the knowledge of the world and universe given to him by Raven.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

M81 with the ST7

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