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M31- First DSO

matt-c

By matt-c
in Imaging - Deep Sky

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matt-c

matt-c

Posted
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I've mainly just been a visual observer and mainly with the mark 1 eyeball but a few months back i got a skytracker v2 and after a few widefields i decided to get a cheapy 200mm lense and have a go at m31 from my light polluted garden.

Its nothing compared to the m31s ive been looking at on this forum they are truely amazing and hopefully one day i'll get something 1/4 as good as them,

But non the less its my first dso image and i couldnt be happier :grin: (although it does look very blue)
Is it wrong that i enjoy the processing part more than the observing :confused:

50x95s subs + calibration frames


Skytracker v2
200mm paragon lense stepped way down

stacked in ds
edited in PS

post-24024-0-72828600-1406798265_thumb.j

post-24024-0-54482600-1406798496_thumb.j

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matt-c

matt-c

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Wow thanks for the positive feed back guys i appreciate it.

Lovely image Matt, really nice.  :icon_salut:

Look forward to seeing more of your images in the future - what are you going to try next?

 Honestly i have no idea :grin: im heading to galloway forest in a few weeks so will no doubt be some widefield milkyway or hopefully some perseids.

whats on your list this month?

Looking good. What did you stop the lens down to please? I also have a cheap 200mm lens I want to try astrophotography with. Had my first proper go at Andromeda the other day with my 50mm lens, but it would be a good target for a longer lens.

 I stopped it down to about 11, wide open the stars looked like umbrellas :grin: my lens cost me £15 quid from a camera shop so wasnt expecting much. Happy hunting
 

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MartinB

MartinB

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Excellent! I suspect you'll get your money's worth out of that lens.  F11 does seem a bit extreme though.  Doesn't F7 do a reasonable job.  You are loosing a lot of signal stopping down so much

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matt-c

matt-c

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Excellent! I suspect you'll get your money's worth out of that lens.  F11 does seem a bit extreme though.  Doesn't F7 do a reasonable job.  You are loosing a lot of signal stopping down so much

yeah was a real bargain, adapter included as well :grin:, not sure if it was the seeing conditions or other variables but f11 was the only way I could get anything out of it.

i'll have another attempt with it open and maybe just crop the image to avoid the umbrellas of doom :evil:

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Knight of Clear Skies

Knight of Clear Skies

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F11! I'm surprised it needed that much stopping down. Just a thought, but is infinity focus right at the end of the stop? If so it's possible it doesn't quite reach infinity, but stopping down gives a wider depth of field allowing it to just get there. I mention this because I have this problem with my 135mm and 200mm lenses, I can't quite reach focus on the Moon. I've ordered myself a new M42 adapter advertising 'infinity focus', so hopefully it will be just that little bit slimmer.

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Kainushi

Kainushi

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I just came in from a long look at the night sky.  We have had four humid and hazy nights here and tonight was no different.  I could see M31, but it didn't look half as good as your image on the right.

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matt-c

matt-c

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F11! I'm surprised it needed that much stopping down. Just a thought, but is infinity focus right at the end of the stop? If so it's possible it doesn't quite reach infinity, but stopping down gives a wider depth of field allowing it to just get there. I mention this because I have this problem with my 135mm and 200mm lenses, I can't quite reach focus on the Moon. I've ordered myself a new M42 adapter advertising 'infinity focus', so hopefully it will be just that little bit slimmer.

you no I think you might be right :icon_salut:  there is no room to adjust focus on it, its either slightly out when at infinity like in the image or the slightest turn and totally out. I'll have a go at the moon and see if I can get it in focus.

m31 is a no go from my garden so I was shooting blind so was not as easy to check focus.

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Ewan

Ewan

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Hey Matt i think we all started with similar shot's, regardless what it looks like when you first see that shot appearing after a stretch my god it broadens your horizons, generally you will forever more be hooked & your wallet empty :grin:

In PS Matt hit CTRL - B (Colour Balance) & select Highlights then drag the Blue slider to the left a little to adjust your colouring if you like.

In PS Matt i find it helps to make a duplicate of the image i am working on, CTRL-J, then after a process i can visually compare the two & see if the adjustment is a go, just a tip.

What's next eh ?

Well done with that 1st one.

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matt-c

matt-c

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Hey Matt i think we all started with similar shot's, regardless what it looks like when you first see that shot appearing after a stretch my god it broadens your horizons, generally you will forever more be hooked & your wallet empty :grin:

In PS Matt hit CTRL - B (Colour Balance) & select Highlights then drag the Blue slider to the left a little to adjust your colouring if you like.

In PS Matt i find it helps to make a duplicate of the image i am working on, CTRL-J, then after a process i can visually compare the two & see if the adjustment is a go, just a tip.

What's next eh ?

Well done with that 1st one.

Thanks for the tips mate.

You're not wrong about my wallet I'm already pricing up a heq5/neq6 and possibly a tent for when the Mrs kicks me out.

Next, well I'm off to the dark sky park in galloway tomorrow I feel like a kid on Christmas eve haha

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