Mark Haythorne

A number of firsts here for me. New filters/filter wheel, oag, guide camera, relative new 2nd hand scope & Mount. And the other night everything worked a treat, didn't take long to actually start imaging, until my filter wheel hit the tripod legs and so I rotated it 180 deg (and is now not correctly framed, given me a chance to practice in PI), and then started again, DOH no flats for original shots. In the end I managed a few Ha and OIII captures.... Then took Flats, Flat Darks, Darks & Bias. Created Master Dark, Master Dark Flat & Master Bias, then a Super Bias, and then a Master Flat. I've just bought PixInsight and Warren Kellers Book 'Inside PixInsight'. and having followed it through to the point of Cosmetic Correction (hadn't opened an image after calibration, noob alert) and was shocked to see the following image. I read on here that the 1600 doesn't need a Master Bias, so I went and did the whole thing again, without the bias obviousily and got the following, nothing else done to it apart from calibration... Phew

Thanks all. That's great you all seem to advocate doing it, I'm going to give it a try as the forecast is for rain this weekend.

Does anyone create a set of Master Flats that they reuse, as I would be interested in how well they work. I'm thinking that as SGPs Image history shows focus position (I have a motor focuser) and temperature. I could for a number of different filters and exposure times build up a Master Flat Library (as I have done with my Darks) by using the mean focus distance, as long as I don't change the orientation of my imaging train. Then if the air temperature significantly changes the focus position redo them, or after an extended period of time. Because creating light frames are pain, when your gear has to be moved in and out of the house.

Interesting, I've just bought Pixinsight and Warren Kellers Book, I'm just in the process of having a scan through the book first before getting down to read it and use PI in earnest. Looking at your outputs it shows that it's good to understand how to do things manually by stepping through each process and understanding what it does, then if running a script gives the same result all well and good, it can be used. By not understanding the principles behind the Script it and always using it, you could think that PI was doing a poor job.

I just love the starless version, which is interesting as the idea is to get perfectly round stars.. Seems they aren't needed :)