juno16

Welcome Baldy45! It is good to have you here! Looking forward to your images and adventures in AP. Jim

Hi Bryan, Kind of artsy science, but definitely beautiful! Very nice image!

Beautiful job bringing out the Ha. Nice work!

A bit more saturation and slight nr in the low signal areas.

Hi beka, Your image is extraordinary considering the very small amount of “time on target” and modest equipment used. Many more 20” exposures and delicate processing could greatly enhance your image by bringing out the dimmer areas and lower noise significantly. Very nice work on this image! Looking forward to seeing your future images!

@Sunshine @carastro Thank you Sunshine and Carole for your nice very nice comments!

Hello Everyone, I am still trying to collect more data on this target. I captured 2.5 hours on 4/4/22 to add to last years 4.5 hours for a total of 7.5 hours of integration. Captured with PHD2 and N.I.N.A. and processed with Pixinsight, Photoshop CC and Topaz DeNoise AI. Imaged with my Explore Scientific ED102 (w/0.8 FR/FF) at 571mm and my ASI 533 MC-Pro camera. Still trying to catch more data whenever the skies cooperate! Thanks for looking! Jim

I think that your 45 minutes produced a fine image! Very nice depth and details. I would love to see a photo how you set up the EAF to work with the 300mm lens. Best of success getting it all working. Looks like a nice rig!

That is quite a nice image especially considering the low integration time. You achieved a really nice balance which is something that I struggle with on M101. New Mexico! How nice! Are you going there to image?

Hi Joe and welcome! i’m new here too and enjoying SGL!

I agree with Craig. It’s a very pretty image already. I would keep going with the current framing. Looking forward to seeing the final version! When you do finally post a final version, please include this image for reference. Thanks and good luck!

Your image is really quite nice! I would be proud of that capture (and processing). I am never 100% satisfied with my images. I think that it is just part of this hobby.

I wish that I could help more. I am "only" about a year into using PI and have a long way to go. I have toyed around with the Generalised Hyperbolic Stretch, but have yet to use it on an actual image that I am processing. I usually use the EZ Soft Stretch, but have found that different images produce very different results using some of the other stretching techniques such as STF/HT and Masked Stretch. I make several copies of the linear image and try different stretches to see which I like the best. I have found that Masked Stretch does a better job at protecting the stars than other stretching methods, but again, I am still experimenting quite a bit. Good luck and if you find a suitable method to produce star colors that you desire please share your methods.

Amazing first capture for only 1.6 hours of integration. Definitely better details with the additional data. I don't have an L-eXtreme, but I have a L-eNhance and I must say that these filters are awesome!

Beautiful image Richard. Wow, what a closeup! I appreciate all of the fine processing information that you provided. It really helps me learn different techniques in Pixinsight. Concerning your stars, did you do anything with the star mask before adding the stars to the starless image (like Curves - Saturation)?

I agree with Michael. Hard to spot, but if you know where to look (thanks for the annotation), there it is! I definitely appreciate imaging something different and a tough catch like this target. Very nicely done Alan! Your stars are beautiful too! Jim

Great images posted here! I will add a few, however, B7 skies are rough on dust! NOTE: I used a UV/IR cut filter for the M45 image and a L-eNhance for the Cone Nebula and Flame/HorseheadImage. Thanks! Jim

@Padraic M @MarsG76 @fwm891 @MalcolmM @OK Apricot @Ouroboros Wow, what nice comments! Thank you all so much! Very appreciated!

Hi Olly and thank you for your comments on the colour balance. You are absolutely correct. I must admit, I did not check that and usually do not. Something to definitely do in the future! I do not have a calibrated monitor (I know, it shows). My ipad is my standard, so I use the crude method of emailing my finished product for review on the ipad and if it looks good to me, I call it done. I am very glad that you brought it up. I opened the image in Photoshop and selected several background points using the Color Sampler Tool. The blue was higher than red and green as you pointed out. I dropped the blue level to match red and green. Most definitely need to add this step to my processing workflow. Thank you for pointing this out to me. Levels adjusted image below.

The tidal tail is clearly visible! Beautiful image David. Love the wide field! Looking forward to seeing images with “the big scope”! Jim

Thank you Michael @Mr Spock and jjosefsen @jjosefsen for your nice words. Yes, I have seen the created "details" that you are referring to, but only when the "Clear" or more intense settings are used. I stick with the "Standard" setting. Standard works well to smooth the noise in the low level signal areas while leaving the high signal areas clean, but not "created". To me, when settings more intense than "Standard" are used, the imagined detail is very unrealistic. Thanks for your comments!

Thank you tooth_dr! It was a completely trouble free imaging session(s). Two evenings of about 4 hours (trees). Thank you David! I didn't have to struggle with this one! Thanks Padraic M!

Beautiful image Carole! As good as it gets! Jim

Hi Everyone, I just mounted my older Explore Scientific ED102 FDC1 on my newish Skywatcher HEQ5 mount. This is my first acquisition using the older ED102 on the HEQ5. I recently Rowan belt modded the mount and tweaked the worm gear backlash and was hopeful that I would get the same increase performance with the heavier ED102 (I had previously only used the modded mount with my Sharpstar 61). Guiding was actually a tad better with the heavier (~7kg)scope. My target was the Leo Triplet. Explore Scientific ED102/HEQ5/ASI533 MC-P@104 gain 265 X 120" (8 hours 50 minutes) from my Bortle 7 backyard. Acquired with N.I.N.A. and PHD2. Processed with Pixinsight, Photoshop, and Topaz Denoise AI. Thanks for looking! C&C welcome. Jim

Absolutely gorgeous images from both scopes. Wonderful acquisition and processing! Jim