Gina

A touch more of Noel's Actions in Photoshop.

Post processed in Photoshop.

M31 in RGB colour after combining with PixelMath in PixInsight. The colour splodges are uncorrected dust bunnies. The flats taken at the time didn't show these dust bunnies. I need to capture M31 again. But not tonight, I'm capturing the Jelly Fish. With only a 5 position filter wheel ATM I will need to change filters from Ha OIII SII to Ha R G B and maybe L. In fact for wideband colour it would make sense to have Ha L R G B for the 5 filters. I expect to buy one of the new, bigger, ZWO EFWs when FLO get them in.

Downloading data from astro laptop to Mint desktop SSD. Data transfer speed is back to normal - about 2s per image file of 32MB

An extra 70 odd Ha on IC 1396 and now back to the Jelly Fish in Ha.

Well, the OIII was useless even with 2x2 binning so I'm taking some more Ha while I wait for the Jelly Fish to rise above the trees.

Seeing is rather poor tonight - focus is varying in an area of 5X5 pixels for OIII guess I might as well use 2x2 binning and reduce the capture time - oversampling by 5 pixels is pointless.

M31 BPP finished - M31 registration finished. Jelly Fish still too low in the ENE. 100 Ha subs of IC 1396 captured - guess I'll go for OIII of IC1396

M31 data processing in BPP finished next will be to take the RGBHa masters and combine them. Image capture of Ha subs for IC 1396 nearly complete. Then I can see if the Jelly Fish is in view.

Decided on IC 1396 and now capturing Ha subs. 60s g500 -30C. Set up for 100 ATM. Meanwhile, PixInsight is working on M31 data.

Clear sky and all set up for imaging when it gets dark The Jelly Fish will be still down in the trees when it gets dark and I'll have to leave it an hour or two and image something else.

Another check on the CPU speeds and it seems there is no throttling - all 4 cores running at 4.2GHz the top speed So present cooling is sufficient gina@gina-mint-PI ~ $ cpufreq-info cpufrequtils 008: cpufreq-info (C) Dominik Brodowski 2004-2009 Report errors and bugs to cpufreq@vger.kernel.org, please. analyzing CPU 0: driver: acpi-cpufreq CPUs which run at the same hardware frequency: 0 CPUs which need to have their frequency coordinated by software: 0 maximum transition latency: 4.0 us. hardware limits: 1.90 GHz - 4.20 GHz available frequency steps: 4.20 GHz, 3.10 GHz, 2.80 GHz, 2.40 GHz, 1.90 GHz available cpufreq governors: conservative, ondemand, userspace, powersave, performance current policy: frequency should be within 1.90 GHz and 4.20 GHz. The governor "ondemand" may decide which speed to use within this range. current CPU frequency is 4.20 GHz. cpufreq stats: 4.20 GHz:19.64%, 3.10 GHz:2.54%, 2.80 GHz:3.31%, 2.40 GHz:15.13%, 1.90 GHz:59.38% (227022) analyzing CPU 1: driver: acpi-cpufreq CPUs which run at the same hardware frequency: 1 CPUs which need to have their frequency coordinated by software: 1 maximum transition latency: 4.0 us. hardware limits: 1.90 GHz - 4.20 GHz available frequency steps: 4.20 GHz, 3.10 GHz, 2.80 GHz, 2.40 GHz, 1.90 GHz available cpufreq governors: conservative, ondemand, userspace, powersave, performance current policy: frequency should be within 1.90 GHz and 4.20 GHz. The governor "ondemand" may decide which speed to use within this range. current CPU frequency is 4.20 GHz. cpufreq stats: 4.20 GHz:21.50%, 3.10 GHz:3.73%, 2.80 GHz:5.04%, 2.40 GHz:19.35%, 1.90 GHz:50.39% (222715) analyzing CPU 2: driver: acpi-cpufreq CPUs which run at the same hardware frequency: 2 CPUs which need to have their frequency coordinated by software: 2 maximum transition latency: 4.0 us. hardware limits: 1.90 GHz - 4.20 GHz available frequency steps: 4.20 GHz, 3.10 GHz, 2.80 GHz, 2.40 GHz, 1.90 GHz available cpufreq governors: conservative, ondemand, userspace, powersave, performance current policy: frequency should be within 1.90 GHz and 4.20 GHz. The governor "ondemand" may decide which speed to use within this range. current CPU frequency is 4.20 GHz. cpufreq stats: 4.20 GHz:20.17%, 3.10 GHz:2.75%, 2.80 GHz:3.51%, 2.40 GHz:18.86%, 1.90 GHz:54.71% (260922) analyzing CPU 3: driver: acpi-cpufreq CPUs which run at the same hardware frequency: 3 CPUs which need to have their frequency coordinated by software: 3 maximum transition latency: 4.0 us. hardware limits: 1.90 GHz - 4.20 GHz available frequency steps: 4.20 GHz, 3.10 GHz, 2.80 GHz, 2.40 GHz, 1.90 GHz available cpufreq governors: conservative, ondemand, userspace, powersave, performance current policy: frequency should be within 1.90 GHz and 4.20 GHz. The governor "ondemand" may decide which speed to use within this range. current CPU frequency is 4.20 GHz. cpufreq stats: 4.20 GHz:22.69%, 3.10 GHz:3.05%, 2.80 GHz:4.65%, 2.40 GHz:14.06%, 1.90 GHz:55.55% (184666) gina@gina-mint-PI ~ $

Yes, I think you might be right!

Idling - PI finished and doing little else. gina@gina-mint-PI ~ $ cpufreq-info cpufrequtils 008: cpufreq-info (C) Dominik Brodowski 2004-2009 Report errors and bugs to cpufreq@vger.kernel.org, please. analyzing CPU 0: driver: acpi-cpufreq CPUs which run at the same hardware frequency: 0 CPUs which need to have their frequency coordinated by software: 0 maximum transition latency: 4.0 us. hardware limits: 1.90 GHz - 4.20 GHz available frequency steps: 4.20 GHz, 3.10 GHz, 2.80 GHz, 2.40 GHz, 1.90 GHz available cpufreq governors: conservative, ondemand, userspace, powersave, performance current policy: frequency should be within 1.90 GHz and 4.20 GHz. The governor "ondemand" may decide which speed to use within this range. current CPU frequency is 1.90 GHz. cpufreq stats: 4.20 GHz:40.38%, 3.10 GHz:1.95%, 2.80 GHz:2.05%, 2.40 GHz:8.17%, 1.90 GHz:47.45% (76799) analyzing CPU 1: driver: acpi-cpufreq CPUs which run at the same hardware frequency: 1 CPUs which need to have their frequency coordinated by software: 1 maximum transition latency: 4.0 us. hardware limits: 1.90 GHz - 4.20 GHz available frequency steps: 4.20 GHz, 3.10 GHz, 2.80 GHz, 2.40 GHz, 1.90 GHz available cpufreq governors: conservative, ondemand, userspace, powersave, performance current policy: frequency should be within 1.90 GHz and 4.20 GHz. The governor "ondemand" may decide which speed to use within this range. current CPU frequency is 2.40 GHz. cpufreq stats: 4.20 GHz:42.82%, 3.10 GHz:2.52%, 2.80 GHz:2.57%, 2.40 GHz:9.96%, 1.90 GHz:42.13% (69859) analyzing CPU 2: driver: acpi-cpufreq CPUs which run at the same hardware frequency: 2 CPUs which need to have their frequency coordinated by software: 2 maximum transition latency: 4.0 us. hardware limits: 1.90 GHz - 4.20 GHz available frequency steps: 4.20 GHz, 3.10 GHz, 2.80 GHz, 2.40 GHz, 1.90 GHz available cpufreq governors: conservative, ondemand, userspace, powersave, performance current policy: frequency should be within 1.90 GHz and 4.20 GHz. The governor "ondemand" may decide which speed to use within this range. current CPU frequency is 1.90 GHz. cpufreq stats: 4.20 GHz:42.09%, 3.10 GHz:2.01%, 2.80 GHz:1.96%, 2.40 GHz:8.21%, 1.90 GHz:45.73% (66087) analyzing CPU 3: driver: acpi-cpufreq CPUs which run at the same hardware frequency: 3 CPUs which need to have their frequency coordinated by software: 3 maximum transition latency: 4.0 us. hardware limits: 1.90 GHz - 4.20 GHz available frequency steps: 4.20 GHz, 3.10 GHz, 2.80 GHz, 2.40 GHz, 1.90 GHz available cpufreq governors: conservative, ondemand, userspace, powersave, performance current policy: frequency should be within 1.90 GHz and 4.20 GHz. The governor "ondemand" may decide which speed to use within this range. current CPU frequency is 2.40 GHz. cpufreq stats: 4.20 GHz:46.55%, 3.10 GHz:2.23%, 2.80 GHz:3.19%, 2.40 GHz:6.17%, 1.90 GHz:41.86% (55149) gina@gina-mint-PI ~ $

Another check :- gina@gina-mint-PI ~ $ cpufreq-info cpufrequtils 008: cpufreq-info (C) Dominik Brodowski 2004-2009 Report errors and bugs to cpufreq@vger.kernel.org, please. analyzing CPU 0: driver: acpi-cpufreq CPUs which run at the same hardware frequency: 0 CPUs which need to have their frequency coordinated by software: 0 maximum transition latency: 4.0 us. hardware limits: 1.90 GHz - 4.20 GHz available frequency steps: 4.20 GHz, 3.10 GHz, 2.80 GHz, 2.40 GHz, 1.90 GHz available cpufreq governors: conservative, ondemand, userspace, powersave, performance current policy: frequency should be within 1.90 GHz and 4.20 GHz. The governor "ondemand" may decide which speed to use within this range. current CPU frequency is 4.20 GHz. cpufreq stats: 4.20 GHz:39.94%, 3.10 GHz:1.93%, 2.80 GHz:2.03%, 2.40 GHz:8.12%, 1.90 GHz:47.97% (74538) analyzing CPU 1: driver: acpi-cpufreq CPUs which run at the same hardware frequency: 1 CPUs which need to have their frequency coordinated by software: 1 maximum transition latency: 4.0 us. hardware limits: 1.90 GHz - 4.20 GHz available frequency steps: 4.20 GHz, 3.10 GHz, 2.80 GHz, 2.40 GHz, 1.90 GHz available cpufreq governors: conservative, ondemand, userspace, powersave, performance current policy: frequency should be within 1.90 GHz and 4.20 GHz. The governor "ondemand" may decide which speed to use within this range. current CPU frequency is 4.20 GHz. cpufreq stats: 4.20 GHz:42.39%, 3.10 GHz:2.49%, 2.80 GHz:2.55%, 2.40 GHz:9.91%, 1.90 GHz:42.66% (67654) analyzing CPU 2: driver: acpi-cpufreq CPUs which run at the same hardware frequency: 2 CPUs which need to have their frequency coordinated by software: 2 maximum transition latency: 4.0 us. hardware limits: 1.90 GHz - 4.20 GHz available frequency steps: 4.20 GHz, 3.10 GHz, 2.80 GHz, 2.40 GHz, 1.90 GHz available cpufreq governors: conservative, ondemand, userspace, powersave, performance current policy: frequency should be within 1.90 GHz and 4.20 GHz. The governor "ondemand" may decide which speed to use within this range. current CPU frequency is 1.90 GHz. cpufreq stats: 4.20 GHz:41.70%, 3.10 GHz:1.99%, 2.80 GHz:1.95%, 2.40 GHz:8.09%, 1.90 GHz:46.28% (63742) analyzing CPU 3: driver: acpi-cpufreq CPUs which run at the same hardware frequency: 3 CPUs which need to have their frequency coordinated by software: 3 maximum transition latency: 4.0 us. hardware limits: 1.90 GHz - 4.20 GHz available frequency steps: 4.20 GHz, 3.10 GHz, 2.80 GHz, 2.40 GHz, 1.90 GHz available cpufreq governors: conservative, ondemand, userspace, powersave, performance current policy: frequency should be within 1.90 GHz and 4.20 GHz. The governor "ondemand" may decide which speed to use within this range. current CPU frequency is 4.20 GHz. cpufreq stats: 4.20 GHz:46.11%, 3.10 GHz:2.16%, 2.80 GHz:3.15%, 2.40 GHz:6.17%, 1.90 GHz:42.41% (53073) gina@gina-mint-PI ~ $

Done a "Google" and run cpufreq-info which shows the CPU core speeds - here's the result :- gina@gina-mint-PI ~ $ cpufreq-info cpufrequtils 008: cpufreq-info (C) Dominik Brodowski 2004-2009 Report errors and bugs to cpufreq@vger.kernel.org, please. analyzing CPU 0: driver: acpi-cpufreq CPUs which run at the same hardware frequency: 0 CPUs which need to have their frequency coordinated by software: 0 maximum transition latency: 4.0 us. hardware limits: 1.90 GHz - 4.20 GHz available frequency steps: 4.20 GHz, 3.10 GHz, 2.80 GHz, 2.40 GHz, 1.90 GHz available cpufreq governors: conservative, ondemand, userspace, powersave, performance current policy: frequency should be within 1.90 GHz and 4.20 GHz. The governor "ondemand" may decide which speed to use within this range. current CPU frequency is 2.80 GHz. cpufreq stats: 4.20 GHz:40.94%, 3.10 GHz:1.74%, 2.80 GHz:1.67%, 2.40 GHz:6.02%, 1.90 GHz:49.63% (41142) analyzing CPU 1: driver: acpi-cpufreq CPUs which run at the same hardware frequency: 1 CPUs which need to have their frequency coordinated by software: 1 maximum transition latency: 4.0 us. hardware limits: 1.90 GHz - 4.20 GHz available frequency steps: 4.20 GHz, 3.10 GHz, 2.80 GHz, 2.40 GHz, 1.90 GHz available cpufreq governors: conservative, ondemand, userspace, powersave, performance current policy: frequency should be within 1.90 GHz and 4.20 GHz. The governor "ondemand" may decide which speed to use within this range. current CPU frequency is 2.40 GHz. cpufreq stats: 4.20 GHz:43.18%, 3.10 GHz:2.12%, 2.80 GHz:2.05%, 2.40 GHz:8.28%, 1.90 GHz:44.36% (38883) analyzing CPU 2: driver: acpi-cpufreq CPUs which run at the same hardware frequency: 2 CPUs which need to have their frequency coordinated by software: 2 maximum transition latency: 4.0 us. hardware limits: 1.90 GHz - 4.20 GHz available frequency steps: 4.20 GHz, 3.10 GHz, 2.80 GHz, 2.40 GHz, 1.90 GHz available cpufreq governors: conservative, ondemand, userspace, powersave, performance current policy: frequency should be within 1.90 GHz and 4.20 GHz. The governor "ondemand" may decide which speed to use within this range. current CPU frequency is 1.90 GHz. cpufreq stats: 4.20 GHz:40.69%, 3.10 GHz:1.84%, 2.80 GHz:1.86%, 2.40 GHz:7.87%, 1.90 GHz:47.73% (47445) analyzing CPU 3: driver: acpi-cpufreq CPUs which run at the same hardware frequency: 3 CPUs which need to have their frequency coordinated by software: 3 maximum transition latency: 4.0 us. hardware limits: 1.90 GHz - 4.20 GHz available frequency steps: 4.20 GHz, 3.10 GHz, 2.80 GHz, 2.40 GHz, 1.90 GHz available cpufreq governors: conservative, ondemand, userspace, powersave, performance current policy: frequency should be within 1.90 GHz and 4.20 GHz. The governor "ondemand" may decide which speed to use within this range. current CPU frequency is 4.20 GHz. cpufreq stats: 4.20 GHz:42.52%, 3.10 GHz:2.06%, 2.80 GHz:3.33%, 2.40 GHz:6.18%, 1.90 GHz:45.91% (39898) gina@gina-mint-PI ~ $

Processing 193 x 32MB = 6GB of source data that expands to 12GB in PI several times over for calibration, registration and integration, is taking quite a long time in spite of having a fast machine. The main limitation according to the System Monitor is the CPU with all 4 cores running 100% most of the time. I'm wondering if the CPU is being throttled back as the cooling system is rather crude. If it is I could convert to water cooling - I have the kit but it's not being used ATM.

Filled up the 500GB SSD so PI shut down - had to clear some space. Had a couple of abortive attempts at the Cygnus Loop I could delete giving nearly 100GB free space Anything not needed in the near future but may be later when I refine my use of PI, can be backed up to my new USB3 2TB drive. But I'm almost immediately deleting unwanted data and being much more strict with myself in view of the "explosion" of data from the ASI1600MM-Cool as compared with the Atik 460EX (far fewer pixels and longer/fewer subs).

Going for RGBHa on M31 now. Using master bias and dark which I processed yesterday and flat frames taken around the same time. Currently processing 193 red frames in BPP.

Now working on the Cygnus Loop in bi-colour. I examined the SII and though there's a bit of image there I decided not to use it at this time - maybe later when I get on to tri-colour and maybe Hubble Palette. As before, the result from PixelMath needed more post processing which I have done in Photoshop. I'll look into using PixInsight later.

Applied noise reduction and "Enhance DSO and reduce stars" in Photoshop plus a touch of curves.

I've saved the PixelMath image as TIFF and transferred it into Photoshop where I've matched up the histograms using curves as I used to do before. The starting histograms for the three colours were very different and after matching as well as I could the image is very different. I've saved the Photoshop image in PNG format and transferred it back to here (Linux Mint desktop) for upload. Here's the edited image and the new histogram.

Neither image was stretched before combination. Just auto-stretch applied to the result. Before that all was linear.

Re-done as straight HOO - looks the same as having (0.2*Ha)+(0.8*OIII) for the green channel to me

Undoubtedly PixelMath gives the control needed for NB imaging but I think my OIII capture is a bit duff There's far too much "stuff" whether stars or noise in the background. I've used the formulae mentioned in the tutorial for NB HOO and tried all sorts of other variations but came back to the original - other ratios gave too much red or too much green and unbalanced the background. I think maybe a bit of non-linear processing would help. I recall that when I was using Photoshop I adjusted curves in the various colours to create the final image, matching histograms before applying Hubble Palette for tri-colour NB or not for HOO. I know the OIII data is not the best for this job but I'm not sure what to do to it. Maybe I should try colour on some of my other data.