Sarek

Thanks Chris. I can't quite remember where I first saw this framing but it struck me as one of those names that was easier to match to the image.

I thought I'd have a go at cropping this part of the Eastern Veil nebula from a larger image I took last last week. It seems this one of those nebulas whose shape really matches its name. Cropping in I notice my stars aren't so good although I recall the guiding being pretty good. Around 2.5hrs of data (300s subs) with Optolong L-eXtreme filter, processed in PI

Well done Chris. You've planted an idea in my head now!

Well, it worked fine and I really liked being able to see an image gradually improving as the session went on. I'll still process the images as normal with WBPP in PI. I've never tried NiNa but I do love the ASI Air, especially the Polar alignment functionality. Now I've marked out my tripod base locations on bricks sunk in the lawn I can usually PA in less than 2 minutes - when I think it used to take me 10 times that long!

Fantastic! What a result and I really like the framing too. Well worth all those hours. It's satisfying not to miss the opportunities when they arise. I've never tried gain that high. It's obviously worked but intrigued to know what led you to it

Look forward to seeing the results Chris. I had a go at live stacking with the ASI Air tonight. Don't see any downsides to that as you are not forced to specify the number of exposures in advance and can save the individual images as normal. I am amazed at the guiding accuracy I'm getting tonight - sat for the first hour at 0.40 to 0.55 , which is the best I've ever had.

Thanks Chris. I'm sitting around 0.7 to 0.9 tonight. I did have a problem at the start of my session tonight where I was getting star trails and good guiding. I aborted and tightended everything up which seemed to fix it. Maybe that was rectifying something which began last night. That was a long session you had there!

Thank you. I'm trying the same target tonight. Will be interesting to see if the same issue occurs.

Despite very clear skies last night guiding was not great for large parts of a 3 hr session (35 x 300s) and star shapes have suffered somewhat. I also had some issues with gradient removal in the top half of the image - perhaps the aurora was making its presence known?

Lovely image Chris. I really like the composition. Interested to know how you decided on the gain to use

Ha, yes we should! I think it used to be more active but seems to be dying a slow death now

Thanks. Yes perhaps I did sharpen it a little - I lose track after tweaking too often! It also looks different on different platforms and screens but I guess that's something we have to live with.

A slightly darker version. I'm not sure which version is best, maybe this one??

Thanks Chris. Yes this was using the Starfield 102 - such a great scope, really happy with it. Guiding was very good last night. Even a meridian flip didn't throw it - as sometimes happens to me. What were you targetting? Vaughan

I've been wanting to have a go at this target for a while but was somewhat constrained the position of my house so I decided to make a makeshift viewing platform (3 bricks!) at the bottom of the garden. A really clear night here and guiding was always less than 0.75 sometimes 0.5. 30 x 300 seconds with 30 darks and 30 flats processed in Pixinsight. L-eNhance filter. I also have a starless version but think I prefer this one (star reduced)