Hello All,
Very much a beginner to this hobby. I got my first telescope last year but didn't have much chance to use it due to lack of clear skies In the past I've been guilty of 'kid in a sweet shop' syndrome, imaging a bit of this and bit of that 😁 This year I wanted to try and focus on a project and try to do it well. I've picked the Iris Nebula and I've started collecting data over the past couple of weeks. I'm aiming to include about 15-20 hours of exposure time in the hope that this might bring out some more of the dust detail. I am using Affiinity Photo for processing and DSS for stacking. I've included my most recent process in the hope of getting some feedback and any words of wisdom. This is 6 hours 28 minutes exposure time. I had some issues in getting my guidiing set up so these exposures were not guided or dithered. Hopefully this issue will be resolved for my next imaging session. I've found colour balance and noise to be the biggest challenges when processing. I also think my focus could have been better. Any advice for this target, processing or general wisdom for working on a project like this is much appreciated. ✨
Skywatcher 80ED with 0.85 reducer flattener
HEQ 5 (belt modified)
Canon 1200D (unmodified)
ISO800
213 x 75s
122 x 60 s
30 x flats
100 x bias