sPhyre91

Hello Guys, here is a little update on my late shootings!

As @WolfieGlos suggested, I started using Siril to both Stack and post-process my images!

Thanks to all the tutorial on the web, I was able to rapidly understand the basics of this powerful software, and the starnet++ integration is a great intuitive tool to use!

So here is my progress so far, but I'm still looking forward to receive as many critiques as you can give me to improve my results!

All images are taken in my backyard, Bortle4 but with a lot of surrounding lights. 

The equipment used is:

Nikon D5500 no mod, no filters

StarAdventurer GTi guided with ZWO 120 mini

Redcat 51 scope

I used NINA as the acquisition sw, phd2 as guiding sw and all images are stacked and processed in Siril.

Siril workflow: BG extraction, color calibration, photometric color calibration, Green Noise reduction, starnet++ star removal, asinh stretching, Hystogram stretching, stretching starmask and adjusting black point for shadows and contrast.

Thank you and clear skies!

2 hours ago, AstroNebulee said:

Wow what a stunning image 👏. Well done 

 

Lee 

Thank you so much Lee! If you have any advice or critique are all welcome!!

18 minutes ago, AstroMuni said:

Great image for a first timer. It just goes to show that you dont always have to ditch your current equipment to get better images 😉

A suggestion on post capture software - while GIMP is a great software, its cumbersome to use for AP. Try Siril (also free) as its been written specifically for AP. Good luck and look forward to seeing more images from the Mak & Redcat 👍

Thank you! I am learning also Siril, and watching a lot of tutorials to get started! I will surely get this post and my gallery updated as I wish to get any advice you all can give me!! 

5 minutes ago, WolfieGlos said:

Great image so early in your AP journey, well done! Is your camera modded, or is that a stock DSLR?

Going back to the Skymax, I agree with what others have said, but if you still have it, you could potentially try it on globular clusters https://astronomy.tools/calculators/field_of_view/?fov[]=70||186||1|1|0&messier=13 . I've not used one myself, but it's just a thought.

Hi Chris, thank you for your kind words!

Of course I still have my Mak, I think for visual observation is still a great option and with a tracked mount I am able to get also longer exposures and get good images! The camera is stock, I don't think I am going to mod it as I would also use it for general photography! 

I read in your signature you also use GIMP to post process, have you sot some advices for me?

Hello guys, I decided to go all in and get a Redcat 51 for widefield photos! I have now a complete "beginner" set up and this is my first light with it!

Telescope: Redcat 51

Mount: Skywatcher star adventurer GTi

Guide: ZWO 120mini with WO Uniguide 32mm (phd2)

Camera: Nikon D5500

Lights: 82x180" @ISO 400

20 Darks

Imaging session with N.I.N.A., stacked in DSS and edited in GIMP

I now have to study deeper the post elaboration as I think I can get more data from my image!

I love every part of this, every day I discover something new and is amazing!

Clear skies to all of you!!

22 minutes ago, AstroNebulee said:

That's a nice mount you have there. Nice and lightweight and good guiding figures too. Are you still using your Skymax 127?

Great job and pleased you've got a nice image there. Next time take some flat frames to help calibrate out the border you have around the outside. At least I think flats will calibrate this out. 

You've made a great start, keep going 👏. 

Lee

Hi Lee, yes, this is taken with my mak 127! I love this mount as I can easily carry it in darker places away from the street lights I have in my backyard!

Thank you really much for your support, I will continue post updates on my shootings!

Greetings guys, thank you all for the precious answers and advices you gave me, there is a lot to learn and understand in this hobby but you guys, this forum and youtube are just great to get started!

I'm posting an update as I am getting kind of serious in this, and since I got a great deal, I was able to get the SA GTi with a guidescope and camera. I used phd2 for guiding and when I saw an error of 0.64" on the graph it was really exciting as it was my first time polar aligning and guiding!

My target for these nights has been the M27, and here it is!

20x180s lights, only 5 darks (my camera battery was exhausted) at ISO 800

Stacked in DSS and edited in GIMP.

I know it is nothing special, but being able to shoot this objects, and knowing I can get only better at this is a wonderful felling!

Clear skies to all of you guys!

Hello guys, I would like to try using N.I.N.A. to control my DSLR, but I am unable to connect it. 

Here is what I tried (camera connected to the PC with the original USB cable):

- Selecting "Nikon" from the equipment-camera Tab. Once I click on "Connect", I have an infinite connecting wheel. I waited like 10 minutes but nothing happened;

- Downloading and installing ASCOM.DSLR drivers. If I select Nikon from the proprieties menu and click ok, NINA freezes and I have to end task from the task manager (the same happens from the driver test app);

- I tried other softwares like Backyard Nikon, it doesn't find any camera connected. I found out that with qDSLR Dashboard I am able to control the camera and take shots, so this model can be controlled via USB.

Do you have any tips to give me or have the same camera and tell me how you managed to connect it?

Thank you very much, and clear skies to all of you!

On 21/07/2023 at 17:07, AstroNebulee said:

That's strange with 500plus stars picked up in the registration. Do you have a screenshot of the part where your checked images have 1-2 stars. 

Hopefully your new focusing with the batinov mask will help. Make sure you pick a really bright star and up your iso high for the focus routine. 

How big are all your dslr images in mb. Could be worth uploading to a sharing site for us to look at if possible. 

Lee 

Good evening Lee,

so after some trial and proper focusing, I managed to have decent shoots (or so I thought while shooting)

I took 80+ light frame of M81, 45"at ISO 12800 (is the max ISO my DSLR can do)

Most of them had a lot of noise and I couldn't use them for stacking, so on 80+ I saved 11 lights

DSC_0072.NEF

The final result after stacking and a bit of stretching and colour adjustment is this:

The Bahtinov mask for sure helped me getting good focus, and being able to finally stack photos is kind of my first important achievement! 

I'm going to lower the ISO to get less noise and be able to stack more light frames!

2 hours ago, Albir phil said:

Hi I think the reason why DSS only finds ,3 stars is that you need to move the slider,I think it's under advanced or other settings,it should then recognize more stars and Stack your images, this is of course if you're exposure time is long enough.Also I agree with others use the equipment you have to experiment and that way learn more.Its the mistakes we make that teach us more👍

1 hour ago, AstroNebulee said:

Yes +1 for this 😊. 

Register settings - Advanced-move slider - compute the number of detected stars. 

Just move this slider to the right each time to let dss detect more stars in your image and give it a try. 

Lee 

Yes, I tried that and the software finds me 500ish stars, but in the checked list I've only got 1 or 2 stars for the first pictures and none on the others 😕

Tonight I will try better focusing with my brand new Bahtinov mask and will try to catch the beautiful M27 nebula! I will get you posted!

8 minutes ago, AstroNebulee said:

Greetings to you.

I would definitely keep practicing with your current set up before leaping into further astrophotography. I think many of us started with the basics of Alt Az astrophotography. Myself I started with my AzGti and Canon 450d then 600D and learnt so much. Then I was ready to get into eq astrophotography. 

Learn the iso and exposures you can manage with a alt az setup. What settings are you using on your current dslr set up? 1600iso is a good starting point and it all depends how long the exposures are before you see trailing. You will get field rotation but you could move the scope ever so slightly using the mounts controller left, right, up down buttons. This may help a bit, but only moving a few pixels. 

A fine book called making every photon count by Steve Richards is worth a good read of. urer gti is a good portable mount for a beginner. 

The star adventurer gti is a lovely mount for a beginner lightweight astrophotography setup. 

But cut your teeth on your current setup first. You can get some wonderful images with a no eq setup as a thread on here will show. 

I was amazed with what I could achieve back when I started. 

Lee 

Thank you very much for the beautiful examples you posted, those are really nice incentives to squeeze anything I can from my current setup! 

The settings I've tried are 400, 800 and 1600 ISO for 30'' exposure time. I'm waiting for my Intervalometer to be delivered today so I'll be able to set for longer exposure time. I'm also 3D printing a Bahtinov mask for my scope to get better focus!

Can you please suggest me some good DSO I can shoot with my Mak? I'm planning to get M57 and/or Xi Cygni with the North America Nebula tonight

Greetings everyone, I would like to ask you for advice since I would like to go deeper in this wonderful hobby of us. I started using a telescope a couple years ago with a mak 127 with an alt-az mount GoTo, with which I was able to study the sky, understanding the main constellations and losing myself in Saturn rings and Jupiter stripes and moons.

I now would like to take a step into DSO astrophotography, I tried to use my Scope with an old DSLR (a Nikon D3200), but the results are quite underwhelming as I'm a total photography noob and I'm still trying to understand ISO and exposure time balance: DSS only recognise 2 or 3 stars in my M31 photos and is not able to stack them together.

Based on some youtube videos and online articles, I've put down a list of gear to buy, as I hope to get better results in my photo sessions.

The Items I'm willing to get are the Skywatcher Star Adventurer GTi and a Redcat 51 telescope. In a near future I would get a guidescope with a camera.

So I'm now asking to you if this purchase is a gamechanger in learning how to get proper shoots or I should wait and practice more with my current setup?