fwm891

Just closed up the ops after imaging the comet (C/2022 E3) and now transferring all the subs from laptop to PC...

Shot some 'normal' stuff whilst waiting for the comet to get over our neighbours roof line (NGC2264, IC434, M51...) looks like a day of processing 😃

Clear skies

@rnobleeddyTake a look at the Altair astro refractors 

Thanks @Tomatobro I should have read the blurb rather than just downloading and using!

As an aside I've just done some processing with starXTerminator and used debayer'd image files (comet aligned) it will remove the stars from these files but the star image content is useless. Comet content however is fine.

I've been playing with StarXTerminator on some comet subs but does anyone know what the 3 different AI selections do/are for?

Thanks for looking

16 minutes ago, The Lazy Astronomer said:

I like this object, the tadpoles are very interesting structures, (shooting some SII on this as l type in fact), but that must be a typo, no? Surely this is not just 28 minutes of data?! 

Yes. Just checked the file folder. 16 were captured but 2 were discarded. one for heavy sat trails the other poor tracking.

Part of my first real outing with the 585MC. Great camera, very sensitive.

Happily if you gave a 100 different APer's the same set of files, the same software to process them with and even the order the processing should take. You'll still have 100 different images to view...

Having for years having had to produce sets of images and a signed piece of paper to say what I'd done, I now have great pleasure (and some frustration) in no longer having to justify the outcome. If I get something I like I keep it . If not it's worked on till I'm happy or discarded.

If stars are the 'stars' of the composition then I make them the stars. If the backdrop is the feature then stars become less relevant and are treated as such.

I enjoy both the capture and the following drama.

+1 for RGGB

Though the first one I had would only debayer with a BGGR Pattern otherwise colours we’re mixed up.

Imaged on the night of 16/17th January comprises 14x 120 second subs using:

Altair 102 Ascent ED refractor and ASI 585 MC camera, IDAS NBZ filter and Baader MPCC MKIII coma corrector.

Processed in PI

Thanks for looking

M1 or the Crab nebula in Taurus.

M1 was imaged on the night 16/17th January 2023 whilst waiting for comet C/2022 E3 to clear a neighbour's roof line.

Imaged as two sessions one filtered with a UV/IR cut filter (Baader) the other with an IDAS NBZ filter and the two combined.

UV/IR 23x 120 second subs, NBZ 12x 120 second subs (more were shot but thin cloud spoilt them)

Both sets processed in PI and combined with pixel math.

Altair 102 Ascent ED refractor, ASI 585 MC camera IDAS NBZ and BAADER UV/IR filters, Baader MPCC Mk III coma corrector all on an iOptron CEM60 mount.

Thanks for looking

11 minutes ago, tooth_dr said:

How did you use batch mode 

Select to use StarETerminator which opens a box on the desktop. In that box is a button marked Batch ?

When you click on that it asks you to create 2 folders - one for starless one for star images it then places the individual subs into the folders.

You then treat them as ordinary subs and integrate the subs as normal...

53 minutes ago, tooth_dr said:

I wasnt aware of this just, I've some comet data but didnt fancy running SXT on 250 subs one at a time.   Is Batch mode PI only?

???? Don’t know sorry.

1 hour ago, tooth_dr said:Lovely photo Francis, nice and close!

Can I ask how you did this?

How I did it!

 I went through the process: debayer and star align for all subs, then ran the debayered subs through PI’s comet alignment to register the comet head. Next I used StarXTerminator (batch mode) to remove stars from the comet registered frames. These were then integrated to give me the comet only half of the image.

Next the star only image. Here I integrated the original set of debayered subs and ran BlurXTerminator on the integration followed by StarXTerminator and kept the star half of the image.

Each half then processed using curves and saturation before adding them together in pixelmath. Final tweaks on the final image.

Next: I think I’ll try using StarEXTERMINATOR on both registered sets whilst they’re still single subs, integrate each set then run BlurEXterminator one each half before colour corrections and pixelmath…

Francis

Imaged last night (05:50 - 06:20) ish.

Altair 102 ED Ascent refractor on an iOptron CEM60.

Camera: an uncooled ASI585MC with a Baader UN/IR cut filter and Baader MPCC Mk 3 coma corrector.

Image made up of 22x 60 second subs. Gain setting at 252 offset? (low single figures)

Processing has been the difficult part today. The sub set were stacked initially to provide the star field. This was extracted using StarXTerminator followed by curves transformation and colour saturation.

PI's comet stacking routineworked fine but first I had to remove all the stars from each of the sub frames using StarEXTerminator - thankfully there's a batch processing mode which slowed my old PC down a gear or two.

I struggled with the tail I think mainly  because captures were undertaken through a veil of high thin cloud which has washed the colours out somewhat.

Tomorrow morning I hope to have another go, hopfully without the cloud cover.

Thanks for looking.

My first all nighter for ages. Finishing off on the comet now, probably pull the plug about 6.

Lovely spherical head, a broad dust tail and a thin ion tail. Screen images are mono so looking forward to seeing colour when processed.

I’m waiting for the comet to clear our neighbours roof hopefully about 4 ish. Otherwise I’ve been imaging M’s tonight 81, 82 separately, the Leo trio are the current targets. M1 kicked off the night a round 6.30. Better go check subs are being gathered ok…

Viewed this morning circa 05-35 to 05:50 between cloud cover. image 8x 1 second subs OO VX12 f4 Dob Nikon D5100 mono @ 1600 iso.

Processed Lightroom and PS CS3.

Shutter fired manually (index finger!) so that probably the source of any trailing. Dressing gown not the idea observing attire.

Lovely comet visually looking forward to it getting a little more accessable as it had only just appeared over a neighbours roof.

Superb Rodd, Love the ripples running through pretty much the whole FoV. 👍

Ordered an ASI 585 MC PM yesterday and I have courier delivering AM today! Magic.

I'd like to join others in this sad news to hit our forum

Thanks both.

I just don't like the Kensington show anymore. I used to go every year but it really is the wrong venue to be able to meaningfully look at kit or talk to the vendors about their wares.

A reprocess of some older subs captured on an ASI 533 MC Pro, Idas NBZ filter and RASA 8 scope.

There are 7x 300s subs of Sh2-273 both versions processed in PI, the reprocessed version has also had both RC's BlurXT and StarXT applied at the linear stage and then each 'half' processed for colour etc separately before being combined with pixelmath as a straight 1+1

I've added the starless half of the combination in the images below.

Cheers

Thanks for looking

Original version

New combined starless+stars version

Starless version

Hi, Anyone know if there is an IAS show at Warwick this year and what the dates are?

Cheers

4 hours ago, carastro said:

Looks really good Francis.   I don’t mind reprocessing but it would be good to see the comparison to previous version and tell us what you have done differently.   
 

Carole

This was the original processing Carole

A reprocess of LDN1235 (the Shark). Circa 45 subs ranging between 300s and 600s processed in PI to linear phase then BlurETraction applied followed by StarEXtraction. Star layer and shark layers then processed separately and recombined with pixelmath.

I hope you don't mind the reprocessing...?

First time for me using this processing technique.

Again because the weather is (not nice) today it's given me some time to play. The subs are old data grabbed mid 2022 ? with my ASI533MC pro. Comprising 5x 300s 2x 600s. These have been processed in PI and whilst still at the linear stage BlurXTerminator was applied to clean-up the stars and neb to some extent. Then StarEXterminator used to split the stars from the nebula. Processing then for each 'half' was done in the usual way for me with luminance masks and the two then combined with pixelmath as a straight combination.

These were with the trial versions of (sorry bank manager but I feel a purchase coming on). As a first step in what i'll call split processing, although more work, the work was easier because I didn't have to compromise as much.

Wow. Thanks for looking.