MartinB

This challenge has shown that you don't need multiminute sub exposures to achieve stunning results. Modern CMOS cameras certainly appear up to the task. Yet again, the judging was difficult and some divided opinions (always a good sign!) 1st Fegato - The North American Nebula https://stargazerslounge.com/uploads/monthly_2021_07/2096223923_NAmerica210720SHO.png.a494bb6be3d3279b453a4a2704893792.png 2nd Snooze - The Double Cluster https://stargazerslounge.com/uploads/monthly_2021_08/389568138_Doublecluster_rez.jpg.ff881d9af8352bbe9f65d147a9283f52.jpg 3rd Simon Pepper - M31 https://stargazerslounge.com/uploads/monthly_2021_08/769231006_M31copy2.thumb.jpg.b7e4f458caf0e293c216f625ff3ffb7d.jpg Well done to all who entered the challenge.

This challenge is now closed. It has proved very popular with some outstanding images. Results should be announced within the next couple of weeks

The thread is now closed for entries. Well done everyone who posted, the weather didn't help so I am amazed by the high standard of images. The results will be announced within the next couple of weeks.

The theme for the #7 challenge is Supernovae Remnants and Planetary Nebulae! Start Date: 1st September 2021 End Date: 30th November 2021 Here's one for the narrow band deep sky imagers. From the well known targets such as the Veil to the faintest of fuzzies well off the beaten track. Some are huge and some tiny, take your pick of focal lengths! Prize: A personalised mug for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places featuring your image kindly provided by our sponsors FLO and a virtual trophy for your signature. Please post your entries in this thread. Please include details of your capture since this can be helpful to other members. Emojies are welcome but please don't comment on posted images. -- RULES All data must be captured and processed by you (no collaborative entries). Data must be captured during the challenge start & end dates. Multiple entries are allowed. Multiple submissions of the same image, processed differently, will not be accepted.

Only recently spotted this competition and m away now for pretty much the rest of the month so this is a bit of a rush job. This might be a blessing since my redo's rarely help the cause! So I'm seeing the IFN as the most ethereal of chiffon scarves being languidly stroked away to reveal radiant beauty beneath. OK I'll go and have a cup of tea but that notion is what has been in my mind in attempting to process this image. It's been nearly all PS for me. I ran a deconvolution in PI but didn't like the result, it was like giving Salome acne. I just used Starnet and Photometric colour calibration in PI. I used the starless version the swith the screen/inverted mask method along with some small curve tweaks to try to bring out the IFN.

As you will have seen from the above, there is a bewildering array of software available now. The capture software tends to be geared towards full automation including precise pointing using plate solving, control of motorised focusers with auto refocusing to adjust for temperature changes, guiding, and automated meridian flips. Since my old Pulsar observatory can't be PC controlled this level of automation doesn't work for me but outside I use Sequence Generator Pro. The problem with this level of automation is that you have a complex set of commands. When the software works it is wonderful and people rightly wax lyrical whereas other people, like me, have one gremlin after another. KISS can still apply! I upgraded from Maxim v4 to v5 but didn't notice much difference really. I can't remember whether v4 had plate solving, I think it did. I find plate solving very useful for ensuring accurate alignment of the target when imaging over several nights. I have always found Maxim guiding to perform well although PHD2 is significantly more sophisticated now. You might be interested in having a look at NINA. There is a Stargazine talk on this here https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/361708-ep17-youtube-an-overview-of-nina-nighttime-imaging-n-astronomy-by-stefan-berg/ Pixinsight has various stacking routines and I now use the Weighted Batch Processing routine all the way up to image integration. This is pretty neat. Some people have found that PI gives better results than Maxim but I have never been able to discern this from the comparisons I have made. For a long time PI has been a one off payment with lifetime updates. I don't know whether this applies to your version. PI is very sophisticated. The nomenclature is based on statistical terms and, unless you are an advanced statistician, is confusing and unhelpful. There seems to be a certain conceit around using PI and being able to state "Fully processed in PI". It is fantastic software but so is photoshop and having spent a chunk of my life getting to grips with PI (Adam Block's tutorials are excellent but very soporific) I realise that you can use either or both. I use both and do like the deconvolution tool in PI when my data is good enough to stand it

The IMX 533 the more modern CMOS chip with the magical HCG switch at 100gain and zero amp glow (which isn't hype). As always, Vlaiv is spot on re sampling rates.

There is a great deal of wisdom is this response!!

I wrote an article for AstronomyNow! magazine on CMOS cameras if you can get hold of a copy. CMOS chips read much faster than CCD and are therefore better for video applications. As a consequence they became the chips of choice for smart phones. This led to massive investment in CMOS technology. CCD chips still have the edge when it comes to pixel to pixel consistency which is important in scientific applications but much less so for "pretty picture" imaging. The principle advantages of CMOS cameras are cost and low read noise (allowing much shorter sub exposure times). You have adjustable gain settings which is very useful when switching between broad band and narrow band targets. Amp glow is easily managed using time matched darks. Many newer chips have eliminated amp glow. I have 3 ZWO cameras and my old QSI CCD never comes out of it's box! The ZWO ASI 183 MC-Pro is a superb camera and also works extremely well with camera lenses such as the brilliant Samyang 135mm.

Retired 4 years ago Dave but still grinding the bike gears. You're going to notice some astro tech changes such as CMOS cameras, a better range of mounts, software automation using platesolving and some heavy duty processing software.

I still use Sky 6 in my observatory but out in the garden I use Cartes du Ciel. I'm pretty happy with both.

Well this is a blast from the past! Welcome back Dave, there are still quite a few of us old timers still around.

10/8/21 23.11

Out on Baslow Edge in the Peak District 2 nights ago taking pics of the Eagle Stone. A very bright Perseid sped across my FOV. Even if it is solid cloud tonight it is worth going on the hunt since the shower does persist for 2 or 3 days either side. If anyone does manage a successful capture don't forget to enter it into this months SGL Perseid challenge.

That's a stunning image Paul! I think, composition wise, I would prefer it either without you or without the windmill!

Great pics and I like the effect as a way of picking out constellations. I've used Noel Carboni's star spikes pro tool in PS to do something very similar, the advantage of this tool is that it gives you complete control over the amount of flare and which stars are affected.

A wonderful set of entries. The results can be seen here https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/381224-sgl-2021-challenge-4-noctilucent-cloud/

There were a couple of excellent NLC displays this season punctuated by spells of cloudy weather, it was a case of grabbing the opportunities as they arose we have been treated to some stunning entries. If you haven't browsed all the entries it is well worth having a look here - https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/376717-sgl-challenge-4-noctilucent-clouds/ As you will see, picking the winning 3 was not easy and we could have happily chosen an entirely different group of winners. 1st Clarkpm https://stargazerslounge.com/uploads/monthly_2021_06/495958269_IMG_308301.jpg.cb69676a33c7163cfc104c923a6c9367.jpg A beautifully composed scene 2nd Fenland Paul https://stargazerslounge.com/uploads/monthly_2021_06/147118774_20210623NLCoverSwaveseyLake(YToptimised).mp4.b5b6bacd2228f0d4e8af25dcd8bf2738.mp4 Sublime serenity! 3rd StuartJPP https://flic.kr/p/2mbocc4 A wonderful city nightscape

August is the month of the Perseid meteor shower, argualbly the best meteor display of them all. Although the night of 12th - 13th will see the maximum zenithal hourly rate the overall period of activity extends to several days either side of this. The moon should be setting conveniently early so lets hope for clear skies! Start date 1st August 2021 End date 31st August 2021 As previously the winner and runners up will receive an SGL challenge mug showing their image along with a virtual medal-of-honour for their SGL signature. Please post entries directly into this thread To keep the thread manageable for the judges please do not post comments about entries, emoji reactions are welcome of course. -- RULES All data must be captured and processed by you (no collaborative entries). Data must be captured during the challenge start & end dates. Multiple entries are allowed but please make a fresh post within the thread. Multiple submissions of the same image, processed differently, will not be accepted.

Crikey this is going to be a tough one to judge, so many stunning entries. The challenge is now closed, thank you to everyone who entered. The results will be announced asap

The results of this challenge have now been announced and can be seen here - https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/379877-sgl-2021-challenge-3-a-galaxy-far-far-away/

As expected, this has been a very popular challenge for SGL deep sky images. The very high standard of entries has made the judging extremely difficult and there have been some painful decisions. There are some wonderful images which could easily have been included in the top 3 and I can only apologise to those of you who have submitted extremely high calibre images which don't feature in the awards. So here are the judges top 3 - 1) Peter Goodhew NGC 4490, The Cocoon Galaxy https://stargazerslounge.com/uploads/monthly_2021_06/Arp269.jpg.d577139b13e9be3a2ad789e09ca5642f.jpg 2) AbsolutelyN M106 and surrounding galaxies https://stargazerslounge.com/uploads/monthly_2021_04/M106-S.jpg.ca26b33bb660fb3ba6cf0c4e968bc6aa.jpg 3) Geeklee NGC 3718, 3729 and Hickson 56 https://stargazerslounge.com/uploads/monthly_2021_04/NGC3718-333x120s-1.png.9b2b850b25440446f6db3d8fddc7376c.png Very well done to everyone who submitted entries.

Start date: 1st July 2021 End date: 30th Sept 2021 Jupiter is starting to reach a reasonable altitude again so this is a chance for all you planetary imagers. As well as a beautiful image of Jupiter itself there are lots of opportunities for showing the moons including transits, conjunctions, animations and so on. RULES All data must be captured and processed by you (no collaborative entries). Data must be captured during the challenge start & end dates. Multiple entries are allowed but please start a new topic for each entry. Multiple submissions of the same image, processed differently, will not be accepted. Winning entries receive a personalised SGL winners mug.

An interesting point Kate. There were some excellent non star trail entries which got votes. I did wonder about slewing my own voting to pull in a non star trail image and had an ethical crisis about this! In the end I felt it best to stick with my original picks.

The results are in and can be found under the 2021 winners section here https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/378436-the-cosmos-in-motion-winners/