recceranger

A few days with some gaps in the clouds over South Wales. Three jewels in the sky; M3, M13 and M53 Globular Star Clusters. Taken with my old Skywatcher ED80 Pro, ZWO 533 MC Pro camera and an Optolong L-Pro filter. Each DSO was approximately 2hrs capture time at 120sec exposures set at 120 Gain (Dithered). I' freckin addicted! Science rocks!

Trying a bit more editing

40 x 5mins on M51 and 30 x 5mins on Needle. The images aren’t great displayed in PNG format but the original TIFF are good. Using the LP filter is great under my B7 skies but I would probably need at least twice the data on each to really bring out the detail.

C9'25, L-Pro filter and ASI533 MC Pro

ASIAIR Plus working like a dream! 💪👍🍺😃

It’s the Needle Galaxy NGC4565👍

Taken from the backyard using ED80 and ASI533 MC Pro using an L-Pro Filter.

Do you recommend? If so where is the place to get hold of one? 😃👍

Hi Sean, Just wondering if you drew any conclusions about these masks for SCT's. I have a C9'25 and am considering giving it a go. Not sure were or if I should purchase though? Rick

Thanks O, that’s really useful. I’ll have a go and report back 👍

Thanks Adam, Im also using the recommended defaults in DSS. I haven’t touched these. I was able to detect 30 stars on M81 which DSS stacked, but M51 was a no go. I got another 20 lights last night of M51 at 300sec; 150 gain, so I’ll have a go at stacking this evening

I’m pretty much using the default that came with the camera. I haven’t touched these as I haven’t a clue😅

Hi Adam, The focus was spot on. I use the EAF AF function via the ASIAIR Plus and it refocus every hour or at a 2 degree variation. I’ve got a clear night at the moment so I’m attempting 300sec exposures on M51 at 150 gain. I’ll see how that goes👍

Hi, I'm using my ASI 533 along with my C9.25 and 0.63 reducer to image galaxies. I tried M81 and M51 both at 150 gain for 180sec exposures. When I bring the images into DSS software, the star detection threshold for M81 could detect only 30 stars with the slider all the way down to 2%? When I stacked the images and brought the final image into Ps, I had to do some brutal levels and curves adjustments to even see the galaxy in the frame. It was worse when I attempted to stack M51 in DSS, where the number of stars detected was just 16! DSS could not stack the 40 or so images that I spent the night capturing. When I switched to my Nikon D7500 and took light frames each for 180sec at ISO800, DSS detected hundreds of stars and stacking was seamless. Has anyone encountered this using a similar setup?

Let me rephrase! The Rosette Nebula was around 40% ESE!

Yeh, it is better and I'm wondering if it is to do with the scope/mount orientation? The heart nebula was around 40% and ESE of the meridian. The Heart Nebula was almost directly overhead. I think I'll do a few shorter exposures of around 30 secs etc, just to rule out any issues with the optics. It certainly seems more likely to be a guiding issue.

Hi folks, I have been testing my new setup; ASIAIR Plus, WO Z61 and ZWOASI533 over the past few weeks. On looking closely at all the photos of different DSO over different nights I have noticed a familiar pattern in the star shapes across the entire frame/FoV. It's as though my guiding is off slightly, but read out on the guide graph is telling me I'm good. I am using dithering function when guiding and have noticed when I have been flicking through the FITS files that the image shift on the dithered frames is always in the same direction (to the right of frame). This is in line with how the stars seem to be trailing ever so slightly. Could dithering cause this? Or, could it be an issue with camera/scope? I have provided a couple of images (single FITS images) of both the Heart and Rosette Nebula to give a visual example of the issue. Any advice suggestions appreciated.

I second this. I primarily use the L-Xtreme for nebula etc, with the L-pro being used for broadband DSO such as galaxies and clusters. Both are great, however, exposure time needs to increase while using. My setup includes using a C9.25 and ZWO533 camera (with a 0.63 reducer) to capture galaxies etc. My back garden is flooded with light pollution, so I use the L-pro. during my initial imaging sessions my settings for lightframes were; 180 sec, Gain 150 at around 20 - 30 images. The combination of the filter and long focal length resulted in not nearly enough light captured. As I recall, when I attempted to calculate/detect stars using DSS, it was only picking up around 20 - 30 stars, even with the slider at 2%!. I'm now using 300sec exposures and a lot more of them which demands some precise tracking. The L-Xtreme is primarily used with my WO Z61 and although it also requires longer exposures, it's a lot more forgiving than the C9.25/L-pro combo.

Thanks V, I jumped onto Astronomy Tools FoV calculator and used the CCD Suitability function. It recommends the x0.63 to achieve good sampling using 2x2 binning. I'll give it another go and hopefully get a result! Might increase gain up to around 150 also. Thanks again sir

Thanks guys. That's well beyond my knowledge base but I'm learning. So if I'm getting this correct; using the 0.63 but at the same settings (180sec/gain 100/Bin 1x1)) with the same equipment (C9.24 with 533) would have solved the issue? If so I will give it another go with the same setup but with the reducer in play. I think I will give up on attempting to stack the images I currently have. Not the end of the world and everyday is a learning day. I will post a report on this thread when I have another attemp. Thanks again to you all for taking the time to offer up advice. It's why I love this community. Clear skies!

Bit of an update. Sadly, the suggested methods didn't bare fruit. I even tried converting from FITS to TIFF to try using Sequator. However, the TIFF images were coming out as well underexposed. I uploaded a TIFF to Ps and using camera raw filter maxed the exposure (PSA image) and it was well under. Not sure why? My ASI533 was set at Gain 100 and these are 180sec frames? Many thanks for the advise folks. Well appreciated.

Thank you. My FWHM column reads NC for all images. This is the same read out in my scores column!

Thanks all. FYI, these images were taken without a 0.63 reducer. It may be a factor, but I will have a go at some of the suggestions and give it another shot. The example image I provided is fairly pixilated but I think this was down to the dithering? Thanks again folks. I'll give it a lash and report back.

Any advice greatly appreciated. I attempted to stack my images of M51 on DSS and the star detection threshold is detecting only 16 stars (even at 2%). When I attempt to stack, it stacks only one of the 40 images. I have tried without calibration frames; with calibration frames and also tried adjusting the stacking parameters but no joy. I cant understand what the issue is as my focus and exposer settings (180sec at 100 gain) seem spot on for this DSO. I've attached a few images of the messages I'm getting on DSS and also one of my 40 light frames. I'm scratching my head with this one!

Thanks sir, I got it sorted. It was an issue with my EAF settings! 😃. I managed to get imaging with the reducer and all looks good. 👍👍👍👍