bomberbaz

Just to further mix it up, there is always this from StellaMira.

StellaMira 66mm ED f/6 Refractor Telescope | First Light Optics

It's a little over budget but it's lightweight and has ED glass for improved views. It also appears to be very well built and offers up that little extra aperture at 66mm. 

I think it would also make a great little imaging scope but that's a different money pit altogether. 

It's a lovely image, wouldn't have noticed anything wrong with the stars had you not mentioned it.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/evolux/sky-watcher-evolux-62ed-ota.html

Could do worse than one of these at a reasonable cost and with ed glass and high quality build should serve you well. 

1 hour ago, petevasey said:

Hi, Steve,

 

I have quite an old version (5.8 from 2013!), and yes it is straightforward.  I see that there are two versions - the cheaper one only works on bitmaps.  Make sure your computer and Photoshop version meets the requirements. My version  works on fits, pngs, etc. etc.  I think my Photoshop (CS3) is too old for the latest version of Neat Image.   Why don't you give the trial version a go and see if you like it.  Free for a month, so nothing to lose 🙂

Cheers,

Peter

I think I will, only hope it is sideways compatible with Gimp. Seems there are a lot of apps which are although they don't state as such, cheers

steve

13 hours ago, petevasey said:

I've been using 'Neat Image' for quite a while now.  Easy to use, not expensive and there is a Demo version.

Cheers,

Peter

Is it a simple programme to use Peter? I should have also said I am not brilliant on tech, although probably above average. 

cheers

steve

2 hours ago, AstroMuni said:

Thanks. I had installed py-astro in the past and then didnt find it quite as useful, hence deleted it. Perhaps a revisit is needed. You might wish to have a go with Starnet++ as well to help with star reduction and then layer with original in Gimp. May give better control over stars. This is what I get when I apply it to your image (the version I edited in Siril)

 

Further to previous reply I did try running the image through starnett and it worked fine!  However, it is a reinstall so maybe the previous version had a glitch in it or perhaps other images I tried were just not compatible with it.

Whatever it was, the programme has worked so will reserve it's functionality for suitable data. (I am still quite pleased with my results without using it.)

cheers

steve

1 hour ago, AstroMuni said:

Thanks. I had installed py-astro in the past and then didnt find it quite as useful, hence deleted it. Perhaps a revisit is needed. You might wish to have a go with Starnet++ as well to help with star reduction and then layer with original in Gimp. May give better control over stars. This is what I get when I apply it to your image (the version I edited in Siril)

I do have starnett++ but have found it left artefacts behind on images after star removal.

However I have tried it on the andromeda image, worth a try for playing around with.

cheers

steve

5 hours ago, AstroMuni said:

Great image Steve! Love it. You can also see NGC206 quite clearly. I esp like how you managed to reduce the stars to bring out the galaxy.

What are the tools that you used in py-astro & G'MiC?

I had a go at processing your first image in Siril and couldnt reduce the stars 😞

 

 

 

Hello mate and thanks for the reply. I will give you a quick run down of the process I used. I am not saying this is the right process, just that it worked for me with the above image.

I would just play around with the strength of the application and see what works with you. 

Pyastro – layer tools, scale brightness of all layers 

Gimp - Colours -  saturation

Gimp - Colors – levels – increase darkness

G’mic repair – smooth mean curvature to reduce stars

G’mic repair -  smooth median

Pyastro – sharpen – smart sharpen

G’mic – repair – smooth wavelets

Pyastro – sharpen – high pass filter

I know thgis is 8 and not 7, I forgot to take account of the levels/darkness in gimp which I assumed was a given. I may have also used "Gimp - colours – exposure - black level" but not sure if I did or not.

Anyway, I feel I have only scratched the surface with G'mic but I am getting to grips with pyastro. Both are great tools.

cheers

steve

Thanks @vlaiv for the G'MIC heads up, it is a super programme and there is so much more than wavelets as I am sure you already know. 

One of them is a super star reduction tool and I am guessing there will be many more to find out about, thanks again, it's a great help.

Steve

Hello everyone.  Below are a rough and a more polished version of Andromeda.  I had been looking for a filter programme to run alongside Gimp and @vlaiv pointed me in the direction of G'MIC, can't thank him enough for that, it's a cracking programme. 

I ran the "more polished" version through a range of 7 different image alterations to get here using Gimp, Py-astro and G'MIC. (Have to say it is so much easier have all the add ons under one base programme)

Anyway I would appreciate any feedback on the two efforts.

45 minutes ago, vlaiv said:

What is wrong with G'mic plugins for Gimp?

There is vast array of noise reducing options - I find wavelet noise reduction to work the best for astronomical images.

Do use layer mask composed out of image brightness - so that you denoise only in darkest areas of the image (where SNR is low because of low signal).

(do notice how many different smoothing options there are in the list).

1 minute ago, Elp said:

This is one of the better ones I've used, and it doesn't cost a dime. Iain's Denoise works quite well within also but you have to be very subtle with it.

the installation guide is here G'MIC - GREYC's Magic for Image Computing: A Full-Featured Open-Source Framework for Image Processing - Installing the G'MIC-Qt Plug-in For 8bf Hosts (gmic.eu)

Any idea which guide I should follow, there is a general one and one for photoshop plus two others!

41 minutes ago, vlaiv said:

What is wrong with G'mic plugins for Gimp?

There is vast array of noise reducing options - I find wavelet noise reduction to work the best for astronomical images.

Do use layer mask composed out of image brightness - so that you denoise only in darkest areas of the image (where SNR is low because of low signal).

(do notice how many different smoothing options there are in the list).

thanks vlaiv, I wasn't aware of this plugin. I shall give it a go and see what the results are like. Much appreciated. 

Ok so I too have CT as you do but I control mine very well with Naproxen. Not sure if it is licenced over in the states but it worked wonders for me and saved me a very painful procedure. Only problem is it's going to be a lifetime subscription.

I do have some 10x30 IS canons. I am given to believe these are as good as 10x50 standard bins in finding objects due to their stabilising properties. I do like using them on day trips out, holidays and such like, used for both daytime and night time viewing. Being light they are easy to get along with but I do run with short sessions so not sure about the carpel issues.

I also own a pair of TS optics 82mm (45 degree) Giant bins and these are mounted on a tripod held parallelogram. The viewing range of these is x15 to x59 and they are amazing to use with the parallelogram. The versatility of it is hard to overstate, cruising around the nightsky is a pleasure but key to you (and me) is there is no real pressure onto the median nerve as your hands are not permanently engaged. Pretty much similar to using a dob.

Finally I do also own a pair of 20x60 bins and have used these terrestrially on a tripod pistol grip mount. Never used them in the night time but I imagine they would work fine. However, your likely to be gripping more to control your bins and more likely to compress your median nerve. 

Hope this helps.

Steve

Bit late too the party here, the maximum was already upon us by the time I got to the eyepiece. 

Anyway, usually pretty naff at grabbing phone/ep pictures but this isn't half bad. Spoilt only by the vapour trail drifting through the fov. 

Time was 10.40am

10 minutes ago, Shibby said:

Please do then

you spotted my hidden error then 😂

Ok so as the title says, it isn't my data, I received it from an observatory already pre-processed. 

However on running it through Gimp I found there was a little more that could be tweaked out of the detail at the expense of slightly brighter spiking on the right of centre (SAO 101900) and upper right hand stars (SAO 101890)

Anyway, too nice an image not to share. 

Added more data to this but really struggled with the red in it. It is in an area of a lot of hydrogen so one does wonder when you have done enough.

Also should have done more with the star reduction but generally happier with the structure detail in the actual nebula itself. 

2 minutes ago, carastro said:

Ok.  Thanks. 
Carole

Oops, sorry miss spelled name 🙃

6 hours ago, carastro said:

What software are you using for processing?

currently mostly using Siril and Gimp Carol

Hello all. I am looking for a stand alone noise reduction software programme.

Needs to run on windows and as I don't have any premium software to bolt it onto, stand alone would be best. This said, I am open to suggestions as long as it doesn't become cost prohibitive. I am thinking maybe up to £125.00 with a little leeway depending on what's on offer.

One with a trial period would also be highly desirable. 

TIA for any suggestions.

Steve

The piece that might be missing is the eyepiece adaptor/holder, there only appears to be the focuser drawtube without said adaptor. 

5 hours ago, Elp said:

Hope you get it sorted soon. It's annoying when something goes wrong and you can't find any info on it. I've been through it too.

4 hours ago, StevieDvd said:

Hoope it was the usb stick (they are more error prone) as the eMMC being a week point would be worrying.

I know I am repeating myself here but in different areas of forum, sorry. 

I managed to re-create the error and all evidence points towards the memory stick. I could 100% confirm it but the effort needed to do that goes beyond what is necessary I think.

I have a new, one-piece moulded memory stick (looks quality) for data storage that will be used from now on and will not be removed. Instead, data will be transferred via WI-FI. I did this earlier with 96 files taken tonight which transferred perfectly via this method. (long time though, so make allowances)

In summary, I hope this error was mostly mainly my own judgement and not my expensive equipment. 

15 minutes ago, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

I don't like using the Mak very much on a manual mount unless I'm sticking to solar system. The narrow fov also rules out many wide field targets. 15x70s (and indeed 10x50s) are smashing for camping. Simple, with no messing breaking the kit down. Just chuck them into the tent and have a kip. 😀

Organised camps I'll take the full monty but there are also security concerns on a public site.

We are in the civilised ribble valley now old chap, what what! 😉

1 minute ago, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

Thanks for that. I do have four days off so I'm definitely thinking about it. The camp site I'm thinking of is open all year round and been on the radar for a couple of years but I've yet to visit. If the weather looks good then it's unlikely I'll take scopes, just the binoculars. I'll let you know. 😀

which camp site is it please, might be a better bet with my big bins rather than the dob, much easier setting up and using.  

what about your 127 mak, thats easy enough to carry around?

3 hours ago, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

That report was the perfect length for a toilet read... Great stuff. 😀

I'm toying with the idea of a two night solo camping trip near Bolton by Bowland around new moon this month. Weather dependent of course. Worth the 1hr 15min trip?

Well if my reports are only fit for your ablutions, I don't know if I care to answer that 😉

Yes definitely worth it. The deeper north you can get, the better.  Try and organise your viewing anywhere other than due south if you can as this is worst LP area although that said, it is still liveable with.

Great views into the Zenith which I know is the hardest work but worth it for the darkness.  If you do decide to go and I am free, I will come up and keep you company for one night 👍