DaveS

I'm more of an ASA fanboi https://astrograph.net/Brands/ASA

Fabulous amount of detail in both the Deer Lick and Stephan's Quintet.

I think we should keep shtum, as we are in a dark forest. Don't attract the grabby aliens.

The first night when I moved into this house from Bortle 8 Ruislip the sky was clear, and when I went out onto my patio and looked up the milky way was glittering overhead, I reckon it's mid Bortle 3. I just stood there with a big silly grin on my face!

I brought the RGB into PI then gave it SPCC followed by ABE and a mild dose of BlurX and NoiseX, Most of the heavy hammer being given to the Luminance. After bringing the RGB back into AstroArt I gave a DDP (Which I find often gives a better result) before LRGB synthesis. A slight boost in saturation and mild Unsharp Mask followed before saving as a PNG I think this is as far as I can take this without a more (Better) data. I may have overcooked this as it is.

Haha, I have no idea where those vertical spikes are coming from. I've tried tracking them down, but can only conclude that it's something in the camera.

This is more usually imaged in conjunction with the Deer Lick group as they naturally tend to fall together in most fields of view, but I wanted to image it on its own as part of my HCG project, so... Putting the SX Trius 694 on the ODK 12 (For a totally bonkers 0.46"/px native) and imaging on two nights, 13th and 14th Sept 2023 collecting 6 hours Luminance in Bin 1 (Yeah, right) and 2 hours each of RGB in a slightly less daft Bin 2, all 600 sec subs at -25 deg. Stacking in AstroArt 8, then the Luminance given Blur X and Noise X in Pixinsight and DDP in AstroArt again (Prefered the result to either ArcSinH or Masked Stretch). RGB Drizzle Stacked (Just for the fun of it) in AstroArt before DDP and LRGB synthesis. There are a few very dodgy subs in here which I will need to replace if I want to take this further, but it might "do" for my project. C&C welcome as usual.

In the Trius I have a Baader LRGB set plus H-alpha, the G3 16200 has a full set of 2" Chroma filters

Yeaah, they said it was a "special" so devoted to the VLT with a brief mention of the E-ELT.

The Tulip Nebula in SHO , data collected on 3 (Poor) nights between 6th August and 8th September 4 hours H-Alpha, 5 Hours [OIII}, 2 Hours [SII] in 900 sec subs with the G3 16200 on the ODK 12, binned 2x2 Initial stacking (Full calibration), Gradient Reduction, Cropping and Trichomy in AstroArt 8. BlurX and NoiseX in PIxInsight, then DDP and selective colour in AA8 again. Given a light Unsharp Mask before saving as a PNG. No, it's not very good but I'm done with it for this year as I'm swapping cameras for galaxies.

On BBC 4 at 9.30pm, note: earlier than the usual 10pm. Maggie Aderin-Pocock at the VLT in Chile.

This is something DSS does, I think it so if you want to have another go at stacking the subs it's got all the stacking info to hand so doesn't have to go through the rigmarole again.

AstroArt and PixInsight both have blink facilities, I suspect every other serious astro processing software will as well.

I'll have a look when I can get away.

Just along the road from me. It should be fairly dark, but it's a bit close to the LP of Bridport.

As far as slightly more "out there" images are concerned, I'm debating whether to "have a go at" Cass A, which will fit nicely on the SX 694 on the ODK 12. It's just a matter of finding a suitable clear filter to go with my Astrodons for focusing. I still have my HCG project on the go. And may try to image the "Cosmic Horseshoe" in LRGB. Too many targets, too few clear nights.

I guess that's true.

That's great news, but why does the path need to be illuminated? Don't people there have torches? Seriously, there are no streetlights here, I think the nearest are about 4-5 miles away, when people go out at night they carry torches.

I have a warm white LED string around my RoR for work with the roof closed and a deep red string just over the area where the keyboard and monitor sit if I need to do anything local at night, though during imaging I will be connecting remotely.

No, you're confusing Beagle 2 with the NASA Mars reconnaissance probe that went careering off into space due to stupid use of imperialistic measurements by one of the sub contractors. Beagle 2 landed safely on Mars (And was photographed later) but one of the "petals" failed to open, blocking the solar panels and the antenna, so communications were lost.

I think the accepted term is "lithobraking" 😂.

Imaging doesn't have to preclude observing. Once my imaging sequence is up and running I will frequently go out with my 10 X 50s to look around. I have some grab and go kit that I should be making more use of, though it's not the primary focus of my astronomy.

I have disagree that AN only caters for the imagers. Look at the monthly sky guide, and it's full of "how to gawp at, sorry, observe it", nothing at all about "how to image it", although I remember, back in the day that at least the object of the month had a "how to image it" section. It's been getting to the point of my questioning my subscription.

Yes, it's just a touch out, but I've found that "just a touch" can make the difference between nice sharp stars and a soft bloat.

Yes, I thought it was a good episode, the highlight being Dr Becky. I wonder if we'll be seeing more of her on S@N?