mightymonoped

It’s still just one of many tools for me too. I generally always finish of things in Photoshop tbh as I am still more comfortable putting the final touches in place there.

GHB-Stretch in Pixinsight is a great tool for selective stretching without blowing out other areas, I’m still getting to grips with it but it’s well worth the effort.

Thanks Carole!

Thank you! 😊

There certainly is! 😊 Took a few goes to bring it out though.

Complete rework of the area around Sadr in Cygnus. Captured and processed as HOO. Samyang 135mm f2 Optolong l-eNhance EQ6-R Pro ASIair Pro Tony

Complete reprocess of this one. Thought I'd have a play with combining the initial stretch with a cloned version using HDRMultiscaleTransform (in Median mode) to see if I could get the best of both worlds to retain some detail in M42 core. Then used GHB-Stretch to bring out some of the detail and final colour processing in PS CC before remerging the stars. About 2 hours worth of data with the Redcat 51. Tony

Decided I wasn't happy with any version of this I have processed, so decided to have another go. Previous versions all feel forced to me now, I wanted to process a version that keeps as much data in the core as possible but without forcing the stars and losing some of the natural feel. I was happy enough with the integrations in Ha and Oiii, just the processing that needing sorting so I took the two Fits and registered them against each other before merging as HOO and neutralising and cropping before taking into PI. Ran GraXpert before all else then BlurX, NoiseX and a gentle version of Bill Blanshan's stretching before StarX. Then played with the Starless using HDR MultiScale Transform (as Median transform) & GHB Stretch. Remerged stars temporarily to use BB's Star Reduction Script before separating them again and taking them both into Photoshop for final touches and remerge. Tony

Finished it! finally managed to grab two panels worth of RGB for this mosaic so that it can have proper star colour. Both Broadband and Narrowband images were completely processed separately before registering against each other. Then I stripped out the narrowband stars and merged the broadband stars with the narrowband nebulosity. 2-panel mosaic with 4 sets of data captured by Samyang 135mm f2. No star reduction on this puppy, the stars are half the story in this image. 😊 Tony

I managed to grab another panel of just under 2 hours worth of HOO tonight and made a rushed attempt at merging it with my previous panel of Cone and Rosette Nebulae Widefield in HOO. Next stage will be to grab a couple of RGB panels of the stars using about an hour per panel but using a much shorter exposure. Integrated and mosaic in APP Processed in PI and PS CC Samyang 135mm at f2.8 Optolong l-eNhance ASI294mc pro -10C unity gain EQ6-R Pro Tony

Just out of frame I believe. Didn't want to change the frame as I already had flats to cover. Tony

Cleaned up the gradients a bit with GraXpert.. Tony

A couple of opportunistic grabs. First hour in RGB using the L-Pro with the Samyang 135mm f2. the second session an additional hour with the l-eNhance to grab some Ha to add to the RGB. Only 2 hours worth in total so not exactly noiseless but I quite like seeing these nebulae in a wide field backdrop for context. Processed in APP, PI (with GraXpert) and Photoshop to finish. Tony

Have been waiting to try this for a while but never had clear sky early enough in the evening to grab any decent data before the balcony obstructs. Last night was my first chance, so I went for it and managed to get a good two hours worth of Narrowband with the Samyang 135 at f2.8 To be honest it's turned out just as I imagined it would, if not better. Minimal faffing around really. Integrated in APP then slight frame crop before running GraXpert in PI. Then StarX before NoiseX and BlurX (minimal on stars only this time). Bill Blanshan's stretch on both before recombining (after some noodling) in Photoshop CC. Tony

Redid this one for the holidays, using all the new toys! 2.5 hrs of narrowband with an hour of RGB stars using the trusty old SW 80ED Pro. Tony

This is a combined integration of 4.5 hours worth of data from the Samyang 135mm and Redcat 51 It's a real mix of exposures from a heap of 60s to a handful of 300s Have tried to minimise the damage from those pesky satellite trails that plague this part of the sky. Rigel is a bit of a mess so I may try to sort that later with masking or some such. Tony

Managed to grab nearly two hours worth of RGB with the Samyang 135 (@f2.8) so this is first attempt at merging with Ha data from the other night. Used a very clumsy attempt at the GAME script masking tool to try to retain some colour in the Flame and Running Man (and the Orion). Not really happy yet but it’s a start. Tony

I'll be looking to do the RGB capture properly with the Samyang 135mm as soon as I get a relatively moonless night clear (chance would be a fine thing). In the meantime, I thought I would hack together a combination of the two-hour Redcat RGB capture with the two-hour's worth of narrowband I captured lat night with the Samyang 135mm f2 (at f2.8). Had to throw everything but the kitchen sink at this to deal with the 'mosaic' edges and resultant difference in gradients etc but merging the RGB and NB captures in Astro Pixel Processor as a 'mosaic' seemed to give something usable which after rotating and cropping could be subject to GraXpert and then combined 50/50 with the NB only image I had already processed. I registered both against each other and combined in Photoshop before doing final bit of fiddling. This is a 50% reduction as the actual image is a bit of a whopper. Tony

Thanks! 😊

Thanks! 😊

Thank you! 🙂

This was an entirely unexpected and opportunistic capture of 2 hours last night. Ended up using 50 of 60 120s frames and used the new simplified workflow but his time with GraXpert integrated seamlessly into Pixinsight (see Lukamatico for details). Really pleased with this for an unplanned capture. Managed (just about) to capture the 'Orion All-Stars' in a single frame. WO Redcat 51 Optolong L-Pro ASI294mc pro -10C unity gain EQ6-R Pro ASIair Pro 80ED GuidingASI120MC-S Integrated with Astro Pixel Processor Processed with PI and Photoshop CC Tony

I went back to the original unprocessed FITS and did the following:- Crop Gradient adjustment (using GraXpert) In PI SpectroPhotometric Colour Calibration BlurX Stretch with BB scripts Star Removal Against 'Starless' - Multiscale Median Transform noise reduction against 8 layers In PS CC Selective NR using NoiseX against the outer frame. Stretch of starless image to bring out fainter nebulosity Local contrast adjustment Make stars smaller against Star layer image Boost saturation of stars through Match Colour in Star layer image Merge stars to starless using screen Flatten image and export. Here is the finished article in two versions. One without star reduction, the other with. I haven't messed around with this one any near as much as I did with the other posting and I feel happier about it but at this stage I'm snow blind and needs objective input from others as to whether it's any different and/or better (and which version for that matter)? Tony Without Star Reduction With star reduction:-

Yes, you’re absolutely right! I went a bit overboard on the NR. I’m planning on looking at selective masking to sort the noise out properly! The skies are officially Bortle 4 but a lot of local light pollution means Gradient Hell. Clear skies! Tony

M45 The Pleiades This is the full size capture from 3 sessions. Approx 4.5hrs worth of capture with WO Redcat 51 Optolong l-pro ASI294 mc pro EQ6-R Pro ASIair Processed in APP, PI and PS CC Tony