Pankaj

Hello everyone.

Anyone out there to help ?

Hi everyone. I am new to planetary photography. Lately I have successfully imaged some planets using SHARPCAP. Then imported the file in PIPP for processing. Thereafter, used REGISTAX6 for aligning, stacking and final processing. 
Always got good results until recently. Everything seems to go fine in Registax6 until I hit stacking. The stacked result showed white blank screen. I tried again using a different file and this time the stacked image gave me half white and half black screen. I tried several times but the problem persists. 
can someone help and guide me on this please.

Amazing and 'out of this world' 

Beautiful images

awesome !!

Out of this world images !!

On 04/09/2023 at 21:35, powerlord said:

Basic lucky imaging process:

- take video

- pass video through PIPP (optional, but good at stablising, getting in right format and normalising historgram)

- stick output into autostakker. this will actually to the 'stack' - basically you choose the best % to stack (it shows a graph so just choose something to get you only the best - usually it's about 5% for me)

- stick that output tiff into registax - and do sharpening (you'll be amazed how much it can get out)

- final tweeks in the photo editor of your choice.

absolute KEY to the process of 'lucky imaging' is to take MASSIVE numbers of images so that you get 'lucky' with some. the software then stacks up the lucky ones. lucky == you took it and froze the atmosphere just when some part of it was lovely and clear.

So, you need to maximise your luck by buying as many lottery tickets (frames) as possible.

The key thing about tiny wee planetary sensor cameras are that they can take 100s of frames per second in RAW format. So no compression - what you see is what gets recorded, 100s of times every second. Typically you capture maybe 10,000 frames. (of course its worth saying - they do not in fact do this.. not like a regular camera - you need to connect them to a computer that actually takes the pics- and that needs to be quick enough and have a quick enough SSD to actually store those 100s frames per second).

This above anything else is why DSLRs are not really up to it.

Now that is not to say you cannot get good results with something like the moon. Your actual exposure will still be short enough to freeze the atmosphere. It's just that in order to really have much 'luck' you need lots of images. With the moon covering the whole DSLR frame you might be some improvements with say 100 frames or so. But with planets, they are tiny. Even on wee astro camera you are choosing a small section to actually capture from - maybe 500x500 pixels or so to maximise frame rate. So the effects of the atmosphere are massive. you need those 10000s of frames to get 'lucky' basically.

So I'd say, give the moon a go first, and play around with raw images - forget video from the DSLR. If you get a taste for it, next step would be maybe a cheaper astro camera - one that is a fancy webcam basically like a cheap SVBONY one for 40 quid. Or, keep your eyes open for an ZWO 120 or 224.

stu

Thanks. This is crystal clear now. Just one query - i have a Datyson T7S camera that use for guiding when shooting DSOs. Its pretty decent at guiding my NEQ6. I have read at many places that this camera is equivalent to ASI120MM. What if I use this camera for imaging the planets too ? Would I have to take videos with this camera or stills ?

Thanks for all the help. You rightly said that I’ll have to attempt things first. 
just one re confirmation - you are also suggesting that with a Dslr I should shoot 2 min vids (if Jupiter) and then stack these videos. Hope I understood correctly ?

Beautiful images 

1 hour ago, WolfieGlos said:

I’ve just bought a Astro camera with the intention of trying some planetary. Got the Moon (briefly) but clouds otherwise have prevented me trying.

But I’ve been referring to this amazing guide on CN a lot, hopefully it helps

 https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/812022-planetary-imaging-faq-updated-january-2023/

 

This was an indeed a very interesting read Chris. Since I am well versed with DSO imaging, hence understanding it wasnt a problem. After reading the article, most of the queries have been answered. I am writing below the flow that i understood with some queries. It'll be nice if someone can clarify-

1. Unlike DSO shooting in stills, I have to shoot a video for planetary imaging. No stills. Right ?

2. Canon 1200D is not a suitable camera for Planetary imaging, but still I will give it a try to start with.  Hope that is fine ? I understand that this camera will shoot only 50 FPS as apposed to 100 FPS offered by dedicated Planetary imaging cameras. So will it be ok if I were to take more number of videos to increase the number of frames?? Does that sound ok ?

3. Once I have recorded all the videos, all these vids can then be uploaded on 'AutoSurface' or 'Autostakkert' for stacking purpose. Right ? 

4. Once the stacking is complete, then I will have to process the image in Registax (like I do for DSOs in PS) . Right ?

Anything I have missed ?

Hello Everyone. Wanted to learn how to image and post process planets. Is there a complete tutorial somewhere from which I can learn. I have the following equipment which I wanted to use in the initial phase. Will try my hand on unguided imaging first. It will be nice if someone can suggest how to image, stack and process the pictures. Which software to use etc?

Mount - NEQ6 Pro

Scope - 10" Newt F5 with a 2x Barlow

Camera - Canon 1200D Unmodded

I am just using an intervalvometer with a canon 1200d. I think I will try the next time imaging on two different nights. If the final image after stacking comes right, then it’ll be good for me. Else I will stack the images in Dss separately for two nights two create two stacked images.
Another query- will dss stack  the two images that are produced after the stacking process of two different sessions?

On 04/03/2022 at 13:41, teoria_del_big_bang said:

The short answer is No, it does not have to be perfect rotation or framing. The stacking software will still align all the images and stack them properly.

BUT, you need to get both the FOV and the angle as close as possible really to get a good final image, because you will probably have to crop the final image to remove the edges where the two sessions differed in the FOV so the closer you get it the less you need to crop.

Also, to some extent it depends on the object really.
I say depends on object because if the main target is quite small, and you would perhaps do a fair crop anyway to make the image look bigger in the final frame, then it doesn't matter so much, but if the target is something like Andromeda galaxy that usually is actually as big as, or even slightly bigger than the FOV then getting as lose to the original framing and angle is important.

If you have lots of different angles of the same target then this is what you are likely to end up with in the stacked image.

Now whether some processing, such as DBE in Pixinsight, can even out the background sky enough to make it acceptable I am not sure as I always make sure the framing is the same (within reason so I can just crop the very edges).

HTH

Steve

Thank you Steve for the insight. I presume this will also apply to Darks and Bias frames. One more query please - will a temperature variance of 4-5 degree centigrade ruin the image while stacking in DSS ?

Hello everyone. I have seen many members on this forum that they image (collect data) the same object over multiple nights. In some cases they add data to a previous imaging session after a year of the first session.

Wanted some advice on whether the orientation of framing the object in the camera's FOV has to be precisely the same in every imaging session. This means that if I image the same object over multiple multiple nights to collect more data, will I have to make sure that the camera's orientation on the focuser is the same every night. Also, will the temperature variance impact the image and subsequently the stacking process in DSS ?

I image using a portable set set-up that consists of 130PDS on NEQ6 with a Canon 1200D and stack the images (Lights+Darks+Bias) in DSS.

Hi everyone.

Is there a way to attach a dslr along with an eyepiece in the same focusser?

The idea was to attach an illuminated eyepiece with crosshairs and the dslr in the same focusser so that I can have a look through the eyepiece to see whether the tracking is happening fine or not.
This would help me take shots for only that much exposure where the stars don’t begin to form trails.

4 minutes ago, powerlord said:

No non dslr cameras other than zwo ones are supported.

Stu

Thanks Stu. This means there’s no choice for me but to buy a Zwo guide camera along with asi air.

Hi everyone. I was planning to purchase AsiAir. Before I do, thought I’ll check out if anyone knows whether Datyson T7 guide camera is supported by AsiAir. I have T7 and given the tight budget that I have, I wanted to avoid purchasing a new ZWO guide camera. 

2 hours ago, Chefgage said:

I would be tempted to loosen the clutches first and manually move it. That way you might pick up any potential problems before powering it up. Should be ok though if it has been properly stored like you have done.

 

That’s a good suggestion. Thanks a ton fir the feedback. 

Thx a ton for the feedback. I’ll do the same. Before loading the mount with telescope, will exercise it by slewing around first. 

Since she is 9 hence may find it difficult to understand the alignment process of a comterized mount. I suggest you provide her with a dob. Wrt identifying the objects in the sky, there are plenty of apps like Sky View for mobile phones.

Hi all. Due to restrictions of travel in covid I could not go on AP sessions for 18 months. My NEQ6 is packed properly in its original packing box where there’s no chance of dirt or dust entering the mount. Are there certain steps or advice on anything that I should be careful about before using the mount. I was just apprehensive if the lubrication of gears is fine, since the mount has been lying in one position for 18 months. Please advice, or maybe I am just being unnecessary paranoid. 

2 hours ago, AstroMuni said:

For someone who lives in bortle 10 skies, you certainly have a lot of astro kit 😉

 

😀😀 I normally travel 300km into the Himalayan ranges whenever I have to do AP

Welcome Mainak to this lovely platform. I am from India too. New Delhi….bortle 10 or should I say infinity skies. 

On 22/05/2020 at 02:25, Uranium235 said:

A bit of messing around for an hour last night (LRGB) :

WOW ! the image also has a galaxy that is 470 million LY away. Forgot the name of the galaxy though. It can be seen as a faint smudge in the picture at the 8 O' Clock position from the center of the cluster.

Awesome image. Sharp & crisp with lot of details.