assouptro

There is some lovely delicate detail in there 

I might be tempted to maybe improve the contrast or colour in the core to prevent it being “lost” in the brightness? 
 

But I’m no expert and you’ve handled the tricky subject well 😊

Thanks for sharing 

Bryan 

16 hours ago, mackiedlm said:

That is wonderful. The detail is excellent.

Thank you for the kind words 

Bryan 😊

Lovely image Patrik 

Congratulations on the remote obsy! 

That must be an exciting project and very rewarding when you get things working as intended! 

Looking forward to many more images from you!

Thanks for sharing 

Bryan 🙂

8 minutes ago, AstroGS said:

It is not a highjack - it is a nice warming conversation of two friends sharing the same love for the cosmos as, it would have happen if we were all together at a star party.

My best wishes to Dave.

Thank you 🙏 

I drove 360 miles today to pick up a new (to me) piece of Astro kit today, and the best part was just being able to wax lyrical over the one thing we were both passionate about 

It  can be a lonely hobby! 😊

1 minute ago, Skipper Billy said:

Thanks Bryan that restores my confidence a little!

I am well - now - I had a new Aorta and femoral arteries a few weeks ago but I am well on the mend now.

I saw your post regarding your surgery 

It was a shock to hear how poorly you have been and you have been in my thoughts 

It has also made me seriously consider the prospect of starting statins as I too have high cholesterol 

I am glad you are on the mend! ❤️‍🩹 

Apologies @AstroGSfor the hijack of your post 😊

Bryan 

10 hours ago, AstroGS said:

For my first "proper" image since I setup the telescope in Spain @PixelSkiesAstro I chose the Jellyfish Nebula using my Redcat61, 2600MM camera, and Antlia 2.8nm LRGBSHO filters mounted on an AM5.

Over 24 hours of data were collected, with the focus on revealing the nebula's full colours in SHO. However, a setback occurred as nearly 7 hours of OIII-filtered data proved unusable due to unexpected halos and star bloating. Despite efforts during the image processing phase, the OIII data remained unusable. FLO and Antlia are investigating the issue for me.

Undeterred, I decided to salvage the project by combining the excellent Ha and SII data with RGB stars, using the Foraxx script, resulting in an image that I am pleased with. Although the outcome diverges from a faithful representation, the artistic approach yielded a dramatic and interesting scene, in my opinion. I welcome any feedback or insights and hope you find joy in the unique rendition of this beautiful nebula. When I sort out the OIII filter issue, I will add the OIII and probably more Ha and SII too.

 

Ha: 68 x 600 sec

SII: 38 x 600 sec

RGB: 40 x 120 sec each

Calibration files: Flats, Darks and Bias (50 each)

 

Beautiful Image! 
lovely subtle processing of the useable data! 
Thanks for sharing 

Bryan

3 hours ago, Skipper Billy said:

I wish I hadn't read that! I am having issues with my Baader Blue & Oiii filters and was considering a set of Antlia 2" filters as a fix!

Hi Dave 

I have the full set of 2” Antlia filters and so far I have been impressed 

No significant halos to be seen 

After being burned by other brands and investing in a full set of 1.25 Astrodon filters I was worried buying the Antlia filters as it was still a significant investment for the 2” versions 

I opted for the 4.5hd edge version as I had recently bought a Sharpstar 15028hnt reflector that I have yet to use in anger but with my “slower” optics so far I haven’t been disappointed 

Hope you are well? 
 

All the best 

Bryan 

Hi Stella populi 

Due to the poor weather of late I have been visiting old data 

This is a rework of 30 hours of sho 15 min subs with my Atik 383 

with 3 hours of rgb data for the stars 

I’ve always been fascinated by these “tadpole” structures in Auriga about 12000 light years away, composed of gas and dust similar to the pillars of creation in the Eagle Nebula 

I am still impressed with what this old ccd is capable of achieving with long enough subs although there is still a substantial amount of noise to deal with! 

Telscope: 12” Meade Lx200 with Starizona LF 0.7 reducer/flattener 

mount: azeq6 

filters: Astronom 1.25 5nm ha/sii and 3nm Oiii + gen2 rgb 

Processed in Pixinsight with a tweak on ps express once uploaded to my phone 

Thamks for looking 

Bryan 😊

Hi Scope buddies! 
 I have a confession.

I'm sure I won’t be the first or the last to do something stupid like this! 
 

I have an old revelation Astro ex 100 doublet that has served me well and is quite good for imaging 

just recently, I noticed some astigmatism slightly crossed shaped stars on one side, I thought it may have been tilt, so I introduced a tilt juster into the optical train and using Astap I attempted to correct it.

I couldn’t correct it and with it being particularly cold, I wondered if it might be pinched optics

So I thought I would back off the lens retaining ring.

This ring was really tight and I stupidly thought that the four screws round the outside of the cell might have been holding it in position

I backed off these screws and undid the ring then realised those screws were for collimating the lateral position of the cells! 

I had succeeded in making a good scope with a small issue into a useless scope with a big issue

I’ve been reading about refractor collimation, and it appears to be “fairly straightforward” especially as it’s only a doublet, and I also understand getting the focuser  Square is critical 

I have used my OCAL camera resting on top of The, Cheshire eyepiece to produce a couple of images of the circles that I am looking at

Depending on the angle that I shine a light into the Cheshire, I get varying reflections

What I want to know is, should I be looking at the tiny circles in the middle

Tiny Circles 

or the slightly larger more easily defined circles? The second image.

Bigger Circles 

If all else fails, I will just have to send it off to somebody who knows what they’re doing! 

Thanks in advance for any help
 

Bryan (the numpty) 

2 hours ago, whipdry said:

Best do the reading... guess you already have Ascom & Dotnet

Peter

Brilliant 

thank you 

I’ll get my reading glasses on! 🤓

If nothing else, it’d be good when it’s demonstrated, I can at least understand some of what I’m seeing which will help me spot anything unusual! 
 

Thanks again for your help 

Bryan 😊

Just now, Laurin Dave said:

Start by reading the guide...

Dave

Will do 

thank you 🙏 

7 minutes ago, whipdry said:

Hi Bryan, Think you should visit siderealtechnology.com documentation/software is under support, they also have a store... wired handpad is $95. I'm a SGPro user so can't help with Nina, guess if imaging you use a framing wizard? if so don't really need more than the builtin SkyView part of Sitech.exe vertual handset, also where you Change Config there are nine tabs for this, I've not touched the last two.

 

Peter

Thank you Peter 

I appreciate your input 

I have visited the store 

what do I need from these options? 
 

I guess I’m looking for a lazy way of getting started, but I’ll probably have to do a bit of reading!

Thanks again 

Bryan 

Hi Mesu Owners! 
 

I would appreciate some advice

I am buying a second hand Mesu (Mk1, well actually 1.5 if you take the earlier Argo Navis version into account) 

I have seen a video of the mount working via pc connection.

I am getting excited!
 

He Says the hand control didn’t work when he tried it, but I don’t think I need to be too worried about that as it could be just the cable and I can soon crimp a new one should I need to, also the hand controller isn’t too expensive should I need to replace it? 
 

Feel free to comment on that if you have any advice. 
 

The main reason for this post is to ask, what software do I need to down load and become familiar with? 
 

Ideally I will want to work the mount into my Nina workflow. 
I currently use carte du ciel fo my sky map and would love to continue with that if possible? 
 

Thanks in advance for any help 😊

Bryan 

55 minutes ago, gorann said:

I have both mounts but never tested their "breeze resistance" (they are on piers in obsies), but if there is a difference I would expect the Mesu to be the winner, as it can carry twice the payload (100 kg) of an EQ8 (50kg), so it is very stiff.

Thanks Gorann 

really appreciate the input 

Ive just seen a video of the mount I’m buying working so I’m just planning a day trip to pick up what should hopefully be the last mount I’ll buy! 😊

1 hour ago, Xsubmariner said:

While I have no experience of an EQ8, I was imaging with my Meade 12”/Mesu200 in ROS three weeks ago during very blustery weather and managed to capture good data, with no obvious problems. I could hear the wind occasionally whistling on the control room roof.

Thanks 🙏 

Awsome setup! 
it looks like the mount survived a hurricane that took the rest of the Obsy! 🤣

thanks again 

Bryan 

Hi stargazing folk!

A quick question to all you Mesu owners

I don’t have an observatory at my pier is in the garden, reasonably sheltered, but nevertheless open to the elements

Should I expect a Mesu to be as breeze resistant as my EQ8? 
 

Thanks in advance for any help

Bryan 😊

ps my biggest ota is a 12”Meade lx200

That's soo smooth and detailed Rodd!

I have a similar image as I am a big fan of the Bok Globules in the rosette but this is another level!

Well done!

Thank you for sharing

Bryan

3 hours ago, cfinn said:

I also like your image by the way. It looks great!

Thank you ☺️ 

I appreciate your input on the purple, makes me feel more settled in my choices 

I did Calibra earlier in the workflow but the purple areas were still quite green so I adjusted them by eye and preferred the purple as it helped  differentiate the gasses involved 

your version is beautiful! 😍 

Thanks again 

Bryan 

3 hours ago, Laurin Dave said:

I like it, the purples around the bright stars just come from the fact that the Oiii (Blue) and Sii (Red) are stretched much harder than the Ha... simple to remove ... invert the image  then run scnr... re-invert and its gone... it goes everywhere though so best to mask the areas where you want it to remain.  Also I'd suggest it would benefit from some colour noise reduction using ACDNR and also if you have it Noise Exterminator to reduce general noise,

Dave

Hi Dave 

really useful tips there! And thank you for the pm 

I am grateful for your input and help, I am going to play with your suggestions when I get back to my laptop!
 

this learning curve never shallows!! 🤩

all the Best 

Bryan 

3 hours ago, Roy Foreman said:

Unlike most DSO imagers I'm not a great fan of false colour NB images, which just goes to show how tastes vary. However, there are some NB images that I find appealing and yours is one of them. I like it just the way it is.

Thanks 

That is really kind of you! 
I am thinking it’s a bit too saturated the more I look at it 

It has initial impact, which is great, but the more I look, the more I question my choices! 
 

Thank you for your input and compliment 😊

Bryan 

39 minutes ago, Clarkey said:

Either are good for me. Clean car that is not falling to bits - what's not to like😄

@assouptro But seriously, as everyone has said, it is personal choice. As long as you like it, then it does not matter. I suspect none of us are ever 100% happy with an image - I'm certainly not. But as long as to your eyes it is as good as you can get, then be happy.

FWIW it is probably a touch overdone for my tastes, but it is still a great image.

Thanks for the comment 

As I have been looking at it more and more, I am inclined to agree

I think I need to walk away from an image, and give my eyes a break before committing to a final version 

It’s so tempting to post an image you have been looking at and incrementally adjusting for hours at the point it just feels “finished” but this hobby has always been about patience. 
I am definitely going to come back to this one, rewind a bit and try some slightly different approaches to see what I can do, The data is good, and I have all the time the gods and my family allow! 
Thanks for the input 

Bryan 😊

8 minutes ago, CCD Imager said:

Saturation is definitely a personal choice, just make sure it is not clipped. As you have been imaging a long time, you will know that exposures of objects has increased dramatically among amateurs and in those early days, images tended to look noisy when saturation increased. But with longer exposures and now excellent anti-noise software, this can be largely avoided.

In photography, proper saturation is crucial.

Let me ask you which image below you prefer?

Thanks for the comment 

I  understand what you are saying, and it makes perfect sense when you lay it out like that 
 

Definitely the top one for me! 😊

Thanks again 

Bryan 

That’s Amazing! 
freakin’ awesome in fact! 

I’m surprised you haven’t got loads of attention! 
You must be really chuffed with your efforts 

what’s your sky like? 
 

thanks for sharing 

Bryan 😊

Fab! 
what was the original like? 
 

I’m considering going over some old data now I have a few more tricks up my sleeve! 
 

Thanks for sharing 

Bryan 😊

Love this 

Fantastic detail in the edge on 891

One of my favourite galaxies to image

well done ! 

Thanks for sharing your results 

Bryan 😊