gorann

I just clocked it and Star XTerminator takes 45 s for a 150Mb image on my Mac Powerbook. Not even time enought to go to the loo😉

Yes, Starnet++ is much much slower. I usually start that process before I have to do something else, like taking the dog for a walk. I have not clocked Star Xterminator but I can do it when I will use it later today.

On my three years old Mac powerbook it takes about a minute for Star Xterminator to do its job on a 150 Mb ASI2600MC image. So very fast.

Thanks Richard! Could be Ha. I thought most red signal out there was Ha (or Sii). This is just what the OSC picked up - no filter used.

Thanks Simmo!

He he! Thanks Roy!

Thanks a lot Pieter!

Thanks Alan! Yes:

The image contains LBN 467 and 470 and I cannot find any image when searching for these on Astrobin. However, there is one image of MBM 56, which is the structure to the left, included as nr 56 in the catalogue by Magnani, Blitz & Mundy on "Molecular gas at high galactic latitudes”. The image contains numerous galaxies, including NGC7680 which is also apparently absent from Astrobin. The data was collected on two nights (13 & 16 October), just before the moon started to mess with my RGB imaging. This is a two-panel mosaic of 21 hours of data from my dual-RASA8 rig. No filter used. The nebulosity in the image is very faint so I benefited from using these f/2 light-buckets and having a Bortle 2-3 sky. I think this would be a very difficult target at a light polluted site. So, RASA 8 with ASI2600MC, gain 100, 420 x 3 min subs, on a Mesu200. Processed in PI and PS, including Star Xterminator for a star free nebulosity stretch before the stars were added back. I also attach the annotated image from Astrobin. Cheers, Göran

Thanks a lot Sunshine! Just some Chinese stuff on a Dutch mount😄

Getting ready for darkness with the dual RASA8/ASI2600MC rig. One laptop for each camera and one for the mount and PHD2, to play it safe. The moon is out so IDAS NBZ filters are on (for catching Ha and Oiii). I attach an image (LBN406) of what they caught a few days ago before the moon made its comeback. Cheers, Göran

The halos of bigger stars remain, at least if you use it on a stretched image. So far I have used it late in the processing and brought back stars from a stretched but darkened (with a curve) image. I am still experimenting but it is clearly a very powerful tool.

Yes Tony, that JTD holder has worked fine for my dual RASA rig. No flex noticed but the FL of 400mm is forgiving and I tighten the holder quite hard. Here is a recent example from the rig. Cheers Göran

Tanks Peter, much appreciated of course!

Thanks Steve! Yes, it is a good feeling isn't it. Also, it is not only that you hopefully get twice the data, you are also twice as likely to at least get one scope working properly. Right now one of my RASAs has quite ugly stars on the left 1/4 of the image, I should probably check the collimation after I moved it to the Mesu, but then I can just use the data from the other one there - a little bit more noise there but who would notice? I am sure that the long FL of the RASAs makes them a bit easier to handle as a dual rig than two 6" refractors. No flex noticed. Maybe you should replace that SY135 with a RASA👹- makes the rig a bit more balanced.

Thanks a lot Olly! That program is highly recommended and will be part of my tool kit from here on.

Thanks a lot!

Thanks a lot Roy!

Thanks, much appreciated!

Thaks a lot. I thought Star Xterminator was just a PS filter, and StarNet++ was for PI. Initial reports here on SGL suggest that Star Xterminator is a bit better. In any case I do most of my processing in PS so it was the natural choise for me.

Rated by Lynd as "barely detectable" (1 on his 6-grade scale), I though this would be a good challenge for my dual RASA8 rig on Monday night when I had the first clear night in a long time. This is indeed a very faint nebula as are its companions seen in this image. LDN406 is the bottom one. There are not many images of these structures on Astrobin and I think this one reveals more than most that a stellar wind appears to blow through the nebulae causing quite some turbulence. So 2 x 3 hours = 6 hours as 3 min subs with RASA8 and AI2600MC (gain 100, offset 30, -10°C) on a Mesu200. Captured 12 October so no moon. Processed in PI and PS. This time I used the new Star Xterminator filter in PS from RC-Astro to give the nebulosity an extra stretch before I added back the stars to my liking. Cheers & CS, Göran

Good luck with the RASA and Samyang, should not disappoint!

The star colour is much better in the RGB version Steve. The banding pointed out by Mark is odd - have never seen that with my ASI2600MC. It seems to contunue over the mosaic panels so probably something unrelated to the sensor.

Seeing the pure RGB version will be interesting! I am glad I sold my ATIK460 while there still were some people convinced of the eternal superiority of CCD vs CMOS😉

Some comments/questions: I agree with Rodd, I would turn down the brightness a bit especially on the sky. Maybe better to combine the Lum and RGB data before doing the mosaic, unless that is what you did. How did the noise compare between the two cameras, one with a rather old CCD and one with the new low-noise CMOS? Did the CCD (Lum) data contribute to make a better image, or would a pure RGB look as good or even better? What focal reducer did you use, the new one dedicated for Esprit 150? (as I was wondering if I should invest in one of those). It is a bit worrying that you get elogated stars with such a smallish sensor as the 8300. Maybe a sensor distance issue.