Filroden

I love my refractor. The 80mm aperture gives a great field of view and it's so quick to set up and attach and focus the camera. It really is grab and go (if only the mount was as easy to lift).

Not that it helps your decision!

8 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

there are hints of the Pelican in the North America shot. Is your camera astro-modded?

No. Just a standard EOS60d.

9 minutes ago, Nigel G said:

Nice images Ken, I paticularly like the nebula, there's a lot of potential there. I wonder if lots of short exposures would work, 20 seconds or so. The keep rate also goes up to nearly 100%.

I got 43 subs out of 45 taken at 45 seconds. With the wide field of view and the low altitude it was only the occasional slip of my mount's tracking that caused any issues. It was similar for M56. I don't think I rejected a single image.

3 minutes ago, The Admiral said:

They look good Ken. I think you are right, the 1st one has more star colour and a cleaner background, but forgive me, where is this satellite trail in the 2nd one?

About a third down from the bottom going from side to side. It's feint but easy to see in the full image. I can also see the planetary nebula, NGC 6765, in the hires image. Unfortunately I think it's lost in the lower resolution image I loaded into the gallery.

I'm so tired after staying out until 1:00 and even then I almost stayed out longer. I'd just finished a sequence of subs and noticed both Saturn and Mars had cleared the tops of the local buildings. I was so tempted to set up the SCT and take some video but I know I had to be up by 6:00.

The evening started taking some test shots of M13 at different exposures and ISO settings to see how far I could push it. I could only get to 60 seconds but M13 was quite high (about 55 degrees above the horizon) so I moved to M56 which was only 20 degrees above the horizon. I did manage to get a single shot of 90 seconds though only at ISO 400 because of the light pollution. Given how many bad subs I got, and even the one "good" sub still showed rotation, I think 60 seconds is probably my limit and 45 seconds is a good working limit as that gives me almost 100% good subs.

Here's the single sub, processed in Lightroom.

I then stayed on M56 just to see what I could get and managed 31 x 45 subs at ISO 1600. Again, I've not bothered with any calibration files. I need to get back into that habit soon. Here's the finished M56 after processing in Photoshop and Lightroom.

Do you know what? I'm not entirely convinced I've got these the right way around! The second image is actually the single shot (the satellite trail gives it away)

I then moved onto NGC7000, the North America Nebula. I'd previously taken 30 subs the week before but I'd either lost focus or dew blurred the images. I did manage to stack them and I could make out the nebula but the light pollution at such a low altitude made it look terrible. Still, I wanted another try. Here's a new set of 43 x 45 second subs at ISO 1600. It's very noisy and I've had to hit the pollution with a fairly crude bat (dehaze in Lightroom). I am going to download a trial of the Gradiant Xterminator plug in for Photoshop to see if it will help me. At some stage I will have to invest in a Light Pollution filter.

In honour of Steve, I aimed for a Kenyan blend in my light pollution but in the end decided to cheat and make it a little more red. It's not a great image but I'm pleased I can see the nebula and hold out hope that when it rises higher I'll start to get better subs.

2 minutes ago, SteveNickolls said:

He, he a pleasure Ken you are obviously a man of great taste, both of coffee and paint.

I prefer my coffee like my skies...black. Unfortunately all I get is milky (and not the way kind)

Could you paint my fence in the 70 sec exposure?

I think I have similar levels, at least to the North (Bristol 20 miles) and West (Cardiff 15 miles) not to mention Weston-super-Mare between them at 7 miles. That said, I downloaded the sky quality meter for my iPhone and it claims I have a 19.65 sky or 5.6 NELM. I can barely see 4 stars in Ursa Minor so I think my phone is having a laugh!

Both M56 and M57 should be able to take very long exposures before you see rotation as they are very low and moving round to almost due East. I might give them a shot tonight and see how far I can push it. The killer for me is light pollution which limits my total exposure. I think my peaks were almost 2/3rds across the histogram after 45 seconds at that altitude. I might drop down to ISO800 or even 400 just to test.

So might evening didn't go to plan last night. I set up the 9.25SCT so I could see what it could do with M13. I'd checked ahead and it would fit the FOV of the Canon 60D almost perfectly. There was only a very light breeze. However, I must have rejected so many subs. I was sat there with BackyardEOS running, assessing the image quality at between 100% and 325% magnification. It went a little like this - bad, bad, bad, delete, bad, bad, maybe, bad, good, delete, bad, bad, bad, maybe, bad, bad. Almost every sub had something wrong. I threw all the good and maybe candidates into DSS and DSS threw them all back at me. I need to review them individually but I've had this before with the SCT. DSS really doesn't like the images for some reason and I have to really force it to find stars even though I can see dozens (not counting the 200,000 of them in the middle of the frame).

I tried 30 sec, 20 sec, 15 sec and even 8 sec by the end. It just wasn't my night. So I put in the eyepiece and used the old fashioned camera! Great at 24mm. Zoomed in with an 8mm and I could't get a sharp focus. Turns out it was a very clear night but the seeing was terrible. It was like looking through an oil covered window at high magnification.

So here's an image of M5 from earlier in the week that I processed last night instead. 30 x 45 sec lights ISO1600 with no calibration using the Esprit 80. Not as pretty as M13 (in my opinion) but still a wonderful sight! I downloaded the Photoshop plug-in, Hasta La Vista Green, and it really did help my colour balance. I applied it to my earlier M13 and it left me speechless. Lovely little free plug in!

Now I need a plan for tonight's targets. Probably back on M13 to see if I can't reduce the noise further. Maybe another 60 subs at least.

7 hours ago, Nigel G said:

I'm not that happy with this image, I'm going to check through the subs , not sure the flats have helped much, and I think focus is out a little. Still there's a number of dso's visible. But a huge amount of improving to do. It's about time I had a failure though, been lucky in previous images.

Maybe I can get more out of it though, I'll have another try later.

Nige. 

130 x 30s 1600 iso, 50 dark, 20 flat, 50 bias,  150p scope. DSS + StarTools. 

That's a lot of fuzzies you've got there. Don't beat yourself up. Many of those are elliptical galaxies (I think) and therefore less photogenic than their spiral buddies. The spirals I do see are edge on by the looks of it, so again they are being coy with the camera

It does look like you've clipped a lot of detail to reduce noise (there is a very blurred background which I guess is the result of noise reduction). I wonder what it would look like with a much lighter and noises background? You can probably then make out a little more detail around the galaxies?

2 hours ago, Wuppmupp said:

I'm completely new to this whole thing so I've been a bit hesitant to upload these, but here goes. They're both quite low on frames as I had to throw a bunch in the bin. Both are taken using my dob, Skywatcher Skyliner 200p flex, and Nikon 5300.

M45, Pleiades
6x30s at ISO 800. Stacked in DSS and edited in Photoshop.

M13
11x10s at ISO 800 and 11x10s darks. Stacked in DSS and edited in Photoshop.

 

Both are great. I cannot believe how clear the nebulosity around M4 is with so few subs. I'm so jealous. I must have taken 50-100 subs of M45 and not a whisper. Well done! Likewise, you've got the core of M13 captured - you can see the cross of the propellor (I always think of Star Wars and crossed light sabres rather than a blimp coming towards me with a propellor at its nose).

You must have very dark skies? That will really help you capture detail with short subs. 

1 minute ago, Nigel G said:

That's a nice clear image Ken, I have never tried stacking without darks or bias, I'm going to try that, see how it turns out. 

Nige. 

I checked my subs and my camera went from 27*C down to 16*C over 30 minutes, which probably explains why the darks didn't work last night. I probably need to wait longer before imaging. I find the camera settles at about 16-17*C.

1 minute ago, The Admiral said:

Ooh, I don't know about that, it's a very nice detailed image. Mine does come courtesy of the smoke 'n' mirrors that is Startools .  It'll be interesting to see how you get on with the 9.25.

If I had your arrangement I'd be asleep before the evening's out! What I do find tiring is all the waiting.

Ian

I tried Startools but just didn't have a clue what it was doing. I couldn't find anyway to actually stretch the image (auto develop just made the image terrible) whereas I know Lightroom inside out so it wasn't too much to get the basics of Photoshop down. I still need to learn how to boost contrast and control noise before I move into masks, etc. I also like that I can do everything step by step and, using layers, compare the steps to see if I like it. It's a lot like going to the opticians - does it look better with or without the flat piece of glass in front of your eye? - eventually I can't tell if the image is getting better or worse and I start over.

Using the conservatory has been so good over the last month. I would otherwise have to set the camera running using BackyardEOS and then retreat to the house - checking back every 5 minutes or so to review the subs and make sure tracking was ok. Also, where I set up now is sheltered on three sides from the wind whereas the other end of the garden is more exposed (but gets reasonable views from W through to S above 15deg alt).

I'm being lazy and staying close to the house (as I've just invested in a 5m cable that means I can control the camera from my laptop in the comfort of an armchair inside the conservatory). It means I'm limited to a NW to S vista but that means plenty of clusters at the moment plus the galaxies in Virgo, Canes Venatici and Ursa Major. It won't be too long until the summer nebula rise high enough. The North America Nebula is my next target but it's probably 4 weeks away from being high enough at a reasonable time.

In the meantime, I managed to get some more subs on M13. After processing and re-processing, I finally tried stacking without flats, darks and bias and I think the image is actually better. I guess the temperature is changing too fast for darks to work effectively. Anyway, I'm pleased this has improved since my first try. And I can just make out IC4617 along with NGC6207. At 15.2, I didn't think I'd capture that in 45 seconds with my light polluted skies. They aren't as clear as Ian's, but I'm going to claim that's because of the aperture advantage!

35 x 45sec ISO1600 subs, stacked in DSS with no flats, darks or bias. Cropped then adjusted with levels and curves in Photoshop. Not had chance to make final tweaks in Lightroom (which I think is a much better package for those final finishing touches). It's with the Esprit 80ED on the Evo mount. I'm hoping tonight is calm enough to train the 9.25 SCT on M13 tonight to see what it can capture (probably only with 15 second subs).

22 minutes ago, The Admiral said:

It's still turned out pretty good though.

Can I ask an unrelated question? How good do you find the tracking of the Evo mount when used with the long focal length 9.25" ? Is it stable enough to do astrophotography on small objects do you think?

Ian

I've been able to get 15 to 20 second subs but it's 50/50 at that point. It's very sensitive to the slightest breeze. But it's great for planets and visual. 

Had an unsuccessful night where my focus went as the temperature fell. Only my first 10 subs of M13 seemed to gives results. 

10 x 45s ISO1600 lights with flats, darks and bias applied. Processed with levels and curves in Photoshop with final touches in Lightroom Mobile.

Taken with the Esprit 80 on the Evo mount with the Canon 60D.

On 13 April 2016 at 16:25, The Admiral said:

4 minutes ago, The Admiral said:

Nice capture. It is a small object isn't it, I must have a go myself when it's better placed for me.

Interesting alignment of stars to its right.

Ian

To the right of that are a line of pairs of stars that at first had me worried I'd knocked the mount during the captures

Excuse the light pollution and the halos (the sky had a very high haze) but here's my first attempt at M57 with the 80ED. I tried to get the 9.25 SCT on it the following night but it was far too windy.

I think this was 31 x 30s lights ISO1600 with flats, darks and bias. 

M95, M96 and the Leo Tripets (or a lesson on if it can go wrong it will go wrong)

Step 1: Let's take the flats, darks and bias whilst the sun is up...so using the crescent moon to get a good focus...flats [tick], darks [tick], bias [tick]

Step 2: Let's align the finder scope during twilight using Jupiter and BackyardEOS to see my camera live view. Nothing. Okay, maybe the alignment is so bad it's not close to my field of view. Unclamp the scope and slew around in the hope of seeing it flash across the screen. Nope. Okay, maybe my focus has gone completely. Refocus on the Moon. Can't find it. Okay, have I messed up settings on the camera? Doh, yes it's still set to 1/8000s from taking the bias so reset the camera to manual and 30s. Slew back to Jupiter. Still can't find it. Start to pull out hair. Let's put in an eyepiece. Still can't see anything. Maybe I should remove the lens cap from the scope? /facepalm

Step 3: Let's align the mount using three star alignment and live view [tick]

Step 4: Let's get fine focus using the final star since it's bright enough and already in view. Grab mask and see focus is spot on [tick] Unfocus slightly and refocus just to make sure [tick]

Step 5: Slew to target and take a single 30s ISO1600 shot to check composition. Stars are heavily trailed. Maybe the mount needed longer to get steady? Take another shot. Still heavily trailed. Take a third shot. Still...hold on, those are weird trails. They look more like acute star spikes. Maybe remove the mask? /facepalm

Step 6: Repeat step 5. Image looks great and is centred exactly as shown in SkySafari. A first for my alignment. I normally have to adjust slightly. Lesson learnt: aligning using an eyepiece, even using unfocused stars and an 8mm eyepiece, is not as accurate as using live view. Proceed to take lights.

Step 7: Slew to Margarin's Chain to grab a few more lights to integrate with data from the weekend. Again, perfect alignment on the goto meaning I could frame my shot using SkySafari!

Anyway, here's a processed shot of M95, M96 and the Leo Triplets using the Esprit 80 on the Evo mount and the Canon 60D. It's 57 x 30s lights at ISO1600 with 50 darks. The flats didn't work so I also didn't use the bias.

P.S. Step 8: Post to forum then notice I linked the Markarian's Chain and not the Leo shot. My face is getting very sore now.

Here's my first attempt at Markarian's Chain. Using the Esprit 80 on the Evolution mount I could easily get 45 second subs. Again, beaten by the clouds so only managed 18 lights, no darks or flats stacked in DSS. Processed quickly with levels in 32bit then converted to 16bit for some final curves adjustments in Photoshop.

https://stargazerslounge.com/gallery/image/30884-markarians-chain/

For some reason, no matter how small I make the image, I cannot seem to insert it directly into the post, so I've had to add it to a gallery and link it.

17 minutes ago, The Admiral said:

Well that looks like a very good start Ken, it's a pity the clouds stopped your activity. I don't know how you are processing your image, but you might find there is more there that could be teased out, but ideally you'll need many, many more subs. But at the end of the day, it depends what sort of image you are after.

Ian

I'm using Photoshop but I've deliberately over darkened it to reduce the noise until I can get more subs. It also doesn't help that to load the image onto the site I have to go via my iPad and this removed what little detail is in the original. 

Thursday looks like it could be clear so I hope I get another 50-100 subs to work with.

ken

So after two failed nights of getting subs of M51 that DSS would process I managed 9x30s last night before clouds came over. Very noisy but at least I know I can keep going.

Celestron Evolution 9.25 with Canon 60D

Ken

1 hour ago, The Admiral said:

It would be nice to know what you have already done to process it. You probably need more total exposure time, that always helps. Even so, I've taken the liberty of just treating your image to a bit of contrast enhancement and sharpening in my photo processor and you may be surprised at what is already contained in the image. It's a question of teasing it out with the appropriate tools.

With an ALT-AZ mount, field rotation is something you need to minimize, but even so, exposures of 30s should be do-able as long as you don't get star streaking with your mount's movement.

Ian

Thanks Ian

I've only used levels, curves, vibrancy and saturation on the image so far. I'm hoping to try some longer exposures this evening but I find even slight breezes ruin too many shots when I expose in the 15 to 20 second range and I don't think I've ever got a sharp 30 second shot where you can see rotation also starting to have an effect. 

Im also going to try and take my first flats. 

I have to say, I knew I could take some great shots of the moon and planets but I didn't expect I could dabble in DSOs. I can't wait for M13 to get high enough. 

Like many, M42 is my first try at a DSO. Would love to know how to improve on it.

60 x 8 sec ISO1600 with Celestron Evolution 9.25 and Canon EOS60d

image.tiff

Great post.

When you're taking it out in the car do you just strap the OTA using just the seat belt? Have you invested in a case to carry it?