Adreneline

Another striking image to add to your portfolio of solar images. I love all the detail you manage to reveal. No hope of replicating that here - the sky looks like one of my stretched flats! - and it's raining Adrian

I opted for the Astronomik L2 and L3 filters (1.25"). The L2 is mounted right on the 'nose' of my ASI294MC - inside the 11mm spacer ring. The L3 I use with my Astronomik NB filters with my ASI1600MM. It is used primarily as a focussing and plate solving filter and for sometimes taking Luminance; being all the same make they are all parafocal with the exception of the OIII which has a very slightly different focus position. Both the L2 and L3 really tighten up the stars.

I've only applied the tape to the rings, not the the lens itself. It is removable and I've found the adhesive remnants can be removed with a 'sticky stuff' suitable cleaner. The tape is also easy to cut if you need something a little narrower. It's also cheap!

Considering the prevailing LP conditions I think that is a remarkable result. Great processing in PS. Sorry but I can't help with the dew heater problem - I rely on 12V being available. Adrian

I've found this stuff is really good for making up gaps in rings. It comes in various thicknesses. I've only used the 2mm thick which compresses nicely to tighten play in rings on my setup.

Haha! I think maybe BlackCat mounts are about to get a boost! Nice arrangement Pierre - thanks for sharing! Adrian

Thank you Jeremy. This whole Cygnus region is so satisfying to image. Sometimes the trouble is knowing where to stop - especially when NGC 7000 and IC 5070 are just off the field of view! Adrian

Thank you Lee. I think I still need to improve my process(es) for reinstating stars but I'm glad you like it. Adrian

294 followed by 533 - not much in it really. I use a 294 with my Samyang 135mm and am very happy with the results - search on Astrobin to see what imagers are achieving. I also use my 294 with a 6" RC (1370mm) and I am delighted with the results.

Hi Grant. I'm not sure I did the best thing really. I took the image into PixInsight and cropped off the edge effects. I then used a background extraction process to remove gradients - but not totally successfully. I then stretched the image a lttle and cloned it. With the original I removed the stars and then stretched it a lot more to reveal the nebulosity. I also used a colour saturation process to pull out the colour as best I could. The cloned image I stretched using an ArcSinh process to pull out the star colour whilst at the same time suppressing the background as much as possible. I then combined the clone with the original as a Lighten layer in PixelMath in PixInsight. Once it was combined I reset the black point a little and realigned the rgb histograms. I then ran a star reduction process in PixInsight just to tone the stars down a little. Finally I took the image out of PixInsight and did a little bit of noise reduction in an old free version of Nik Dfine2. I am sure expert osc imagers would do far better than me but your data is good and there is plenty there to work on with nice stars. More data and darker skies and you'd be onto a winner! HTH Adrian

Hi Grant. Great start on a tricky target - especially recognising the lack of astro darkness. I've had a go at your image and done the best I can - I'm sure someone with more skill at osc processing could do far better. NAN and the Pelican are clearly visible. I'm struggling to get rid of the light pollution in the bottom right without losing more of the target nebulosity; probably my inept use of PI. I think if you could take some Flats to go with your other calibration frames that might help as well. Adrian

Thank you Steve - and of course helping you plan for future investments Thank you Tristan. One thing about the RedCat is I can be up and imaging in less than 15 minutes so if a clear spell comes along I might give it a go. Even at mid-nautical darkness the northern sky is barely dark here; at least Sadr is pretty high up at the moment so that helps. Adrian

Thank you. It is a very satisfying region to image. One day I might get to add some OIII and SII. Adrian

With short nights and no astro darkness Ha is the only option. This is a five panel mosaic taken over multiple nights (some nights I only added six frames to one panel) taken with the RedCat + ASI1600MM-Pro at -20 degrees. All exposures were 180s, all unguided on a CEM25EC. Pre-processed in APP, processed in PI with ABE, HistogramTransformation, Starnet, more HT, LinearHistogramEqualisation, HDRMultiscaleTransform on the original and ABE and HT only on a clone copy with stars. Original and clone recombined in PixelMath. I have intentionally kept the stars under control to emphasise the nebula structure. Thanks for looking and all C&C welcomed. Adrian

@nephilim I use an L2 with my Samyang 135mm + ASI294MC setup and I’ve used an L3 with my Samyang and ASI1600MM NB setup. Both have been very beneficial imho. I now use the L3 with my RedCat + ASI1600. HTH

Very pleasing - lots of nebulosity, lots of structure and nice shaped stars. The 533 has done wonders even at -10 degrees. Personally I'm not a fan of magenta in images but that is me being me, as they say. As you have PI if you Invert the image and apply SCNR Green then re-invert you can see what removing the magenta looks like but I fully appreciate this is a personal thing and you may be a fan of magenta. Imaging any part of Cygnus is so rewarding - as is Cepheus come to that. Adrian

Hope you don't mind but I ran your original through LinearHistogramEqualization in PixInsight to try to increase the contrast and then I ran it through Topaz DeNoise AI with a minimal amount of denoise (2) and sharpening (3). Adrian

No - you need to set the aperture before closing the ring. I have experimented with other mounts that work well with a ZWO1600 or ZWO294 camera - like this one using PrimaLuce Lab 80mm rings.

That is correct. I use one and it works very well. Adrian I've recently purchased the RedCat handle to mount the guide scope more securely - and provide a convenient handle!

Well it might not be what you were hoping for Andy but don't beat yourself up - there's plenty of structure to be see in the central region. I would certainly put it in the 'good' category - it's not 'bad' and it's definitely not 'ugly'! Examples of the latter two categories can easily be found on a well known astro-image repository - and on my own 'for my eyes only' astro hard drive 😳 Thanks for sharing. Adrian

All very good Ben and really interesting - the last two get my vote too. Looking forward to what you can achieve with the FLT 91. Adrian

That's all looking very good. I am really interested to see Samyang 135mm + ASI294MC-Pro images; I've been scouring Astrobin to see what people are achieving with this combo. The CCD Calculator tell you "This combination leads to significant under-sampling" but your image is very pleasing to look at and even stands up well to the dreaded pixel-peeping - not that I would ever advocate doing such a thing I bought my Samyang 135mm a few years ago but only relatively recently acquired the ASI294MC-Pro with the intention of using it primarily on my 6" RC - a good match according to the Calculator. I currently have the 135+294 set up and ready to go - just need some clear, dark, moonless nights - not too much to ask for really! Thanks for sharing. Adrian

Despite all your worries and reservations that's turned out really well. Thanks for sharing. Adrian

Thank you Andy. I quite like starless versions of nebula, after all we are trying to image the nebula and not the stars. I think removing the stars can make you much more aware of the structure although I know plenty disagree with starless versions. Each to their own Thanks again. Adrian

We never stop learning new methods and techniques. One thing I have found helpful with weak data (following StarAlign, Dynamic Crop, ABE and cloning) is to give it an initial couple (maybe three) modest stretches, then remove the stars with Starnet, then carry on stretching as far as you dare, then back it off one (cos' I always go too far ) and then apply LHE with settings of 1.2 and 384 to increase the contrast. After that I combine with the Ha - also starless. Once I've created my starless SHO/HOO whatever, I use the cloned copies to combine and stretch (not too much) to reinsert the stars using a Lighten layer, or equivalent. This approach helps to keep the stars in check whilst at the same time allowing you to stretch the living daylights of the NB data Of course this all assumes you have PI but I'm sure there are ways of doing something similar in other packages. Apologies if I am "teaching you to suck eggs" as they say. HTH. Good luck. Adrian