WestCoastCannuck

OH....  I meant the rille in the Vallis Alpes of course.....   oops

3 minutes ago, neil phillips said:

Hi Mike thanks for that your a gentleman my friend. Its all proportional to apeture. I like doing work with the small refractors. But they can only go so far. I think what your doing with the 140 actually is about as good as it gets at that size from that perspective. Even the bresser 127 which i have found to be pretty darn good so far. Cant touch what your doing with that lovely Frac. So Really your at the top of your game. The only way you will get more resolution is to go up. Its just physics. I know what you mean about not perfecting what your doing with the scopes your using now. But to be honest, it kind of doesnt matter. Those fine things will come and go, as we try new things. have good days bad days. good seeing bad seeing. What matters is your perfecting your art along the way. As a example the mosaic i posted i had to leave dark. Even after our conversation.

The levels across the entire surface did not deviate by more than a few percent. I know because i was watching the numbers. Levels wise its nearly perfect.  Yet the background is not uniform. I have a huge street light i have to shoot over. That i suspect is creating havoc with the background. As i build the mosaic and the scope is moving the glare changes affecting the background. So now i am struggling to make that mosaic look right. Which is a [removed word] because the data is ok even starting at around 29 degrees. It needs brightening post processing. But the background is stumping me at the moment, untill i figure how to make it uniform. The point i am making is. We can continue to perfect what we are doing. But dont cut yourself off. By telling yourself its pointless going bigger. Trust me Mike you will love it. And with your skill. Hold onto your hats is all i can say. Its up to you. But i reckon. A C9.25 might be up your street. Your eye has grown. And with it the urge to get more resolution. You only live once Mike. 

AARRRGGH.   You are NOT helping my treatment for Aperture fever.  hehe.   I have my eye on one bigger.  But cannot afford.  Maybe one day. 

I expect your background will take brushwork in LR or similar to fix.  Been there.....  about half the time for my mosaics.

Just posted my stuff from 28th.  Was a lovely morning. 

Best

Mike

Hey all.  Managed to image on the early mornings of the 28th and 29th.     Here are my 28th efforts.

First...  a single panel at prime with APM140 and 183mm in green.

Next an attempt at a mosaic critically sampling with a 1.7X barlow in green.....  seeing did not quite support so reduced to the view of a 1.4X.  (F9.8)

Next, some efforst with my Vixen 200L and a 1.4X Barlow , 520nm filter and 290MM camera.  Best 150 of 10000 frames each.

And a few shot at prime with 610nm

Clear skies!!

As always C&C appreciated.

Mike

Lots of detail in there! 

These are outstanding Neil!!   So nice to see that bad boy in action again!   You caught more than I have ever!   The rille in  Rima Hyginus is well defined.   Something I have yet to do.....  can see just a trace of it in a couple of mine from the same night.

A fruitful night!  You make me want bigger......  but I keep thinking I am not maxing what I have...  so no point.

Cheers

Mike

1 hour ago, callisto said:

Nice and crisp...thanks for sharing 

 

Mark

Thanks Mark!!   

4 hours ago, CraigT82 said:

Very nice shots Mike, always fun to go over old stuff again and see what you can get out of it now. 

With these three images I think it comes down to how you view the image. I know some will view the images at 100% and zoom no further, in which case these images are pin sharp and faultless really. If you go further in and really zoom down to 200-300% they do start to look a bit too crisp maybe... But that's nit picking really.

So I guess it comes to how you wish your image to be viewed: at 100% or even further in.

Personally I usually try to process so that the image looks right when viewed really close in, which may leave it looking a little soft at 100%. 

 

Great feedback thanks!!   And VERY interesting to me!   I NEVER view at higher than 100%  lol   Something I will be sure to do from now on just to see how things look!

3 hours ago, neil phillips said:

That has to be the difference. is the screen resolution making different appearances. The noise i think i am seeing is very fine grain noise. It shows itself very subtly more in certain areas than others. The appearance is similar to what i have seen with the finest sharpening top wavelet registax. But in this case, must be imppg sharpening routines. As i say its very subtle. i am used to seeing similar over the years in my own images. is likely why i am noticing. And i can see it at 100% But is likely what Craig is mentioning when he zooms in. Its a subtle thing though Mike that i have become sensitive to over the years. Likely why i noticed it at all. I can also see it on the 102 shot on the other post. It betrays itself as thousands of tiny sand like grains certain areas are more noticeable than others.  For the most part with the amount of detail your extracting. likely not worth worrying about.  But you asked the question. As a comparison my recent shots which are showing far far less detail lets not forget. The quality is not as good,  i can not see it. Btw when you check are you checking with JPGs I am actually wondering if its a compression thing. I dont think so though. 

Thanks again Neil!  More great info.   This is just what I needed.   

Well....  its 3:16 AM and I can see the moon through very light clouds/haze.   Fog is forecast.  Scopes outside cooling off.   See what I get.     Now to make a coffee and setup.

Cheers!!

Mike

Thanks Neil.  Your feedback helps tons.  I don't see any noise or artifacts...  and believe me I look for them!  Lol I am certain were I to look at your screen that I would agree with your assessment.   Its simply because my pixels on my screen are so small.  Will have to ponder this.   As to my game...  I am pretty happy with smaller scope results!  But my efforts with bigger need more work and practice on all aspects!  It's such a great thing to to with free time.

I feel your pain on weather.   Seeing is the problem for us.  Get some good seeing here yes!  But rarely.   😆 

With TWO new scopes the crap weather and seeing would be tough to take.  Hope we both have good conditions tonight!  I am aiming for sleeping very shortly and being up before 5 to catch meridian.  If I can see it.  Lol

Cheers

Mike

I don't know a lot about current monitors....  I am pretty happy with this one though.  Was on sale.  LG 27UL500-W 27-Inch UHD (3840 x 2160) IPS Monitor. 

1 hour ago, neil phillips said:

Hi Mike Thanks.

One thing i cant determine is, i am processing on a laptop that has a rather average screen. I have the brightness full up. Been doing all my processing on there. When i looked on my 50" plasma tv the mosaic images seemed very dark. So its got me wondering if i need a better screen to process on. From what your seeing your end Mike. Does the mosaics look overly dark to you. Brightness wise how would you rate the balance. I did originally have it with a gamma lift, as i liked the effect on the dark terminator. Then i noticed some odd differences in brightness on the sky background ( caused by doing auto complete on ice ) that i didnt notice. So i then darkened it again. Really should have redone it. But the data is only average so didnt bother. But still interested on what your seeing your end brightness darkness wise. Here it looks fine. If you think its off it would help if i knew. As stated its looks totally fine this end but i dont trust the discrepancy between the TV and laptop. Cheers for your opinion. 

IT all comes down to what we are viewing with....   makes it really hard for us to share our stuff the way we want!  Things simply willl look different depending on the screen of the viewer.    My current monitor is not calibrated yet.    Your images in this post seem fine for brightness.....  on the low end of  average to me on my monitor.    Contrast also is a bit low for me on full discs -  but also has advantages.  Contrast seems good to me on closeups.

Mike

55 minutes ago, neil phillips said:

First the data is great. I havent had data here like that. As to your question about sharpening for sure you are sharpening more than you used to. Whatever i say will likely be challenged on here after i say it. ( can be a theme on forums ) Anyway i think you may be marginally forcing the second image a little bit. It works in a detail way because the data is so good its quite striking how much fine detail is there. But to my eye in certain areas perhaps just a touch less might benefit the naturalness that i was first wowed by. When i first saw your images. The detail is superlative. and one mans meat is anothers poison. So others may not agree. Which is fine. But i think thats what i am seeing. But its hard to trust my screen Mike so is only a impression.  Looking at the last image it looks more natural. But i am noticing certain areas look less forced than others. Probably noise appearing in the brighter areas more than the darker areas and the sharpening highlighting it a little more in those places. I am sure you know what i mean. Its difficult to give a answer at this level Mike. Because its one of those things where i could look again. and maybe change my mind. But i will say. your images are being sharpened more. More like i would do actually if i had that data. Not overly soft. as i have seen on some of your previous shots. So i think your getting close to optimal. Some areas look perfect. others do not. As they are responding differently.  Btw what are you doing to sharpen think i remember you say you used astra image i used that myself many years ago. Maybe i should get it again ? 

Thanks much for your very considered reply Neil!    It is as I suspected.  My processing IS different....  and it is now obvious why to me after chatting with another friend.   The pixels on my  27 inch 4K monitor are one HALF the size of my former 24 inch 1080P monitor.    I used to agonize over processing....  was extremely difficult to get results I was satisfied with.   Now, not so much.    I must find a way to hook up my old monitor as well.    I know it can be done easily...  I just have never done it before.   I will continue to use 4K......  but I will have a quick peek at the result on the old monitor.  Hopefully that does not cause me too much stress!   LOL

In answer to your question on processing,  I used to use Astra Image almost exclusively.  The third image I only partially reworked....  it was done with Astra.    The first two were done with Astra originally, and I reworked them using IMPPG.     I still prefer the look of Astra Image for most full discs...... though I seem to be mostly switching over to IMPPG.    For closeups I use IMPPG almost exclusively.     Great free program worth playing with if you have never used it.    The simplest prgram out there I think....  but yet still very powerful within its narrow scope.   lol    IMPPG is SO fast to use.   If I have a lot of data to crunch through....  its a no brainer - I will process with IMPPG.    I can get a result I am satisfied with very quickly.    Astra Image is a vastly more powerful program with seemingly infinite options for what to do....  but it is also slower and its "preview" is not as friendly and useful as the one in IMPPG.    For images I think are really good.....  I will process in both - and pick which I like better.

Cheers

Mike

I just today started my first of 12 days off...  naturally in the wee hours this morning with a lovely high moon it was totally socked in.    So...  I went over some of my old stuff and re-did them.   3 piece mosaics shot at F9.8 on my APM140/7 on April 16th and 17th.   I am also sharing a redo of a mosaic from April 19th I reworked a couple weeks ago for a virtual presentation I gave to the local RASC.

Hope I get a chance to do more like these soon.

I still feel that my recent 4K monitor switch has resulted in oversharpening my stuff.   Would like feedback on that.

Thanks!

Mike

April 16th - 3 piece mosaic

April 17th 3 piece mosaic

April 19th 4 piece mosaic

Clear skies to us all!

Mike

This is realy nice work Neil.  I love the views with Petavius...  actually I love all the closeups.   For the Mosaic, I like the larger 75% view best.   Interesting info on the filters!!

Look forward to more!

Mike

On 26/08/2021 at 02:33, Trevor N said:

Thanks Mike. I think I'm still learning the game when it comes to processing. There's more to it and its much more subtle than I originally thought but good to learn. Trevor

In spite of being at this a while, I feel the same way.   The way we see things changes too....  which does not make it easier for me.  lol

On 26/08/2021 at 13:43, orion25 said:

Awesome shot, Mike! That refractor really pulls out the fine detail.

Regards, Reggie 🚀

Thanks Reggie!  It may get another chance tomorrow early AM  if I find a clear spot in the forecast clouds.  lol

Mike

Nice work Trevor!!   Looking forward to us all posting again soon!

I like the processing.  :))

Very best

Mike

They indeed look great on my big screen!   Moon was looking lovely last night when I peaked out my window.   Hoping for some moon time this weekend.  Weather lookiing iffy.

So, this is also a new scope for you?   

Mike

Just looking on my phone before work.....  but WOW!  Looks really good!

Looks great!  Pretty sure you have found yourself a lovely little yard cannon that will nearly always make you happy with results.   I expect that when you pop it up on a nice high moon you will be thrilled with it.   At F11 the view should be pretty darn clean and close to Aprochromatic?  :)))

On 08/08/2021 at 15:44, Trevor N said:

Very nice image there Mike. I think the 4 inch refractors are very underrated when it comes to lunar and planetary imaging. I think this is a good example of what can be achieved

Once again I missed your reply!  Thanks Trevor!  Yes,  a four inch scope is capable of quite a surprising amount of resolution with today's sensors! 

On 08/08/2021 at 15:57, Kimboman said:

Hi a great image,I recently obtained a Celestron 102GT refactor with I have replaced the original mount for a more stable one but still uses the goto function .

As this is a recent purchase the moon has not been visible but a new moon has just arrived so I am looking forward to viewing it soon.

I have used it on Saturn and Jupiter and was well pleased when the seeing was good(not tonight)

Thanks Kim.  A 4 inch refractor is a lot of fun!

On 08/08/2021 at 23:03, CraigT82 said:

That is pin sharp Mike. Very nice image. Might have to start looking into a 4" f/7 ED frac... lots of good things said about them om here recently.

Thanks much Craig!   Yes, I find it compares pretty well with the 100ED I had, but in a smaller package!    It will be my grab and go mostly.....  but for sure I will image with it again on occasion - was certainly pleased with this first image!

Cheers

Mike

Yes, 28-30 degrees certainly not optimal, and transparency could have been suffering too.  I would expect that  your 120 should be able to produce the same detail as a120ED .   The optics are totally fine for lunar!   We just need some nice high phases at night for you to really be able to enjoy shooting and get the kind of results that are possible.

Hope you get your oscillating sorted.   I have my own issue to figure out with the 102ED shots.   You may not have noticed, but the right extreme side of my shot is soft.   All three of my clips came out like that.   Something in my image train is out.  Hopefully not the scope!   Was quite extended from focuser, and included a modular barlow with 5 pieces.   I expect the image circle from the barlow is the culprit - have a self centering 2-1.25" adapter I will try using next time to attach. camera/barlow.  (After checking scope collimation).

Cheers

Mike

They all look pretty good to my eye.  I rather like the second best - possibly just because the orientation is so easy to view - makes me wish I had posted the same way!   :))))

Mike

Night time certainly IS more enjoyable!   Great you were out!   We caught the same phase.   I like it in its more natural orientation here - I was rotating my sensor to fit it all in the frame and it was easier to just leave it that way.  lol

Oh...  I am so looking forward to crisp fall skies and more time to shoot!!

Clear skies

Mike

On 03/08/2021 at 13:41, johnfosteruk said:

Very nice and sharp.

Thanks John! 

16 hours ago, neil phillips said:

Nice sharp and contrasty Mike 

Thanks Neil!   Looking forward to having this ready as a grab and go.       But...  it will still go up on the moon sometimes for imaging. 

Very best

Mike