Gerr

Triangulum Galaxy (M33) is a spiral formed galaxy 2.7 million light years from Earth in the constellation Triangulum. The third largest of the Local Group of galaxies behind Andromeda and our own Milky Way. I found this one very challenging to image (low surface brightness) and to process (despite over 4hrs image acquisition time)! Lights: 62x 240secs at ISO800. Canon650D with Optolong L-Pro filter. SW200P Reflector on HEQ5 Pro mount. Waning crescent moon. Bortle 5/6. Stacked in DSS and processed in Photoshop CS2. CC's please! Gerr.

The Dumbbell Nebula (M27) is a planetary nebula in the constellation Vulpecula. This lies about 1200 light years away and is the second brightest planetary nebula (after Helix nebula) in our night sky. It has formed from the ejection of the outer shell gases of the central star in the image. Taken last night in my Bortle class 5/6 back garden. 64 Lights at 60 secs ISO800. Optolong L-Pro filter. Canon 650D on a SW200P reflector mounted on HEQ5 Pro. CC's welcome. Gerr.

This is the Jpeg image!

The Elephant's Trunk Nebula (IC 1396) in the constellation Cepheus is approx. 2400 light years away and is ideally positioned for imaging in the current night sky. This region is ionised by a massive star (HD 206267) which is responsible for illuminating the nebula which itself is thought to be a site of star formation and about 20 light years in size. I hoped to get several hours of imaging but only managed 64minutes before a problematic meridian flip and clouds stopped my session. Lights: 16 x 240secs Telescope: SW200P Camera: Canon 650D (astro modded) Filter: Optolong L-eNhance Processing: DSS and Photoshop CS2 Hope you like. Gerr. IC1396 Aug2021.tif

Sorry the settings stated above were actually actually Gamma. Gain was about 70% of full value. BTW what do you recommend Gamma should be? 50 for Jupiter? 10 for Saturn??? Gerr.

Thanks for the comments Vlaiv. Sorry I meant to say I have the IR pass filter (the IR cut filter has been ordered). So confusing!!! I use AS!3 for stacking (will make note of bayer matrix setting). Gain was 50 for Jupiter and a lot less for Saturn. I try and keep the image grey looking / underexposed during acquisition to hopefully produce a better final image. Exposure histogram only as a guide but will certainly look at 5ms exposure time. I use histogram stretching and wavelet adjustments (denoise and sharpening too) in Registax. I tried Photoshop too but struggle to make any improvements here. Gerr.

Clear skies recently allowed me to try out my new ZWO ASI 462 Colour camera on Jupiter and Saturn. I normally image DSO's so my lack of experience probably shows here. I used a SW200P reflector and 3xBarlow lens on a HEQ5 mount. Firecapture software to take videos which were processed in autostakkert and final image refined using registax (wavelets). I did not use high speed transfer settings in firecapture (couldn't find it) but used highest resolution available (1096x980) on 10bit 1x1 binning. 12bit and 2x2binning made my images pixellated! Histogram of exposure was 60% - I used plenty of gain to try and reduce exposure time but even so my frame rate was still slow at about 15/sec (I do use USB3 connection). And yes the images are mono as I used an IR cut filter as the IR pass filter hasn't arrived yet!! Hoping someone was CC my images so I can try and improve here. Thanks for looking. Gerr. 02F7E35D-BBCF-47EC-8536-2E603F77CF2F.tiff 1F23B96E-14A2-4174-8FC1-E7171DFA50E2.tiff

This image was taken this month with a Canon650D and Samyang 14mm lens. No tracking - just tripod. Stacked and processed in DSS and Photoshop CS2. Hope you like. Gerr.

Very nice - love the colours and detail of the dust lanes, well done!

This is my second attempt at trying to image the Milky Way. This nearly didn't happen as the local forecast wasn't good but thanks to indigestion I was up at 02:30 and noticed clear skies outside. I don't live far from South Stack lighthouse and with it being a new moon (Aug 11th) - I thought now or never!! I took 10 images (untracked) with my Canon 650D at high ISO for the Milky Way (25secs duration) and several images of shorter duration to capture the light beams of the light house. I think I should of took longer exposures to capture more foreground detail but I was worried about the light beams washing out the scene. As a bonus I saw a few Perseids fireballs too that night. I used a Samyang 14mm wide field lens at f2.8 and processed the images in photoshop CS2 as a composite. Hope you like the result. CC's welcome! And just to add I am seriously thinking of getting a Star Adventurer now.

HEQ5 mount is great for astrophotography but I wouldn't carry it around with me (10kgs plus 2x5kg counterweights - if required) plus a power pack! The sky watcher star adventurer or I-optron equivalent would be a good choice to consider though. Very portable, tracks celestial objects for long exposure photography and powered by batteries (Li-ion rechargeables). If you're gonna trek I'd use one of those!

Like your image. I've still yet to photo the Milky Way despite a couple of attempts! Is that the North America and Pelican nebula I see in the top left? What time did you stay up to and was this taken on a new moon if you don't mind me asking? Gerr.

First image for me. Looks great and how I would expect the Milky Way to look. More natural than second image. Quite like the blurred foreground too! 😀

Oh - I use APT free - thought it was still the case (has caption ‘donate 18.42 euros if you like it’ on it’s front loading screen). It controls your camera, mount, image sequencing - plate solves plus many more useful functions as a fully automated process (it will automatically meridian flip your scope too). It is fully compatible with PHD2 and sky charts like Cartes du Ciel for directing telescope at your target and keeping it there while you watch TV. I wouldn’t use anything else now. Cables - EqDirect and USB hub connected to laptop is a must but bye bye Synscan Handheld control which becomes obsolete. Look into it and save yourself a headache from other options. Once you set it up you’ll never look back. Gerr.

Consider Astro Photography Tool to run the show. I have never used NINA myself as APT is just the best IMHO but if you've successfully imaged with a DSLR then use the same methodology with your new camera. Should not be significantly different. Good luck. Gerr.

Hi Noodles, No barlow. I can achieve focus with or without the coma corrector too. Never had a problem focusing with the SW200P. Though I maybe lucky in that respect as I have noted on this forum. Gerr.

The Whirlpool Galaxy located in the constellation Canes Venatici was the first galaxy to be classified as a spiral galaxy. Its distance is estimated to be 23 million light-years away from Earth. Now widely imaged and a must have in any budding astrophotographer's DSO album! This is my latest version from my Bortle 6 class sky. Lights: 89x60secs (ISO800). Canon 650D. SW200P. Optolong L-Pro filter. HEQ5 Mount - guiding at 0.5 total RMS error (mediocre due to gusty conditions) taken 7th May under waning Crescent Moon. CC's welcome. Gerr. Original and Cropped Images:

Fortunately taking flats for a DSLR is pretty much straightforward. That’s the advantage of a simple kit I suppose??? I’m not one for the complex stuff!!! Gerr.

Your kit is unfamiliar to me (and looks complicated!!!) 😂 Gerr.

When I first started astrophotography ( in 2019 - the year I got my first proper mount and modded camera) I never thought there would be so many wonderful targets to capture! This list just keeps growing and keeping me hooked. What a fantastic hobby we share!! Gerr.

I struggle to get long integration times (3.5 hrs is my max so far!!!) but multiple sessions on same target will help me there. Only so much seeing quality from terra firma!! Gerr.

Aha - I did wander about those ones. I do think I’m lucky getting ‘decentish’ images with my short integration times and ‘basic’ DSLR camera as this hobby can become very expensive very quickly!! I’m still finding the limits with my equipment and processing techniques before I splash the cash!!! Thanks, Gerr.