Hughsie

24 minutes ago, Paul M said:

As I often do with other's images, I took the liberty of downloading, solving and investigating this fine image, just to see what's there.

I expected there to be a few Quasars in there, so using ASTAP annotation filtered for QSO's, I got the result below. Rather a lot of them! 🤪 and it looks like you got a few pixels for many/most.

 

Thank you Paul. I ran the same in PixInsight using the TypeCat script and pulled out a lot of quasars. Currently, calculating the distances on a few to see if I’ve beaten my most distant object captured.

With galaxy season upon us and the weather in the UK being so poor I had a rare clear night during a New Moon on 9th April 2024. With more poor weather being forecast I decided to get my 'galaxy fix' by photographing Abell 1656. This region of space contains over 1,000 identified galaxies so that ought to scratch that galaxy itch!

Equipment

• William Optics Z103 refractor.
• Main camera - ZWO ASI294MC Pro; Guide Camera ZWO ASI290mm mini.
• Chroma Luminance filter.
• Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro mount.
• Primaluce Lab Sesto Senso motor focuser.
• Pegasus Astro Ultimate Powerboat V2.
• Pegasus Astro FlatMaster 150.

Software

• N.I.N.A.
• PHD2
• PixInsight.

Data

• Chroma Lum 161 x 120" (Gain 121, Temp. -10c, Bin 1x1)
• Darks 50
• Flats 30
• Dark Flats 30

AR13639 (Class EAI)

Located N30E12, this region contains 16 sunspots and has reduced in size over the last 24 hours to approx. 880 million square kilometres. It released no flares today, however, it did produce an M4.02 class flare on 15th April 2024.

AR13644 (Class DSO)
Positioned just off the eastern limb at N13E49, this small region is made up of two sunspots and has increased in size to 364 million square kilometres. It has not produced any flares to date.

AR13646 (Class CRO)
Finally, we have a small grouping of eight sunspots just north of AR13644 at N22E47. Like AR13644, this region has increased in size in the last 24 hours to some 210 million square kilometres. At this time it has not produced any flares.

Equipment

• William Optics Z61 refractor.
• Tilt adapter.
• ZWO ASI174mm camera.
• Sky-Watcher EQ6R Pro mount.
• DayStar Quark Chromosphere.

Data

• 110 images from 1,000 stacked.
• Exposure time 18ms, Gain 0.

Software

• SharpCap Pro.
• Autostakkert4!
• PixInsight Solar Tool Box.

I originally captured the data from this image in Sii, Ha and Oiii across three nights in 2021 using scope T14 at iTelescope.

The data was automatically calibrated and downloaded from iTelescope but other than initial stacking I never posted the image as the camera had line defects. Whilst PixInsight did its best to remove most of the lines there were some persistent offenders and so I binned the project.

Today, with a bit more time on my hands I decided to have another go and feel I have something presentable to share this time around. There remain some red and green blotches from the camera which you can see zoomed up close but as Mother used to say, "A blind man would be pleased to see them".

Here is the Seagull.

5 hours ago, RobertI said:

This looks great, lots of detail in the core now. More detail all round too. Great job. 👍

Cheers Rob. 2022 must have been my "blurry period" lol

6 hours ago, PatrickO said:

I have no skill in DSO, but these are beautiful images. Well done.

Thank you Patrick, I appreciate your comment. I just muck around with the data, throw it together and keep going backwards and forwards until I get where I want to be.

Given the clouds I am in the process of reviewing all my old data and reprocessing it. Here is Messier 100 using the data from 2022.

Well, here we are with another reprocessed job this time of NGC 2403. As before I am using the same data just different tools and workflow in PixInsight.

For those who haven't seen any of my recent posts, I am during these cloudy days revisiting data from previous imaging sessions armed with RC Astro BlurXterminator, NoiseXterminator and StarXterminator along with GraXpert and new approaches to processing in PixInsight. Amazing tools.

So, that being said, here is the same data above rerun today using these tools.

I have been revisiting some of my old data and reprocessing it using the new tools such as BlurXterminator and StarXterminator in PixInsight. 

So, here we go with IC 342 revisited. Amazing how much detail I left on the table the first time around.

I have been reviewing my PixInsight workflow after purchasing the tools available from RC Astro and have revisited a few of my old images. Here is a rework of the Cocoon nebula using the original data from 2021.

7 hours ago, B4silio said:

Wow the difference is more than striking! Hooray for always better processing!

What did you use specifically to get the nebulosity to feel so much more solid and still keep the color nuances in the brightest blue vs white areas?  

I downloaded the RC Astro tools, BlurXterminator, NoiseXterminator and StarXterminator for PixInsight.

Removing the stars enabled me to draw out more nebulosity using GeneralisedHyperbolicStretch tool. Colour masks were created to focus on the red, yellow and cyan channels and range masks used to add more contrast in the nebulosity targeting the large and small scale features.

A few days ago I revisited this data to see what I could do a second time around armed with new PixInsight tools.

Coming off a full Moon, the evening of 26th January 2024 didn't present many broadband opportunities. Ideally, I wanted to use the ZWO ASI294MC camera for a single night project and so as I like star clusters I chose NGC 1528.

Some of my other favourite targets are those contained in the Sharpless Catalogue and having reviewed NGC 1528 in Astrobin I became aware that Sh2-209 would fall into the frame. Even though Sh2-209 is a small target, I wanted to include as much of this in the image and so added my Optolong L-Extreme filter to the filter wheel. I then split my time imaging between the Chroma UV/IR filter and the Optolong L-Extreme.

Using the WBPP script in PixInsight I generated the separate R, G and B channels for the star field. Running the script again with the L-Extreme data I was able to create a narrowband image of the star field and Sh2-209. It was then a case of processing the RGB star field, then the narrowband version, removing the stars from the latter and adding Sh2-209 into the RGB version using Pixelmath.

Data

• UV/IR 100 x 180 s
• L-Extreme 29 x 300 s
• Flats x 30; Dark Flats x 30; Darks x 50.
• Total integration time 5h 45'

Equipment

• William Optics Z103 refractor
• ZWO ASI294MC camera.
• Sky-Watcher EQ6R Pro mount.
• Sesto Senso motor focuser.
• William Optics Angle Rotator.
• ZWO filter wheel.

Software

• N.I.N.A with Hocus Focus plug-in ( Hocus Focus really help reduce the HFR of the image. Typically I am at 2.2 ish HFR but this went as low as 1.9).
• PHD 2.
• PixInsight.

ISSUE RESOLVED - USER ERROR

Whilst I had downloaded the latest Release Version of N.I.N.A. this was in face the 32-bit programme as somewhere in the recesses of my brain I believed my motor focuser only operated on 32-bit software. Reviewing the Primaluce Lab website, I now understand that my Sesto Sense V1 comes with both 32 and 64 bit drivers. 

With this in mind I copied my equipment profiles across to a USB memory stick, uninstalled N.I.N.A. and installed the 64-bit Release version. Hocus Focus now loads and I also now have access to the Offline Sky Survey with images (something else the 32-bit version did not support).

Thank you to everyone who responded, but this one is down to user error. Incidentally, on the N.I.N.A. download page it describes the 32-bit download as 'Deprecated'. When I looked up what this word means in IT parlance Google replied 'DO NOT USE' which begs the question why it's even there or maybe I am an idiot just trying to safe face  I suspect the latter!

John

3 hours ago, RobertI said:

Wonderful image of an interesting duo of nebulae John. 👍 

PS: Your text is invisible when using SGL’s default ‘white’ theme - thought you should know. 🙂

Many thanks for letting me know. Hopefully the text is visible now.

• Light frames 350 x 120 s
• Flat frames 30
• Darks for Flats 30
• Dark frames 25

• William Optics Z193 refractor with 0.8x reducer.
• ZWO ASI194MC Pro Cooled camera.
• Sesto Senso motor focuser.
• Chroma 1.25" Luminance filter.
• SkyWatcher EQ6R-Pro mount.
• Pegasus Ultimate Power box V2.
• Pegasus 150 Flatmaster.

• N.I.N.A.
• All data was squeezed, crushed and smeared in PixInsight.

1 hour ago, Adreneline said:

Ah. I just wondered whether this bit was of relevance : "I deleted all the plugins in the NINA/Plugins folder and reinstalled."

Adrian

Yeah, tried that Adrian, no luck I’m afraid.

Thank you Adrian.

It looks from the link that the chap lost all his plugins upgrading to a newer version 3.0, which I believe is the beta version then reinstated version 2 and recovered the plugins.

Im using version 2 and finding that some plugins work and hocus focus doesn’t. 

Cheers

John

Morning all.

I am a new user of NINA and am very pleased with the software having migrated across from SGP. I am using version 2.3 HF2 (not the Beta/Nightly versions) on a Windows 10 laptop.

Recently I have been exploring the plugins for the software and have successfully downloaded the 3-Star Alignment and Orbuculum with no issues at all. Then I came across Hocus Focus and as I sometimes use a long focal length RC I decided to download this as well (version 2.0.0.13). I downloaded and installed this from within NINA, restarted the computer and received an error message to the effect that it failed to load the plugin and to download an update (no suggestions, hints or tips provided as to where such an update might be lurking). It goes on to say that it cannot find the files in the AppData\Local\Plugins\NINA\Hocus Focus directory. When I view the directory the files are there.

So, I uninstalled Hocus Focus, deleted the folder in Plugins and manually downloaded the programme from GitHub into the same directory. No joy.

It was then I came across a link suggesting a new version of Hocus Focus is available for download in GitHub. Again, I downloaded and extracted the files to the required directory and this failed to work too.

It seems odd that other plugins work fine but this one does not. I have raised this on Discord for NINA but no replies as yet. If anyone has experienced this or has any other suggestions (other than I am too stupid, which I know already!) then please let me know.

Thank you in advance.

John

I haven't been on this site or imaged anything either solar or deep sky for some time. Basically, I lost the passion for it and life was getting in the way.

With things more in balance I renewed my Astrobin subscription and started to look at some of the excellent images there and it rekindled my interest. However, I wasn't going to go back to the same old same old. For a few years I had used Sequence Generator Pro and watched and admired NINA from a distance. As my frustration with SGP increased my passion deteriorated even more so when I saw all the new changes coming into play with NINA. Unfortunately, life kicked in and everything went on the back burner until now.

Having watched video after video on NINA I finally embraced it fully and on 30th November and 5th December I captured Sh2-171. I targeted this Hii region for no other reasons other than 1) it was freezing bloody cold and 2) it was close to the Meridian so I could run all my tests, including the flip, to ensure all my settings were good.

So here is a test image of Sh2-171 using NINA and the following equipment;

• William Optics Z103
• ZWO ASI1600mm Pro Cool
• Ha and O3 3nm Chroma filters

51 x 300s Ha

35 x 300s Oiii

Flats and Dark Flats 25 per channel and 50 Dark Frames.

Processed in PixInsight;

• Stars removed from Ha and Oiii masters.
• Ha and Oiii stars stretched using GHS.
• Foraxx Palette applied to Ha and Oiii stars.
• Starless Ha and Oiii denoised and GHS applied.
• Channel Combo of Ha and Oiii starless images to produce HOO palette.
• Narrowband Normalisation process applied using Ha as lightness and Model 3
• EZ HDR applied.
• Saturation increased with Range Mask applied.
• Curve adjustments.
• Stars added back using Pixel Math.

In May 2022 I was asked by my local astronomy club, Orwell Astronomical Society (Ipswich) to provide a presentation on solar imaging. That was basically it, a headline. So I got to thinking about previous presentations I have seen online and guidance I have picked up from reading solar imaging books and decided to bring together both a data acquisition and processing presentation into a single talk.The presentation was a month in the making as I acquired new images to present in order to emphasise the points I wanted to make.

In the main I image in Ha but the acquisition methods discussed here can equally be applied to CaK and natural light. Another factor to consider was the software for processing. I am a PixInsight user and this is my go to software for both my deep sky and solar images. PixInsight, whilst a fantastic tool can be out of reach for some due to the one off cost and the steep learning curve so I wanted to produce something that used cheaper, perhaps free software, to make the processing accessible for all. In this case I chose to use Affinity Photo and ImPPG.

A link to the presentation can be found below. Note that this is not a definitive guide, if you do something that works and it is different to me then sound off below. However, as I stop solar imaging after August/September because the Sun is too low for me to observe it from my home location, this is in some respects a reminder to myself of the methods I use  so I am not fumbling around at the start of my ‘Solar Season’.

With our Sun becoming more active and new solar imagers joining the ‘light side’, I hope that this will be a helpful guide.

For what it’s worth, I have been using the 294MC in recent nights after shelving it for nearly 2 years. With a second scope now available I resurrected the camera and struggled with flats. So, what have I found and let’s put some numbers on this.
 

First, I use SGPro and use the flats wizard to obtain a suitable exposure time. I also use a flat panel.
 

I aim for an adu of 28,500. As suggested, flat exposure is best over a longer period. I select a minimum exposure time of 4 seconds. Typically, I end up with these settings generating an exposure time of c 5 seconds and an histogram either side of the 50% mark. I also take dark flats with the same exposure time as the flats to calibrate the flats.
 

So far this has given me decent flats to remove dust motes and vignetting.

Messier 32. That darling galaxy of the astrophotography world which regularly features in images this time of year. Well it does if what your imaging is its brighter ‘super model’ cousin, M31, the Andromeda Galaxy.

Last night offered some rare clear sky in North Essex. For nearly two years now I have been battling with the collimation of my RC8 and having watched countless YouTube videos on how to tame these beasts, spent more money on collimation gear than the actual scope itself and created more new swear words to describe this dual mirrored nightmare, I decided to put in a final push to get this done.

So, having used a Takahashi collimating scope, a laser collimator and an OCAL to get in the ball park I set up outside for a star test. I was shocked and stunned to see that I had to make a single tiny tweak to the primary mirror when the CCDInspector (oh I bought that too!) confirmed a collimation error of 3 arc seconds. Done. Finished. I am calling this collimated.

The night was still clear and England were heading towards a bore draw with the USA so what do? When I first purchased the RC8 I had this idea of imaging M32 but also capturing the dust lanes of the Andromeda Galaxy in the same shot. I still had the image run profile in SGP so I dusted it off and ran it. I only managed 2 hours before high clouds drifted by so I called an end (for now) and decided on a bit of EAA between the clouds. What followed was a lovely two hours taking in the likes of the Owl Cluster, a very close up of the Perseus Double Cluster and a screen filling Triangulum Galaxy. Mental note, I must do EAA more often.

So, here is the mighty galaxy M32 and its show off brethren M31, well its dusty bits anyway.

Thank you to everyones reply and apologies for the delay in responding. Having got to the point where the master dark was not being applied properly I decided to ‘park it’ and save it for a rainy day.

Many cloudy and rainy days later I have now resolved the problem. But first, here are the answers to some of the points raised so far;

• The image session was short and no meridian flip took place.
• The light frames were registered in PixInsight AFTER calibration.
• David’s response was much closer to the mark......

With PixInsight I had come to the conclusion that every solution has to be complex. I was looking for a difficult solution when a simple one was staring me in the face.

First, I recaptured my dark frames then subtracted a dark from a light frame using pixel math....the issue still remained. Then I recalled David’s comment about the location of the ‘amp glow’ being in the top right hand corner of the dark frames (as shown above). This was in fact true. Then I blinked the light frames and the amp glow was in the bottom right hand corner!?

So, having integrated the dark frames I then flipped the master dark about the vertical and then recalibrated the lights and hey presto it worked.

The next question is why did the orientation of the lights and darks not match...but that is for another day.