carastro

If you think this thread is splitting opinions, you should see some of the arguments on other forums on how ethical it is to present images where all you did was buy the downloaded data from a hosted site in the dessert somewhere and all you did was process it. Say no more.

If Atik are puzzled, no wonder we are too!!! Carole

They are both good but my preference is the 2nd one.

Excellent detail. Carole

Welcome Mirrorgirl. Think l know you from The Skysearchers Forum. Carole

Yes l would definitely change the dessicant. I have a dehumidifier in the obsy and put the camera near that when l had to change it but l must say my artefacts looked a little different to yours when l had to change mine. i think l put the dessicant in a bag hanging on the radiator for a few days to dry it out. Hope it works. Carole

Sounds like getting advice from Atik would be a good idea. I know they don't make this camera any more, but they might still do servicing/repairs. I have found them good in the past. Carole

I always GOTO, except when I am on holiday and have to take a small portable mount with me. I do know my way around the sky as regards major stars though, but maybe not by star hopping. But finding those dim Deep sky objects for imaging I could not do it without a GOTO. Many imagers use Platesolving which analyses the stars and if you're not in the right place it will send you there, but I never got that to work. Probably antiquated computer and my lack of IT knowledge. I find if I align on a nearby bright star and put in the co-ordinates (or catalogue number) it will find it quite easily. Carole

I have asked a couple of knowledgeable people on my Whatsapp group and got the following replies: 1. Looks like a dewy sensor 2. Looks like classic flexure plus out of focus plus cloud or dew as ****** says HTH Carole

I have 3 Atik460EXs and never seen this. Only time I have seen holes in the stars (but not these weird blackish rings) was when I was out of focus. I am no technical Buff, but what scope are you using? Maybe that might help some-one else to answer your question. One other thought, are these Single exposures or stacked subs. I found DSS introduced weird stacking artifacts if I had the cosmetic tab ticked. Carole

Oh wow, not seen that one before and your decription is very apt. Carole

Won;t those sticking out roof spports be a bit dangerous for people walking into them? Carole

I love this. Some exquisite fine detail has been brought out. Really well done. Carole

Absolutely stunning.

Great result Olly. Nice detail in the bright areas. Carole

Super, well worth the processing pain. Carole

I just did this in narrowband. Nice to see it in broadband. Carole

Not done any imaging for a while (except the comet last week), basically because I have virtually run out of targets I can do from home (Bortle 8 ) this means I am down to the lesser done targets which are often quite faint, as is this one. I spent two nights on it (the second using my dual rig) a total of 12 1/2 hours and it could still do with more data, but this is what I have so far. Not sure I want to spend any more time on it. Atik460EX & ED80 + Atik460EX and ED72 (dual rig) Ha 51 x 600 (8 1.2 hours) Oiii 24 x 300 binned (2 hours) Sii 24 x 300 binned (2 hours) Total imaging time 12 1/2 hours

Great result, I ditto all the comments above. Carole

I use an Ioptron Skytracker, this came out before the Star Adventurer which looks a bit complicated to me in comparison. But again you have to find targets manually. It is fine for milky way, and a target that has a decent star pattern to find your target. I took it to Spain and easily fit in my hand luggage and the Tripod fit in my suitcase. It tracks in RA and has a polarscope.

I got the same with DSS and when I had the comet only image I had to (as said above) draw a line around the comet and do some noise reduction to the area around it. I then combined it with the 2nd result of just stars (the next step in the comet stacking procedure. Carole

Welcome to SGL. Carole

Good luck with all this. Building your own PC. Wow. But why did you not take flats? You go to a lot of trouble to capture the comet, do all the stacking using unfamiliar software and then struggle to process because there are no flats. If you have to stop imaging and pack away - leave your camera and scope still attached so you can take the flats afterwards. I had to do this once when l almost forgot and it worked ok. In the absence of flats l can only suggest something like gradient exterminator, a photoshop plugin well worth having.

You can only do that so often before it affects your health. Carole

Had a bit of a break from imaging since early November, mainly because I have run out of targets I can do in narrowband from my home location. I don;t want to keep repeating stuff I have done before unless I thinkl I can do them better or can present them in a different way. Added that that haven't felt like braving the cold weather unless there was something I was desperate to do - which there wasn't. All the targets I am desperate to do need dark skies, and being at a campsite at the right time of year. Anyway the comet got me out of my doldrums and I got out a few days ago to image it. Not brilliant, and expecting a more defined tail I guess was expecting a bit much from the London Suburbs, PLUS I FINALLY FOUND A DECENT TUTORIAL ON HOW TO TO COMET STACKING IN DSS - yay. I had heard it was moving fast, so decided on a dual rig with DSLR for colour and Lum with a mono camera. 100 x 30secs DSLR Canon 1100D 24 x 2 mins Lum with Atik460EX on ED72. Total imaging time around 1 1/2 hours