Aramcheck

Sadly it looks like Brighton & Hove council have decided "not to call these polluting light rigs in for planning permission". So the Put That Light Out campaign is now seeking to get a judicial review funded.

Updated info: https://www.change.org/p/brighton-and-hove-albion-fc-put-that-light-out/u/27185921

(Mod's - hope this is okay to post)

Cheers
Ivor

I haven't tried this properly yet, but there's a free script for Pixinsight called GAME which is very good for creating masks. You can use it to mask star halos by creating a Gradient mask and a Brightness mask; and then subtracting the Brightness Mask from the Gradient mask to create the Star Halo mask.

Here's a very rough example, which should have had intermediate steps added to exclude the dimmer stars & probably should have been done whilst the image was still linear.

Cheers
Ivor

I use Pixinsight. Couldn't get to grips with Star Tools or APT. I've also tried GIMP and a very old copy of Photoshop (running on a virtual XP box using VMWare).

 I especially like that Pixinsight is a processing rather than re-touching tool. It's even possible to create your own GUI elements & processing scripts with javascript, though TBH I'm still learning the ropes with the main bit of the software & it's most common workflow processes. Love the SubFrameSelector, PixelMath & Statistics features...

I've also used PIPP & Registax for moon pics.

Cheers
Ivor

8 minutes ago, JohnSadlerAstro said:

I'm amazed by how many small galaxies are lurking in the background, there's a huge cluster underneath the bright star at the lower left.

Nice pic!

Try having a go with the ImageSolver (Script->ImageAnalysis) + CopyCoordinates (Script->Utilities) + AnnotateImage (Script->Render)... Enable the PGC catalog -  you'll be amazed at how many faint fuzzies show up.

(If you want you can also then go to Simbad: http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-fid enter the PGC ref & often you'll find the radial velocity listed. Divide that by the Hubble Constant (68 - 70) to give the approx distance in MPc. Multiply the result by 3.26x10^6 to get the distance in light years)

Cheers
Ivor

There's a good review of the mount on youtube: https://youtu.be/tmNPajsd9H4  but that says that the payload is 20lb (9kg). For imaging you normally halve that, so worth checking how much your scope & camera weigh.

Resale value for Astro gear is generally about 60%, provided condition is excellent.

Cheers
Ivor

@rockinrome Thanks Matthew.
I'm using an iPolar for alignment. PHD2 log gave the PA error as 7.9' - I saw something online that recommended checking the PA again once the scope has slewed to target, so I might try that.

I'm using ASCOM Pulse guiding rather than the ST4. I probably should have let the guiding settle for longer rather than starting the image run right away, as the guiding did settle down after ten  or so minutes. Then again, as I'm using Pixinisght's SubFrameSelector to discard the worst subs, there's nothing lost in starting earlier.

Cheers
Ivor

+ 1 on the laptop & APT suggestion by @Messy Hair 101.

I've also found a bahtinov mask useful for focusing & depending on your Bortle sky rating, a light pollution filter is something to consider too.

Cheers
Ivor

Thanks folks - much appreciated... I tried applying Pixinsight's HDRMT (High Dynamic Range Compression Tool) & LocalHistogramEqualisation to the core & then recombined using PixelMath to try to bring out a bit more detail... here's the result.
I probably should go through these iterations before initially posting, but it's such a buzz being able to finally 'see' this stuff given the light pollution, so it's difficult not to post the 1st (& 2nd) results...
Cheers
Ivor

I'd pick one that works with Astro PhotographyTool:- https://www.astrophotography.app/

Astromodified if possible & another thumbs up for a 2nd hand DLSR from CheapAstrophotography.

Cheers
Ivor

I bought a Baader Hyperion Zoom (mk IV) so that we didn't have to keep swapping eyepieces/filter. Works fine, but being very short-sighted I can't see the full field of view with my specs on. Not a major issue, as it's easy enough to remove my specs & refocus - a small tweak in focus is needed anyway when going from 24x to 8x.

Just a thought...

Cheers
Ivor

If your mount is something like an EQ2-M then you can only get a rough polar alignment (as the mount doesn't have a polar scope) & there will still be some drift with the RA motor engaged, but much less than if it was disengaged.

Worth also checking that the gear has engaged properly. When we had an EQ2-M the spring-loaded clutch didn't always work as expected.

Cheers
Ivor

For guiding software, I'd give PHD2 a go. Dylan O'Donnell's video on "Push Here Dummy" is pretty much all I needed to follow: https://youtu.be/Mt0luBLaHDw

I've been using a ZWO ASI120mm with a SW 9x50 finderscope, which was my cheapest option to get started. Can't comment on the "S" variant....

Cheers
Ivor

Hi @alpacajack & welcome to the SGL!

I use a SW AZ-EQ6 GT Pro with a 200dps, DLSR & similar laptop/APT/ASCOM set up, with an iPolar for alignment. Unguided, I could get 60 sec subs without trailing, provided that it isn't windy, though I've sometimes had problems with cables catching on the mount & causing trailing.

Recently I've started using a guidescope with PHD2, which has improved tracking & allows me to take (at least) 3 min subs without any problem. PHD2 also has a good logging facility, where you can export the file & diagnose the mount movement/correction/polar alignment with PHD2 Log viewer.

Cheers
Ivor

Re-processed the data a bit more carefully this morning...

3 hours ago, Starwiz said:

If you could change one thing to remove some of the frustrations of deep sky imaging, what would it be and why would you choose to improve USB connections reliability?

If I could change one thing, it would be my location. I've not had any issues (yet) with USB reliability, but neighbours lights and general light pollution / sky brightness is something I'd love to be able to sort out.
Cheers
Ivor

24 x 3min subs from quarter past midnight 'till 2am this morning. Skywatcher 200dps+EQ6, Canon 600d (astromodified) with IDAS D2 light pollution filter & Baader MKIII coma corrector. Bortle 6 sky.

Had problems with guiding. I got the usual warning error during calibration (*), but then some of the dithering moves inbetween subs timed out. At the moment I'm using a modified SW finderscope & ZWO ASI 120MM.

Any guidance (sic) on how to improve matters would be much appreciated!

Cheers
Ivor
(*) "Calibration alert: Advisory: Calibration successful but little south movement was measured, so guiding may be impaired.  This is usually caused by very large Dec backlash or other problems with the mount mechanics. Read the online help for how to deal with this type of problem (Declination backlash)."

PHD2_GuideLog_2020-06-25_000858.txt

59 minutes ago, Kenboy said:

What are the big impact changes I can make without spending more currently?

Take many more light frames... pick targets that are high in the sky... Shield the road side lamp if you can. Brighter objects will be easier to catch...

If you can increase the exposure time without any trailing then that will help too.

You may also want to stop-down the camera. I only use my DLSR with a scope, but I've heard other folk say that the star shape can be improved by doing this.

Cheers
Ivor

PS: Have a look at http://dslr-astrophotography.com/iso-values-canon-cameras/

I had a go at (rough) processing the image in Pixinsight, using DBE to remove some of the light gradient. To me it looks like you had a light from a window or something in the frame?

As @Starwiz says an unmodified camera is not going to bring out much of the faint 'red' nebula objects, but one of our local soc members did have some success recently with a unmodified DLSR on a tracking mount. It was however necessary to take multiple exposures & to stack the results. (A lot of folk use Deep Sky Stacker (DSS) which is free).

GIMP is a good free program for image processing & Affinity Photo (which has just finished it's 50% off deal) is said to be good also.

What was your total exposure time & ISO used for the image?

Cheers
Ivor

I have a Canon 600D & the CR2 files from that work fine with my copy of DSS (4.1.1.). I just open them from the "Open picture files" hyperlink in DSS.

Cheers
Ivor

PS BTW - I thought the T7i was the same as the EOS 800D, which is on the libraw list.

I used a TS Optics bag from Amazon for our original scope (a 130 EQM) & after we sold the scope I've continued to use it with a 130pds with lots of bubble wrap to pad out the extra space.

For our SW200dps I got a Geoptik bag from Rother Valley Optics. Initially I though this was better, but recently I've noticed that it sheds fibres:- https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/search/for/geoptik+padded+case/

Cheers
Ivor

On 03/06/2020 at 14:14, DeathWarpedUp said:

Is there are apps/websites that will give a daily list of things worth looking for each night. Stellarium ect are fantastic, but more helpful when you actually know the skies and are  hunting down specific things, or perhaps I havent found what im looking for on stellarium? .  Thank you

On the PC version of Stellarium the "Astronomical calculations" window shows what objects are visible & double clicking on any will bring them into view.

Cheers
Ivor

13 hours ago, daemon said:

Better than my recent efforts on the Sunflower, but then I've only got the 150PDS 😉

I wouldn't knock your image Steve - you've brought out more detail in the galaxy spiral & your star shapes are better I think. (I must look at my collimation)

BTW I've found Warren Keller's 'Inside Pixinsight' book to be very useful. Also on this image I tried out Herbert Walter's GAME script for elliptical masks. That proved a lot easier than my efforts extracting luminance + RangeSelection process.

Cheers
Ivor

I bought the Philip's 2020 Stargazing one when it was on offer (£3), but haven't used it much as the info is pretty much what you get in the monthly magazines.

The Amazon site does have a preview of the book of the Kindle edition though, so you can see the kind of info it contains for last January.

Cheers
Ivor

From late 30th May into the early hours of the 31st... 42 x 3min subs with SW200dps+EQ6+Canon 600D (astromodified)+IDAS D2 light pollution filter... Bortle 6 sky here in Leeds.
Processed in Pixinsight & then run through Topaz DeNoise.

I've started running finished images through PI's ImageSolver + CopyCoordinates + AnnotateImage scripts & then using the SIMBAD Astronomical database to look up the radial velocity from the PGC (Principal Galaxy Catalogue) redshifts. Dividing the redshift in km/s by Hubbles Constant (68) gives the approx distance in MPC... multiply that by 3.26x10^6 and you get the distance in light years. A couple of the faint fuzzies, that I would otherwise dismissed as noise or faint stars in this image turn out to be galaxies approx 2.5 billion light years away.

Cheers
Ivor

M63_v2_objects.pdf

Have a look at this talk by Robin Glover from Sharpcap:- https://youtu.be/3RH93UvP358?t=81

Also:- http://dslr-astrophotography.com/iso-dslr-astrophotography/

Cheers
Ivor