Kon

I debayer in PIPP, RGGB (it is the same one i have been using in my Saturn and Jupiter images). The purple could be due to combination of shooting through the cloud and the sun rising as well so my white balance is affected by these parameters, I think.

My comment was probably misleading about the UV/IR cut filter (I only need it for capturing in proper colour). I agree that the visible light will give better signal to noise due to the higher energy which is significantly reduced in the IR imaging. The fact these images already look better through the clouds is making me very excited.

It has been over a month since I managed to do any nebula observing. I was up until late trying to image ISS at 3am, and while I was waiting I noticed that the Milky way was showing brightly so I had a go look the Cygnus area. I used my ES24mm with the OIII filter. I started with the North American Nebula. It really stood out from the dark background; the Gulf of Mexico was also nicely visible. I then moved to Veil. It really does not getting boring how many times I observed it last year. Both the East and West were showing the delicate filamental appearance, all with direct vision . I could easily follow the whole area with the Dob panning around. Still breathtaking as the first time I saw it. I was hoping to do more observing but thin clouds came and visibility dropped a lot including the Milky Way disappearing. I am so glad I got some of my favourite nebulas in the 30min clear window. The best part was observing with a t-shirt compared to the winter months. Astro darkness welcome back!

I am burning the candle both sides these days with the early wake ups; I may have to wait for the late evening passes next week. I was very kin to try ISS with the UV/IR cut filter as suggested by @neil phillips. It made a huge difference and ISS is looking a lot sharper despite shooting through thin clouds compared to the IR pass I used yesterday. I am very excited to do it on a clear night. 8" Dob, manual tracking with RACI, 2x barlow, asi462mc (gain 290, exposure 0.55ms, ROI 640x480), PIPP, Autostakert and Astrosurface.

Great capture despite the conditions. I was out earlier at night observing the Cygnus nebulas and the skies were crystal clear but deteriorated pretty fast from 2am.

Looks great. I really like all the little cratelets that you have pulled. Fingers crossed you will get some Jupiter and Saturn this morning.

Thanks Pete. I think tiredness is catching up with all these early mornings 🥹

Thanks. I enjoy the challenge of capturing it.

That looks fantastic with nice details; hard to believe it is during day light!

I was shooting at 640x480, it can get smaller , 320x240, 🤣 but there is no way I can frame ISS in that tight window. Aligning and tracking with the RACI is not too bad after a few practices; the lower elevations are easier, whereas at 80 and over I have to do the awkward flip of the dob while tracking (most of the time, i momentarily lose my target at zenith).

Thanks Martyn. I think there is a lot of room for improvement, Neil's comments above are spot on, with the help of better processing.

Thanks for the comments and as you know I am always open to suggestions and constructive feedback. This was part of experimentation, but unfortunately with this target it is once at a time 😆. I had seen some really nice results with IR pass online and I though why not try it (seeing was good this morning and like you said I could have skipped it). The images were quite noisy/grainy even after stacking and I think the weaker IR signal was the issue with that. If I manage to wake up at 2am tonight, I want to shoot with the UV/IR cut (but more decent passes in the next 1-2 weeks). I was at gain 290, exposure 0.5 ms and 300fps so I think I am at the upper limit of capture but if the noise can be suppressed that will give me nicer details.

Thanks Martyn. Lets hope you guys can get some clear skies this week. Yes I am loving this camera and it has already paid back dividends 😆. I am still learning my way around it.

Thanks Craig. According to NASA website, Crew-4 Dragon, Soyuz MS-21, Progress 80 and 81 are docked. In the current orientation, only Progress 81 is visible at the top of the last image. I d not like passes greater than 80 degrees as you do not get much of the side features. I hope I can get some more images this week at different elevations.

Thanks Neil. I though we were all heading for this mini heatwave and that seeing would have been good throughout UK. I hope you get some of the better skies soon. I am very pleased with Saturn; I probably got that nice little window of seeing compared to Jupiter. The 4am Jupiter capture was a bit better but I was too tired to retry Saturn.

This is my first ISS with my new camera, asi462mc. Seeing was good. I tried using an IR pass filter to see if it makes a difference compared to my previous attempts with the asi120mc-s camera. The weather is supposed to be really good all week so it will give me time to optimise the capture with the new camera and try different filters. I particularly like the last image since you can see the separate panels including their tilt. I think the new camera has a great potential for high resolution ISS captures. 8" Dob, manual tracking through RACI, asi462mc, IR pass. PIPP (ISS mode), Autostakkert and Astrosurface.

It seems that the weather is changing and my captures were a lot nicer today. Saturn in IR and IRrgb, Jupiter with GRS at 3am and also transition with Europa at 415am (while I was waiting for ISS; to be posted later). 8" Dob, manual tracking, asi462mc with IR/UV cut or IR pass filters. PIPP, Autostakkert and Astrosurface.

Very nice captures and processing . Both are showing great details.

That's awesome. It brings it to life. By the way, what time gap do you leave between captures?

Some nice details there.

Thanks Martyn. This ISS capture is a testimony of how bad seeing is at that low elevation. I hope for a good capture tomorrow morning at 67 degrees.

We seem to be getting these very brief moments as if there is a gap in the Jetstream. I could see the milky Way this morning, so transparency was not bad. I noticed that when my seeing is bad both Jupiter and Saturn have a deep yellow hue when looked without any aid, maybe a sign of bad seeing.

Yes testing on not so great conditions is the way to go so not to miss a good seeing. My Jupiter had no details whatsoever visually.

Thanks Peter. Jetstream prediction was 'red hot' over my area this morning. It was more the case of getting my settings right for ISS. We are supposed to have some nice fly overs the next few weeks so better waste time on the bad seeing. Visually I could hardly make any bands on Jupiter. Saturn looked ok and just a hint of cassini division.

Very nice composition with the moon's