Mr Thingy

Stunning image. As has been said above, the colours are really nice.

I stacked about 30 subs the other night and missed that one had a trail, which then featured in the final stack. Default settings (since I haven't yet researched what the various settings do!). I will try changing some settings next time to see what gets rid of trails. Good to know I don't need to ditch these subs, particularly when they are 5 min each.

For some reason, when I stack in DSS the trails remain, albeit fainter. I assumed it would scrub these as each particular trail is present only in 1 sub and therefore deemed as noise. Maybe I need to change settings? I've been ditching about 10% of my subs due to trails.

A little package from FLO. Expanding my narrowband capabilities from just Ha to now include OIII. Now hoping for a clear night to add OIII data to my current target of IC 410 before Auriga goes out of view.

You're making me jealous with all the clear nights you have. Another great, interesting picture.

Wow! So many galaxies. Great picture.

I didn't realise how rich Auriga was with targets and this one - IC 410 tadpole nebula - is a little gem, with the fantastic tadpole structures so vividly on display. Due to the orientation, I only managed 1.5 hours in Ha before it went behind my house. I look forward to grabbing some data in OIII and SII. SW 72ED, ZWO ASI 183GT, 5 min subs.

I suspect you are right. Maybe I just need sn emergency tarp to hand, just in case

I think I would feel most comfortable with some weather equipment. Interested to know what is available, short of installing a radar station (wife might not be impressed with a radar on the roof). I guess you can fit a rain sensor but if it triggers then it's already too late.

An interesting topic for me as I had the same question. I've only been imaging since new year and so far I only do so in waking hours, so I can attend. After 2 late nights and feeling less than alert for work, I was considering leaving overnight. My main concern is the weather. Is there equipment you can get, or maybe Apps, to alert you to impending rain?

I was just sitting here contemplating what imaging will be like once flights resume at a more normal pace. I live on an approach to Stansted and in normal times I see a plane approaching from the East around every 2 minutes 😬

Also blessed with another clear night. This time I'm pointing at IC 410 to see some little frogspawn (or was it tadpoles? 🤔). First image looks OK in preview with the little amphibians definitely visible (plus some nice amp glow). 5 mins in Ha.

Some rare clear skies here. Same forecast for tomorrow too 🥳 I took some snaps of M3 whilst taking in some sights with my binos (including looking at M3 for the first time). Look closely to see the glowing cats eyes in the image. My little "helpers" have a new trick of rubbing against the tripod which does wonders for the images 🙈

Some lovely examples of M42 shared here 😁 On my first attempt imaging M42 I stuck to 1 exposure time (45s iirc). To solve the issue with a burned out core I stitched in the core from my unstretched file (which I stretched a little to get the right luminosity). Allowed me to shoot all the data at 1 exposure time. Image below with about 45 min of data.

Really nice image. So many galaxies.

They are for my SW 72ED.

New set of RGB + L3 filters, to replace my existing ZWO set. Hoping this will tame the bloaty stars I get when shooting blue / Luminance 🤞

I'll post a comparison when I get a chance. I get a lot of reflections and halos with my Zwo filters, so I hope the Astronomik ones decrease/eliminate those as much as they claim. I didn't know enough about the subject when I bought the Zwo filters last year but now when I look back at the transmission chart, there's a very notable part absent; the X-axis starts at 400nm so you can't see at all how it performs in the critical range below that.

Finally made my mind up and ordered a set of astronomik RGB filters and an L3 to go with them. I debated throwing that money towards an APO triplet, but I guess I'd still need better filters in order to do that justice, so I'll get filters then maybe an APO somewhere in the near future. Hopefully these filters will tame the bloat 🤞

Mag. 12 according to Stellarium, so it's very faint. To put in perspective I was shooting this a few weeks ago and using exposures of 5 mins (albeit in Ha) and even then the images are still quite faint.

I tried this recently on the Rosette nebula and it did indeed wash the colour out, to turn it a pinky colour. Not sure if I'm doing something wrong but using Ha as the luminance layer just doesn't seem to lead to a pleasing finish. I also tried HaRGB on M42 to mitigate the effects of the moon, with the same effect. In the end I created a luminance layer from the RG channels, which improved the image.

I want one (but maybe not the price that inevitably comes with it)...: https://youtu.be/akFaEhcuHcQ

I think it's a very nice image. As Alacant says, there is nice detail for 1.5 hours. I wasn't aware of this nebula - and what a great name it has - so thanks for drawing my attention to it. If the clouds part then I may give this a shot. What exposure time were you using?

Fantastic cake. Happy birthday. 🥳 At least you can enjoy that scope whatever the weather

Managed to sneak in 15 mins each of RGB - enough to put some colour into it. Needs much more integration time but so far so good.