AstroGS

1 hour ago, ollypenrice said:

The Squid is outstanding, bold and smooth.

In your shoes I would go for more broadband rather than more OIII. Paul Kummer and I recently did an image of this region in one shot colour with a very fast system. The result is almost the opposite of yours: we have deep dust and reflection nebulosity but no Squid whatever!  We should collaborate! 

Olly 

I would be more than happy to collaborate to make the most out of the data! Thank you for your kind words 🙂

1 hour ago, david_taurus83 said:

Very nice! I like the opaque look of the Squid, it's how it should look imo. I bet there's more to be revealed in this as your background looks a bit clipped.

You are right - I had to push the background to get rid the blue channel as it was super dominant and it was almost impossible with my PI knowledge to correct it, without impacting the Squid nebula. Here is probably where Photoshop can really help with it but, I do not know how to use it. 

2 hours ago, simmo39 said:

V nice ! Tried this target last year and although I could see the squid it was faint, brilliant for putting 25hrs in on it. I managed about 12 before I moved on.

It is indeed a very demanding target on OIII and when I tried with the 2600MC and dual band filters, it did not work for me. I consider this a good start and I will get more OIII (and Ha) data over the next months. My target here is to get a very a clear/detailed and sharp image of the Squid nebula indeed. Probably another 15-20 hours on OIII and 3-4 hours on Ha, will get a better result.

I had the chance during the summer to spend a couple of weeks in North Greece (Chalkidiki) and under bortle 2/3 skies. The experience was amazing and the views of the Milky Way mesmerising!

The Squid has always been high in my list but, never tried it from Northampton as it does require lots of hours (especially on the OIII) and the weather..... well you know.

I used the new RedCat61 on the AM5, with an ASI2600MM + the new Antlia 2.8nm SHO/LRGB filters.

OII: approx 22 hrs (132 x 600sec)

Ha: 15 x 600sec

RGB: 10 x 120sec each for the stars

The processing has been a huge challenge so far of this target and I will continue working on it as, I believe I can get a better result with my data. happy to get your input/ advice.

Took with me a full setup to Greece and finally shooting under a bortle 2 night sky. 
 

Here is a Redcat61 on a AM5, with full LRGBSHO Antlia filter set on an ASI2600mm. 
 

My main target and goal is the SH2-129 + Squid that, is almost impossible to shoot from Northampton where is seems that is permanently cloudy. 

@Starflyer how are you getting along with the CQ350? I am still in the market of an mid level observatory class mount, that can manage a 20kgr payload with ease.

@Elp you should be very proud of yourself. This is a brilliant image and amongst the best for the SGL Galaxy challenge for this year, in my opinion.

Well done buddy.

Thanks @Elp - probably I should have said that I already have a Stellamira 90ED Triplet, which I will replace with an Esprit 120ED and I do have a SW 190MN as well (which I have not used yet).

What I want to achieve is to get a better to the Redcat51 wide field (between 250mm - 350mm), that offers better image circle, with better stars edge-to-edge. At the same time the f3.9 seems appealing too.

I currently use a Redcat51 V2 OTA for any wide field project and it is doing a great job indeed. But, since i am using APS-C (2600MC & 2600MM) the stars at the edges/ especially corners are less round and sharp.

For that reason, i started looking for a new wide field scope - if money allowed i would definitely go for a Takahashi FSQ-85 + reducer but, new gets close to £4K and it is a definite no for me.

I have excluded also the RASA 8 as, i want the scope to be mobile and i can take it with me when i travel but, fast optics is a significant plus.

For that reason, i was looking into the below options - which from your experience could cover the whole APS-C and provide the sharpest image.

Borg 72FL F3.6 - £2.6K

RedCat61 F4.9 - £1.6K

Starfield Gear80 F4.8 (with reducer) - £1.4K

SharpStar 61EDPH III F4.5 (with reducer) - £810

Askar 65 PHQ F4.8 (with reducer) -  £1.3K

Askar FRA400 F3.9 - £1.5K

This arrived today from FLO and I am super happy that I finally have the MM version along with MC. 
 

ZWO ASI2600MM + ZWO EFW 36mm

37 minutes ago, The Admiral said:

Thanks for that. I've not got BlurX but as a matter of interest (sorry to go off-topic), what values were you getting?

Ian

If you refer to the median FWHM, usually it is between 1.8 and 2.2. For this particular image, it was 1.91.

1 hour ago, The Admiral said:

Very nice, detailed rendering in the cropped view. Your ED90 is performing well for you.

May I ask, did you use BlurXterminator on this, and if so, how much difference did it make?

Ian

Yes indeed - I did use BlurX and the difference was significant. Especially at the galaxy's structure.

I measure the Median FWMH from the luminance image and use that metric in BlurX - this is working very well for me, right now.

Managed to have some clear skies last night that allowed me to get the Stellamira ED90 Triplet out and go for the M101 and the supernova. I knew that I wouldn't have too long as it was supposed to get clouds around 1am so no more than 3 hours in total and probably about an hour of astronomical night.

32 x 300 sec subs + 50 flats, darks and bias

SM ED90 + Reducer/ Flattener x0.80 + ASI2600MC + L-Pro on a ZWO AM5. Integrated and processed with PI.

Managed to have some clear skies last night that allowed me to get the Stellamira ED90 Triplet out and go for the M101 and the supernova. I knew that I wouldn't have too long as it was supposed to get clouds around 1am so no more than 3 hours in total and probably about an hour of astronomical night.

32 x 300 sec subs + 50 flats, darks and bias

SM ED90 + Reducer/ Flattener x0.80 + ASI2600MC + L-Pro on a ZWO AM5. Integrated and processed with PI.

Another great session last night with the Redcat51, fully loaded on the AM5 - actually it might have been the best so far on guiding, with permanently guiding between 0.3” and 0.4”. The mount is definitely performing better now but, I’m not sure if something changed during latest updates (mount/Asiair) or it just needed some time to settle down.

Sharing with you some screenshots of the settings for the evening, in case it helps.

Really nice picture - well done!

M106 captured from our backyard in Northampton, using:

• Stellamira ED90 Triplet + 0.8 Reducer/Flattener
• ASI2600MC + 2" L-Pro filter
• ZWO AM5
• 91 x 300 sec subs (over 2 nights) + 50x Darks, Bias and FlatsIntegrated and processed with PI

Finally! 2 days of proper night skies!

Gathered data from M106 and the surrounding structures, for over 7 hours using the Stellamira 90ED Triplet + x0.8 reducer/ flattener + 2" L-Pro filter. Managed to get 300 sec subs + calibration frames. Guiding was good but, I have started seeing elongated stars at the top corners (managed to reduce it a bit with BlurX) and I will need to find out where does that come from. I am not sure if it is back-focus or some tilt with either the filter drawer or the the OAG or both.

I am happy though with the result and even more happy with the fact that I have managed to capture an object (albeit very faint) that is approx. 3.8 billion light years away: PGC2299122 (just at the right of NGC4248).

Finally got a clear night last evening and went for the M106 that was pretty much at the zenith during the whole session. 
 

300 sec subs, seeing was good but, there was some wind that had some effect on the guiding and I had to increase Dec/RA aggression. 
 

Overall guiding was around 0.5” - 0.6”, which I consider very good. Overall rig weight around 7kg. 

This is definitely a target that should be done with a mono camera and the Antlia 3nm SHO filters. 

17 minutes ago, simmo39 said:

I always seem to get the best image out of the first rendition, any more tinkering I just seen to make it worse.

You have point though. It feels the same with some of the images when I am overthinking it. Out of curiosity, which one do you like most?

1 hour ago, simmo39 said:

This one looks a little warmer than the others, a fine image!

I would agree as well. This time I spent almost half a day on it while on the original one, I did it in a rush 😀

I never planned to take this image but, i am really happy with the wide field framing that includes also the Owl Nebula and its simplicity.

Used the Stellamira 90ED Triplet, with the ASI2600MC and the 2" L-Pro, on a ZWO AM5.

63 x 300 sec + 50 x Flats, Bias and Darks.

I tried to keep exposures at 300 secs (rather than the 600 secs that I usually use), to ensure that the owl nebula will not be over-exposed.

5 weeks of really bad weather and I felt the need to mess around with stuff. I swapped guidescopes, guide cameras, did some cable management, tightened the bolts and screws of things, cleaned the optics and etc. Got bored and started working on old data.

I worked again on the spaghetti nebula... open to any feedback. compared to the original.

37 minutes ago, ollypenrice said:

Guiding errors will be consistent across the entire frame. If you have issues only in the corners or other particular parts of the frame, the problem isn't guiding. It might be coma, chip distance, polar alignment, chip tilt...

It's a nice clean image but I'd watch the bright end which is slightly saturated with this stretch. If it isn't saturated at the linear stage it doesn't need to be saturated in the stretch.

Olly

Thanks for the feedback…. Currently I’m playing around with the Generalised Hyperbolic Stretch and the results are more like a hit & miss case. I will try to go back and play with it again when I get some time.

Re the elongated stars you are probably right as, it was the first time that I used ZWO’s OAG + ZWO filter drawer and there might have been some tilt or even backspacing issue. I will keep an eye on this.