First mosaic

[mag10]

Well I finally have a picture that I'm not ashamed to show!

(It's so much easier with a mount that actually tracks!)

SW BK1025 102mm budget refractor (2 element, non-Apo);

Second-hand EQ3-2 (2-axis motorized);

Orion SSPIAG.

3 pictures (each 500-image SSPIAG captures) processed on Registax5 and stitched together on PhotoShop.

I really don't know what I like best about it:

The final result, the fact that the gear I used cost less than the price of two Ethos EPs, or the fact that I took these shots in my slippers from my living room, with no wind, no vibrations, with all my gear at hand, soft music in the background and a bottle of red wine not two feet away.

(It was a loverly evening).

Please feel free to critique any or all parts.

I'll never learn otherwise.

Thanks.

[Dai150PL]

Hi mag10, no pictures are showing.

David

I can see it now, looks good to me.

[mag10]

Yeah. I goofed when I posted.

Thanks.

[virtualpilot45]

Sounds like an awesome environment for imaging compared to a freezing field in the middle of nowhere

The image is great, although the left is a bit overexposed, it helps show up the terminator better. Also, assuming your photo was stitched manually, consider getting Microsoft ICE, although Photoshop seems to have worked very well. In short, well done on your first mosaic, and you will no doubt get sucked into the swirling vortex of astrophotography in no time!

[bigal1]

Excellent first mosaic well done

[Steve 1962]

Excellent mosaic - never mind it being your first!

I agree that the left hand side is a bit overexposed (but not by much) - it's best to scan arund the moon checking that your exposure is correct before going to the effort of taking the images.

Also - since we're the northern hemisphere it's upside down to the way we see it.

Keep up the good work

Steve

[Essex Stargazer]

I Like it as well ,

room temperature , Mmmm

The Moon photo is good as well

[mag10]

Excellent mosaic - never mind it being your first!

I agree that the left hand side is a bit overexposed (but not by much) - it's best to scan arund the moon checking that your exposure is correct before going to the effort of taking the images.

Also - since we're the northern hemisphere it's upside down to the way we see it.

Keep up the good work

Steve

Thank you very much Steve for taking the time to give your assessment. It's more than appreciated.

But I really don't know what you mean by "scanninng around the moon first, checking for exposure".

Could you please explain, or point me the way to a tutorial? It sounds really important.

(Can I actually control exposure parameters on my SSPIAG?).

I think that would be really amazing.

(Pardon my ignorance. I bought a whole bunch of stuff before knowing what I was about).

And I agree about the overexposure. The version of this image on my Mac (where I did the processing) is a few notches better. But I posted it on a PC, so I should have taken more care.

And I'm glad you brought up the orientation issue. I was going to ask about it on SGL.

Half (more?) of the astronomical pictures I see are upside down and some are also reversed. Is there any protocol on this?

Should we show the astronomical objects we see as they are, or as our equipment took them?

I apologize for all the questions.

I'm just now getting the feel for astrophotography, and I think it's the best way I know to show people what our world actually lookks like.

Thanks again.

Jerome

[Steve 1962]

Hi again Jerome

No need to apologise - questions are good.

You've got the gist of what I was getting at - check the exposure of bright and dark parts of the moon before starting, to make sure you're not over or under exposing any part of the moon.

Sorry - I don't know whether the SSPAIG exposure is controlable but the Orion US website implies that it is (Exposure range

: 0.001 seconds to 5 seconds).

There's a great tutorial about mosaics here by John (jgs001);

http://stargazerslounge.com/imaging-tips-tricks-techniques/104876-making-lunar-mosaic.html

Re: orientation - I guess it's personal choice really - my preference is to see North up and I can't see any reason why anyone wouldn't (in the Northern Hemisphere anyway). It also makes identification of features easier because most (if not all) atlases are printed north up.

Regards

Steve

[mag10]

Thanks Steve.

Silly me. I thought you meant scaning "around" the Moon, ie outside the limb, in space. I could'nt figure out what good that would do! (obviously!).

I also agree about the North being up, but I have a lot of French books (some by the great French astrophotographer Thierry Legault (whose pictures of ISS in front of the Sun made his rep), and in his great Moon Atlas, the photos are left the way they were taken.

To bigal: Cheers mate!

To Essex Stargazer: I've done the minus 20C in two feet of snow route. This thing in the living room could spoil me! Thanks!

To virtualpilot45: I will look into MS-ICE, Thank you!