M31 29 sept

[shifter]

This DSO has been a bind for me to image and this is the best effort to date....still some way to go but I'll get there....

Subs :-20x60 sec @ iso 400, 32x90 sec @ iso 400. scope :-Meade LXD55 SN10 (unguided). Camera :- Canon 350d (unmodded). Stacked in Maxim dl and fiddled with in PS CS2..... If anyone would like to have a go at processing this image let me know and I'll upload the combined fits.....

.....Brian.....

(click to enlarge)

[cygnusx1]

Nicely done!

Dust lanes coming out, core not too bright, good focus.

[barkis]

Hi. Brian, I wish I could help you with a tweak or two that would help a lot in making that a very nice image.

I am sure that's all it will take to lift it into the wow category.

You have got some very good data there, and nothing wrong with anything other than the image processing.

I think perhaps one of our wizards will come along shortly and transform it for you. I hope so, because it deserves to be helped.

Very good effort, and You will soon come to terms with the techniques required to go from good to brilliant.

Ron.

[CELESCOPE]

Brian , do your stacking again, but once stacked dont do a stretch go straight to maxim ddp, and set it FFT LOW PASS, then to Custom put a dot in there, and set the cut off to 4%, the hit the do , the image core will explode larger , but dont panick , ,then open the stretch section , drop down to manual , then wiggle the curser in the little screen box , doing this you can bring the core down very small , once you done that, save it as u normally do , if PS great , then use the lasso around the core , then go to select , then inverse , click that , now open image drop down box, to adjustments , then curves ,now pull that about slowly till the outer part of the galaxy shows good , save that , come out lasso the core again, now go to Filter ,gaussian blur, and just smooth the core , save and thats it , ok this needs a bit of practice , but thats the way to do it .

Anyway a nice image coming there , just try and frame a little better , you would have got most of that in .

Cheers

Rog

[shifter]

Here's a re-jigged version. Thanks for the advice Rog

.....Brian.....

(click to enlarge)