M42 & The Flame Nebula (With A Faint Horsey) 5/12/2012

[tich]

Just thought I'd post a couple of pictures I did last night. Still unguided at the minute but I have now got the guidecam working so hopefully soon I should be having a go at some guided imaging. They aren't the best & some of the stars are oddly shaped might be due to it being unguided more than likely it's coma.

Here's M42; 21 lights 11 darks at ISO1600 & 1 minute subs stacked with DSS & slightly tweaked in photoshop (Because I haven't got a clue!!)

Now the Flame & a faint horsehead, dew & frost was forming & I don't own any dewbands although I'm in the middle of building a dew controller so hopefully I'll be getting something sorted for the future.

Taken at ISO 1600 150 second subs, 44 lights & 20 darks stacked in DSS & lightly tweaked & cropped in photoshop.<-----Because I still don't have a clue!!

Any comments or help would be appreciated as my photoshop skills are somewhat limited & I've watched videos online & I still can't get my head round it. I think I must have a teflon brain!!!!

[msh1]

hi nice pics i would have taken some flats to get rid of the vignette

[tich]

Thanks for your comment, I must look into an easy way of taking flats as I'm still bit of a novice to all of this I've still got the data so I can redo it again.

[msh1]

to be honest easiest way for me was to use an a4 el panel sandwiched between two pieces of polystyrene with a hole cut out of one that slips over scope its a bit heath robinson but works i take flats at end of session takes me 2 min to do 40-50 flats at .350m sec i am using ccd cost me roughly £65 for el panel its a good investment

mark

[R Fisher]

Acheived good tracking without a guider!

I find dew bands are essential most evenings, can be very frustrating without.

Suggest some tweaks with 'levels' initially, use the low and mid points

[sologuitarist61]

Great images

[tich]

Processing isn't my strong point as I just can't get my head round it lol but I might run off some flats later & have another go just to see what they come out like.

[tich]

hi nice pics i would have taken some flats to get rid of the vignette

I've took your advice & restacked the images with some flats. I just took some by putting the camera in front of the laptop with notepad open so it was a blank white screen. It seems to have worked as it does look a bit better although the flame & horse head nebula never got out anymore detail out of it but I know this is a hard target & my DSLR is standard & not modded. Maybe with more data I can get more out of it.

M42 I managed to get a bit more with flats added & the vignette has definitely improved;

Flame & a very faint horsehead;

Thanks for the tip although more hints & tips would be welcome.

[msh1]

the flats are not quite right if you stretch the horse pic you can still see it but it does look better. In ps5 go to image adjustments equalize gives you a better idea

[tich]

the flats are not quite right if you stretch the horse pic you can still see it but it does look better. In ps5 go to image adjustments equalize gives you a better idea

Thanks for the tip & I see what you mean. I will run off some more flats & try again but it did show up the horsehead in detail more just looked naff.

[msh1]

had a bit of a play in ps for you hope you dont mind ive clipped the black a bit though its difficult with a jpeg im still a novice at this myself

[tich]

I'd post the original tif file but at 56MB it's erm rather large. I have had more of a mess around but if I darken it I loose the detail & can't seem to get it back. I'll have a look at some more tutorials online & see if I can find an idiots guide. I did try some more flats but it didn't seem to make much difference there's so much to learn.

[andyboy1970]

Nice images Tich.

I had a play with Gimp2 but it wasn't pretty.

[Tim]

Great start, these images remind me very much of the ones I first took, only yours are better

Keep practicing with Photoshop, its the only way. But dont just do random things, you need to get a workflow together and follow it time after time.

The Horsehead is a pretty faint target, and that star Alnitak is incredibly bright. You should be pleased with this result.

Cheers

Tim

[tich]

The problem I'm having with photoshop is creating the layers so I can merge them together, I click on the layers tab & I can't click on anything, I bet I'm missing something daft.

I've watched video's online but I'm finding it a real struggle.

[Tim]

With your image open, click on "duplicate layer" in the top bar, and so on.

I usually have an unaltered layer as the bottom and apply all changes to separate layers, testing each process before applying it for real.

[tich]

I've tried Tim but all the options in the layer part are greyed out & I can't click on anything

[msh1]

check the colour mode goto image/ mode /click rgb

[tich]

RGB is already ticked, I have looked in the mode settings & when I put it to 8 bit a few of the layer options can be used but not in 16 bit, anyone know why this is?

[msh1]

can you duplicate the layer

[msh1]

if you can in layers panel click the eye to off in the background highlight background copy goto mode click rgb 16 bit should work

[tich]

In 8 bit I have 4 options & I can duplicate a layer but in 16 bit all the options are faded out,

[msh1]

where the layers panel is on the right hand side at the bottom of your pic where it says layers channels paths and the layers is highlighted in blue click and drag it to the square with the little square inside beside the black and white circle a grab hand should appear just let go it should duplicate from there hope this makes sense

[tich]

I'm managing to save layers in 8 bit mode & able to adjust etc so it's a start. I'll have another mess around with it again & see what I can come up with & watch some online tutorials yet again now I can make some adjustments. I'm not sure what I'll come up with but who knows. Thanks for your help..

[fredster]

Very nice photos, come out very well. Not over processed at all.