Another first DSO image

[biondi]

Recently I've felt like I was trying to run before I could walk. So, I took off the guidescope, forgot about PHD and just went back to basics. Just guiding via the HEQ5 Pro managed about 25 60s exposures of Orion, ISO800. I took the same amount of darks. Although I thought my focus was ok (initial FWHM of <5) it looks a bit out, a little bit of star trailing and also the highlights seem quite blown. It was nice to get a result though and see a bit of colour. They were stacked in DSS and a small amount of processing (I don't know what I'm doing...) in PS. Any thoughts/tips (like how to make the stars look a little less blurry or anything else) please let me know!

Thanks,

Matt

[PhotoGav]

Well you are definitely walking now!!! That's a great M42, you must be delighted with the result. My only thoughts are that it has a slight blue tinge to it, something to balance in Photoshop. Yes, processing is as much work, if not more, than capturing! The stars look pretty good - maybe try a Bahtinov mask as an alternative approach to focus? As for highlights being a bit blown, Olly Penrice (one of the AP gurus on here, who's work you have probably already been blown away by!) has an article about layers and masks in this months Astronomy Now, well worth a look.

Good work though. Clear skies to you to speed your AP journey!

[biondi]

Cheers for the comments Gav - yeah I actually have a Bahtinov mask but I found it quite difficult to use at this focal length. It was fine when I had my C8 but not so easy now. I used BackyardEOS for focus but that's something I need to spend a bit more time on. I'm going to play with the levels again now

Oh yes, I'm familiar with Olly's work!

cheers,

Matt

[PhotoGav]

I use the mask through the same scope on a 60D. Live view on the back of the camera zoomed in to max works best for me. Then back to backyard eos for capture.

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