Images Last Night - Not Sure If I Can Get Anymore Out Of Them

[Langy]

Well the skies were reasonable last night, just how it has turned out later tonight, but too late to get all the kit out again.

While I was out last night I did my usual of the piggy back of my 300D on the scope. Got polar aligned as best I could even though it was slightly out, got the MD running at a close speed as best I could manage and decided I would try for much longer exposures than I have ever done, still very small by what most people do.

So with the 300mm lens I set the exposures to 20 seconds and was still expecting some trailing, quite surprising there is a little but acceptable for myself.

The first part of the sky I concentrated on was Andromeda. Found quite easily and managed to get around 30 shots plus the usual darks and used my previous bias frames.

This is the original stacked in DSS.

Playing around in PS this is the best I can get. Struggling to get anymore from it.

Next I went round to the Orion Nebula, same exposure times but I only managed to get 10 shots in before the cloud started causing issues.

Original after DSS here.

First play in PS

Went back to the original and tried again. Not sure if its lack of frames, or possibly with it getting lower in the sky and picking up LP.

Lastly I turned to the Beehive cluster. Only managed 10 shots again.

Original here.

Now the original was pretty good and not too much change in PS created this.

[todd8137]

They look ok for the time light pol seems to,have washed them out a little they not bad

Pat

[Astrosurf]

Not bad for 20 secs, but you're not going to get much in the way of M31's arms at that short exposure. Same with the fainter nebulosity in the Orion Neb.

Keep trying!

Alexxx

[Russe]

Well done! Keep trying. Upload an uncompressed stacked image somewhere for is to have a little play!!