Mars in colour.... finally

[ArmyAirForce]

I merge the RGB in GIMP, then add either IR or a red copy as Lum in another layer, with the layer property set to 'Overlay'. This allows the RGB layer to show through, and the transparency of the lum layer can be adjusted to vary the level of detail enhancement. I'll dig out some pics of the separate channels, merged and IR/lum etc.

[ardbeg74]

Thanks Stephen, really appreciate it! 

[ArmyAirForce]

Here we go, hope this makes sense. This is what works for me, but there are probably better/different ways depending on what software you use.

Videos are stacked in Autostakkert!2, using a percentage of images based on the quality graph it gives me. Here's the stacked channels and again after wavelets applied in Registax v5.1. ( v6 frequently crashes on my Win 7 laptop ).

When using GIMP to layer up RGB images, the false colour is applied using the 'Colorify' option. This gives four images like this ( IR is left unchanged ).

From there, I copy the green layer, paste it over the red, and set the layer properties to 'Screen'. Green over the red gives yellow.

Blue is copied and pasted, and once again, its layer properties to 'Screen'. This gives an RGB image. I usually drop the blue channel layer 'Opacity' to 80, and green channel layer 'Opacity' to 85. This gives a better colour balance for the data I capture mith my camera/filter set/scope/barlows etc.

Next the three layers are merged into one RGB layer, and depending on the quality of the image/sky conditions, the colour saturation may need boosting a little. I don't do that however until after the IR Lum layer has been added.

So the IR layer is copied and pasted next, with the layer properties to 'Overlay'. Now I play around with the saturation on the merged RGB layer, and the Opacity of the IR layer until happy. The whole lot is then merged, rotated to the correct orientation and any enlargements made before final presentation cropping, borders, text etc.

[ardbeg74]

This is great Stephen. Thanks for taking the time to put this together. I'll give it a try with the data i captured at the weekend and see how it goes. Thats the cool thing about AP, having data to play with when its cloudy outside

I have as!2 so will try this too. Im using registax v6 mostly, it does seem to crash or get stuck at 41% while aligning if i throw too many frames at it So its either going to be 5 or AS!2 for aligning / stacking if im going to be taking 2min channels

Once again, thanks for your help mate.

All the best

Mark

[SnakeyJ]

Here we go, hope this makes sense. This is what works for me, but there are probably better/different ways depending on what software you use.

Great guide Stephen - excellent post!

[badhex]

Amazing image! I got some captures last night that I'm yet to process - doubt mine will be this good though!

With regards to the revelation 2.5x I have one and can say it's a joy to use, I managed to push my little Skymax 102 up to 325x (1300/10*2.5) and still got a really clear image still with (what seemed like) less boiling than when I used the webcam! 

Feels really well built also - recommended especially for the price.