Let's see your 1st DSOs

[Richie092]

Apart from a DSLR shot of the Orion Nebula years ago this is my first DSO

Single Ha sub of the veil. I know it won’t excite anyone but myself but after buying a second hand set up with a few bits needed,  a Raspberry that you can’t eat with a whole host of software “bits” that need to be set up and a back garden surrounded by streetlights I was pretty thrilled to see this load at 2.00am this morning. 
 

next stage is darks, flats and a lot more integration but I have everything working nicely now so set up should be 15 mins next time 😬

stars are a bit blocky, lots of noise and I still need to nail PA but I’m really happy with this. 
 

just need a run of clear nights now!

NEQ6

Star 71

Atik 383l+ eFW2
Baader 7nm Ha 1 x 15 mins

Stellarmate

Patience of a Saint

 

 

 

 

[Blaze 1]

First attempt at anything astro   shot from my back garden 10/07/20 South Wales bortle class 5 sky 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

HQ5 pro unguided 

EOS R no filters

300mm prime lens x2 extender to equal 600mm 

60 lights at 40secs iso 1000 f5.6 

50 Darks at 40secs iso 1000 f5.6 

50 Bias   at 1/8000sec iso 100 f5.6

Processed through Starry sky stacker with 4 lights rejected stretching in PS finished in LR , started getting lots of colour noise on the stretch so didn't push it any further

 

Edited July 11, 2020 by Blaze 1

[mackiedlm]

That's a 

On 11/07/2020 at 15:51, Blaze 1 said:

First attempt at anything astro   shot from my back garden 10/07/20 South Wales bortle class 5 sky 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

HQ5 pro unguided 

EOS R no filters

300mm prime lens x2 extender to equal 600mm 

60 lights at 40secs iso 1000 f5.6 

50 Darks at 40secs iso 1000 f5.6 

50 Bias   at 1/8000sec iso 100 f5.6

Processed through Starry sky stacker with 4 lights rejected stretching in PS finished in LR , started getting lots of colour noise on the stretch so didn't push it any further

 

That's a great first image. Really nice detail in M82. Well done!

[Blaze 1]

12 hours ago, mackiedlm said:

That's a 

That's a great first image. Really nice detail in M82. Well done!

Thank you 🙂

[Eddie Jones]

Remember being very pleased with this Oct 2019 It's the trapezium (Just about) in Orion   

[matthasboldlygone]

This is a great topic, nice looking through where people started.. this was probably my second attempt that actually worked. At the time I wasn't very happy, but it's grown on me and see it's not as bad as I thought.

Bresser AR 102/600 + Bresser HD camera + HEQ5 Pro

[petevasey]

There's a lot more in there than first meets the eye.  A quick and dirty Photoshopping - I hope you don't mind.

Cheers,

Peter

[feverdreamer1]

My first ever DSO, done with a 550D and the SWSA.

I know, I know, it's nothing like the M31 images you've seen, but it's a start and I'm really proud of it

This was at a bortle 4-5 and 18 minutes of total integration before clouds rolled in and I had to go back home. Any tips are really welcomed.

Thanks! 

 

Edited August 18, 2020 by feverdreamer1

[Stub Mandrel]

23 hours ago, feverdreamer1 said:

Any tips are really welcomed.

Well done, good start! Get it up to an hour's data - and take advantage of cooler evenings!

[mackiedlm]

On 18/08/2020 at 21:03, feverdreamer1 said:

My first ever DSO, done with a 550D and the SWSA.

I know, I know, it's nothing like the M31 images you've seen, but it's a start and I'm really proud of it

This was at a bortle 4-5 and 18 minutes of total integration before clouds rolled in and I had to go back home. Any tips are really welcomed.

Thanks! 

 

As a first ever thats pretty good and you are right to be proud of it.  As already said, more time on target will move things along. What are you using for image processing?

[feverdreamer1]

1 hour ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Well done, good start! Get it up to an hour's data - and take advantage of cooler evenings!

Thanks! I definitely will try and add MUCH more data, as this is hardly anything (it's even worse with my awful processing skills hehe)

[feverdreamer1]

1 minute ago, mackiedlm said:

As a first ever thats pretty good and you are right to be proud of it.  As already said, more time on target will move things along. What are you using for image processing?

Thanks for the comments!

For stacking, I'm using dss, and then further processing is done in GIMP. Are there any other (preferably free) alternatives to any of these softwares? I've heard of siril, but many astrophotographers I've seen use dss and there are less tutorials on it. Might try it once I'm more experienced, but holding on dss.

Might try m101 from my bortle 9 terrace. Should I even bother?

Clear skies!

[feverdreamer1]

6 minutes ago, mackiedlm said:

As a first ever thats pretty good and you are right to be proud of it.  As already said, more time on target will move things along. What are you using for image processing?

Thanks for the comments!

For stacking, I'm using dss, and then further processing is done in GIMP. Are there any other (preferably free) alternatives to any of these softwares? I've heard of siril, but many astrophotographers I've seen use dss and there are less tutorials on it. Might try it once I'm more experienced, but holding on dss.

Might try m101 from my bortle 9 terrace. Should I even bother?

Clear skies!

[mackiedlm]

8 minutes ago, feverdreamer1 said:

Thanks for the comments!

For stacking, I'm using dss, and then further processing is done in GIMP. Are there any other (preferably free) alternatives to any of these softwares? I've heard of siril, but many astrophotographers I've seen use dss and there are less tutorials on it. Might try it once I'm more experienced, but holding on dss.

Might try m101 from my bortle 9 terrace. Should I even bother?

Clear skies!

Personally I think Astro pixel processor is fantastic. Its not free but its nothing like the expense of Photoshop or Pixinsight. There is a fully functioning 30 day free trial.

I find it does a better job of stacking than DSS and then it will process the image to  very nearly complete. It has great gradient removal and colour calibration and I find that it does a great job of stretching the image. 

M101 is, in my beginners opinion, a much more difficult target than you would expect and from bortle 9 would be really tough.  I'm guessing that's a 135 or maybe 200mm lens?  If so you may be better trying some wider field images in Cygnus like the North American Nebula and the pelican. They are nice and high just now which will help.

 

[feverdreamer1]

41 minutes ago, mackiedlm said:

Personally I think Astro pixel processor is fantastic. Its not free but its nothing like the expense of Photoshop or Pixinsight. There is a fully functioning 30 day free trial.

I find it does a better job of stacking than DSS and then it will process the image to  very nearly complete. It has great gradient removal and colour calibration and I find that it does a great job of stretching the image. 

M101 is, in my beginners opinion, a much more difficult target than you would expect and from bortle 9 would be really tough.  I'm guessing that's a 135 or maybe 200mm lens?  If so you may be better trying some wider field images in Cygnus like the North American Nebula and the pelican. They are nice and high just now which will help.

 

I was wondering doing NGC7000 but I have a stock dslr. Lens is the kit 55-250. Should I try to image NGC7000? Even with a stock dslr?

Thanks for you comments, you provide great information 

[mackiedlm]

34 minutes ago, feverdreamer1 said:

I was wondering doing NGC7000 but I have a stock dslr. Lens is the kit 55-250. Should I try to image NGC7000? Even with a stock dslr?

Thanks for you comments, you provide great information 

So remember I'm a beginner too so some of the more experienced folks on here may disagree but my opinion is that of course modded camera will give better nebulas but that does not mean there is no point in taking  such targets if your camera is not modded. This is a wide field I took before I had my canon modded. So you can see that it is worth giving it a try. 

Also some cameras are more sensitive than others so give it a go. I think you may get more out of NGC7000 than M101. 

Edited August 19, 2020 by mackiedlm

[feverdreamer1]

22 minutes ago, mackiedlm said:

So remember I'm a beginner too so some of the more experienced folks on here may disagree but my opinion is that of course modded camera will give better nebulas but that does not mean there is no point in taking  such targets if your camera is not modded. This is a wide field I took before I had my canon modded. So you can see that it is worth giving it a try. 

Also some cameras are more sensitive than others so give it a go. I think you may get more out of NGC7000 than M101. 

Damn, thats a cracking image... spectacular.

What was your LP like? Cause you picked up a lot of red for a stock dslr

[Crackabarrel]

13 hours ago, feverdreamer1 said:

I was wondering doing NGC7000 but I have a stock dslr. Lens is the kit 55-250. Should I try to image NGC7000? Even with a stock dslr?

Thanks for you comments, you provide great information 

I'm a complete beginner at this too, it is well worth having a go.

This is my first attempt at a DSO, was shot with a Nikon D5300 w/ Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 @ Bortle 4 site

Lights: 10 x 8sec @ ISO800

Darks: 20 x 8sec @ ISO800 (not temp matched unfortunately)

Bias: 1 x 1/4000sec @ ISO800

Stacked in DSS and processed in GIMP

 

 

 

[feverdreamer1]

24 minutes ago, Crackabarrel said:

I'm a complete beginner at this too, it is well worth having a go.

This is my first attempt at a DSO, was shot with a Nikon D5300 w/ Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 @ Bortle 4 site

Lights: 10 x 8sec @ ISO800

Darks: 20 x 8sec @ ISO800 (not temp matched unfortunately)

Bias: 1 x 1/4000sec @ ISO800

Stacked in DSS and processed in GIMP

 

 

 

Wow, thats really impressive for your first DSO.

I'm going to a bortle 4 this weekend so looking forward to getting rid of all the LP as I live in a bortle 8/9

That's an amazing image, I had to say it again.

[Crackabarrel]

17 minutes ago, feverdreamer1 said:

Wow, thats really impressive for your first DSO.

I'm going to a bortle 4 this weekend so looking forward to getting rid of all the LP as I live in a bortle 8/9

That's an amazing image, I had to say it again.

Thank you, appreciate it, Astrofarsography's GIMP tutorial went a long way to making it what it is, worth checking out.

[feverdreamer1]

41 minutes ago, Crackabarrel said:

Thank you, appreciate it, Astrofarsography's GIMP tutorial went a long way to making it what it is, worth checking out.

Yeah, I've seen that tutorial and learnt quite a lot from it. Also have seen the galaxy processing workflow of nebula photos. Do you know of any more astro processing tutorials for GIMP?

clear skies!

[Crackabarrel]

13 minutes ago, feverdreamer1 said:

Yeah, I've seen that tutorial and learnt quite a lot from it. Also have seen the galaxy processing workflow of nebula photos. Do you know of any more astro processing tutorials for GIMP?

clear skies!

Nico, who runs the Nebula Photos channel has some good video and tutorials for GIMP, as well as doing untracked photography using DSLRs.

 

Clear skies to you too.

[Stub Mandrel]

16 hours ago, feverdreamer1 said:

I was wondering doing NGC7000 but I have a stock dslr. Lens is the kit 55-250. Should I try to image NGC7000? Even with a stock dslr?

Thanks for you comments, you provide great information 

One of the best nebula targets for a DSLR and medium tele lens.

[feverdreamer1]

1 hour ago, Stub Mandrel said:

One of the best nebula targets for a DSLR and medium tele lens.

Will try for sure then tonight!

[Stub Mandrel]

14 minutes ago, feverdreamer1 said:

Will try for sure then tonight!

Get as much data as you can, you should be able to do 30-60 second exposures with a Star Adventurer.

Look at @Crackabarrel's image of Cygnus, you can see NGG7000/North America Nebula is the brightest area of nebulosity in a big relatively bright area.