The "No EQ" DSO Challenge!

[JonCarleton]

Nice job!  Andromeda Galaxy is a good be this time of year (M31).  There are also a lot of other targets around M42, but they are a bit dim and harder to find.  

Right now the moon is near full, so that makes things tedious.  in a couple of weeks it gets easier once again.

[JonCarleton]

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em...  The moon is so bright I can read a book in my front yard at midnight!  So, I took its picture.  I can't get it all in the 250P, so I used the guide scope.  This is 1 shot at .001 seconds using a Svbony SV305 camera and a Svbony SV106 60mm guide scope and some light touch-up (mostly cropping) with GIMP. 

[happy-kat]

Hi

Great start for a first image that's a good capture.

I would add more data to that as I think in theory you could do longer than 4 second exposures, though Orion is heading South now which does not help.

[sthow]

Thanks happy-kat , yes I wasn't sure how long I could go without getting star trails. I have tried a few at 20 seconds  since but struggling to get anything good

[Bobby1970]

47 minutes ago, sthow said:

This is my first attempt at Astrophotography,  using a Star Travel 102, AZ Gti Mount and a unmodified Canon 1100d.

350 - 4sec (1600 iso) light frames, 30 dark and 30 flats.

Struggling to photograph anything else though, anyone suggest another one to attempt?

M45 should be worth a pop. 

 

[sthow]

I attempted Pleiades cluster last night, I did 200 light frames at iso 800 and 20 seconds, 35 darks and 40 flats but I ended up having to stop as it got too close to a nearby streetlight. I managed to get the stars but didn't get any nebulosity at all, any ideas why?

 

 

[Heskyyyyy]

I decided to re-process my shot of Messier 10, this time using Siril and GIMP. Siril has made processing a lot easier, and I've been able to pull out more detail than I'd expected for a 10 second exposure.

If you look closely, you can even see a few blue stragglers hanging around the core of the cluster.

 

I also recently acquired Celestron's f6.3 focal reducer, so when I'm able to, I'll be able to continue wrestling with this hobby, with slightly less headaches.

 

To those who HAVE the 6.3 reducer, has it made a noticeable difference with exposure time/light gathering ?

[Heskyyyyy]

Here's a better version with enhanced colours and a bit of a cleaner background.

[SpaceDave]

19 hours ago, Heskyyyyy said:

To those who HAVE the 6.3 reducer, has it made a noticeable difference with exposure time/light gathering ?

 

I have the focal reducer and it has helped with exposure times. I've found I don't have to throw away anywhere near as many subs due to trailing, its more forgiving.

[SpaceDave]

NGC891 - Galaxy

 Not particularly happy with this image, but I've tried and tried to get more data, but the weather (and full moon) over the last month has be terrible. Clearly very noisy. Still, I love the object.

270 x 20s subs = 1hr30mins - also used darks, flats and biases. ISO 1600.

Celestron 6SE, Canon 600D, Optolong L-Pro LP filter, 0.63 focal reducer.

[grjsk]

My very first attempt other than iPhone pictures. Only 12 minutes, not quite in focus I think, and some not-so-round stars, but I am pleased anyway.

Taken with a 600D, attached to a TS-Optics 72/432 doublet on a AZ-GTI. 24x 30s lights, and 11 dark and 11 bias frames. ISO 800.

[Heskyyyyy]

I'm curious to know just how much you can do without an eq mount.

Has anyone captured any extremely faint objects like Hoag's object?

And has anyone ever attempted exoplanet transit?

 

I'm dubious, but I'd love to know if anyone's tried any of these

[RobST]

I to have just started with Astrophotography and i have only ever taken images of 2 different objects 😁

Setup is Canon 6d non modified, samyang 135mm f2 lens and a static tripod. 

2 second subs

All put together with Pixinsight 

[sthow]

Ok go easy, 2nd ever photo ... I have had loads of trouble getting anything and tonight I finally managed to image Bode's galaxy.   200 x 10sec (iso 3200) 30 Darks and 30 flats.

[Bonamy]

Just starting out with the photography equipment I have already. I think I may have found myself a new hobby.

This was taken a few nights ago.

Camera Canon 5d mk IV, Sigma 70-200mm f2,8. 1,384 subs at 1s, 50 flats, 30 darks.  Used Deep Sky Stacker and photoshop. Just enjoyed the process from start to finish.

I have a Celestron Nexstar 127 slt, so planning to try mounting the DSLR and taking some short subs to see what I can tease out of that. I may even try to design a mount to convert to an EQ mount.

Just waiting for the skies to clear

[JonCarleton]

I had such good luck with my guide camera, that I thought I'd bring it to bear on the problem of some other things "too large for my main scope."  This is the Leo Triplet.  65 Lights @ 30 seconds, stacked with Siril and muddled with in GIMP.   SVBony SV106 60mm guide scope with a SVBONY SV305 (not pro) camera,.

Edited March 5, 2021 by JonCarleton

[scross86]

A first attempt at the Owl Nebula.

Taken with my Celestron 5SE with 6.3 focal reducer and Canon SL3 camera. Had a time with the gear but the main objective for the night was only getting more familiar with the Alt-Az Goto mount and sorting out a smooth setup process. I was aiming for 80 30sec subs, since I forgot to take away the 10 second countdown timer on the camera they were only 20 seconds each. Further shortened by Deep Sky Stacker having some trouble with the number of stars in the frame, I only ended up getting 23 subs to stack. ISO for the shots was 1600 and no calibration frames were used. So short integration time it just made the final photo worse. Lastly I used a 3 times drizzle to really emphasize the noise... I mean nebula.

 

Given the short integration time of only 7 min 40 seconds, I am pleased. A good point to work up from if there ever was one.

[The Admiral]

1 hour ago, scross86 said:

A first attempt at the Owl Nebula.

Taken with my Celestron 5SE with 6.3 focal reducer and Canon SL3 camera. Had a time with the gear but the main objective for the night was only getting more familiar with the Alt-Az Goto mount and sorting out a smooth setup process. I was aiming for 80 30sec subs, since I forgot to take away the 10 second countdown timer on the camera they were only 20 seconds each. Further shortened by Deep Sky Stacker having some trouble with the number of stars in the frame, I only ended up getting 23 subs to stack. ISO for the shots was 1600 and no calibration frames were used. So short integration time it just made the final photo worse. Lastly I used a 3 times drizzle to really emphasize the noise... I mean nebula.

 

Given the short integration time of only 7 min 40 seconds, I am pleased. A good point to work up from if there ever was one.

 

That's a good start on this small target. With a lot more subs it should be much better. Give it an hour or two exposure time if you can. Mind you, it will take a long time to stack .

Ian

[Heskyyyyy]

On 06/03/2021 at 22:56, scross86 said:

A first attempt at the Owl Nebula.

Taken with my Celestron 5SE with 6.3 focal reducer and Canon SL3 camera. Had a time with the gear but the main objective for the night was only getting more familiar with the Alt-Az Goto mount and sorting out a smooth setup process. I was aiming for 80 30sec subs, since I forgot to take away the 10 second countdown timer on the camera they were only 20 seconds each. Further shortened by Deep Sky Stacker having some trouble with the number of stars in the frame, I only ended up getting 23 subs to stack. ISO for the shots was 1600 and no calibration frames were used. So short integration time it just made the final photo worse. Lastly I used a 3 times drizzle to really emphasize the noise... I mean nebula.

 

Given the short integration time of only 7 min 40 seconds, I am pleased. A good point to work up from if there ever was one.

 

That's quite an amazing shot, considering that you only had 7 minutes of data. I think this is a great starting point, and if you pile on hundreds of more, it could bring out a LOT more detail with a lot less noise.

Good shot mate.

[scross86]

Thanks guys. I am quite taken with it for the same reason. 7 mins is a joke and there is some detail there already. I look forward to getting over an hour on the target at a higher ISO so DSS doesn't have such an issue. Confident it'll look worlds better too.

[Heskyyyyy]

Welp, I'm on spring break now, so hopefully the weather clears up so I can put my new focal reducer into use.

I'm quite excited to see the advantages that this will have. I hope that this enables me to image a wider range of objects.

 

I guess the new equipment cloud curse is true...

[JGM1971]

Hi to all you Non-EQ imagers!

I like to pop back from time to time, to check on this runaway train of a forum I started all those years ago.

Although I'm still taking a break from imaging these days, except with my phone and fixed tripod (family and work still don't give me enough free time to play properly) I'm still aiming to get back into it one day soon.
It's amazing to see the work that you have all proved time and again, that can be achieved even with limited gear.

Keep it going!

John.

[The Admiral]

20 hours ago, JGM1971 said:

Hi to all you Non-EQ imagers!

I like to pop back from time to time, to check on this runaway train of a forum I started all those years ago.

Although I'm still taking a break from imaging these days, except with my phone and fixed tripod (family and work still don't give me enough free time to play properly) I'm still aiming to get back into it one day soon.
It's amazing to see the work that you have all proved time and again, that can be achieved even with limited gear.

Keep it going!

John.

And it's all your fault John .

I must say that I found the thread reassuring and it was helpful to have the support of others whilst I honed my skills.

Ian

[Heskyyyyy]

***Nova Cassiopeiae 2021***

 

 

Finally had a chance to get outside with the reducer and new software. I've found CPWI and NINA EXTREMELY helpful in alignment and goto's

 

 

64 x 25 seconds

Canon T3i (600D)

Celestron nexstar 6se (w/ focal reducer)

 

 

Edited March 24, 2021 by Heskyyyyy

[Heskyyyyy]

M46 open cluster

190 x 10s exposures, ISO 1600

Stacked in Siril

Processed in Siril and GIMP

Canon t3i

I get star trailing after 10 seconds, and this is why I LOVE the focal reducer. Being able to gather MUCH more light in that short period of time.

So I think a good method to get semi-consistent stars is to shoot hundreds 10 second exposures.