The "No EQ" DSO Challenge!

[lnlarxg]

Another clear night on Friday (although round about 2am it got really really cold) and thought i’d Snap the Dumbbell Nebula with my 300p dob with goto. Details stretched with Lightroom mobile (btw if you don’t have it Lightroom, get it!!!)

 

[smisy]

17 hours ago, susan-parker said:

From the 15th May (at 21:55 GMT), stars below Libra.
Spica middle top, y-Hydra middle bottom, and Kraz (from Corvus) bottom left.
Stack of 9 shots... hand held.
Colours are "interesting" from the Bayer interpolation and levels boosting.
Two images: full frame scaled to 1800 pix wide, and a 1to1 pixel crop from the centre of the original frame (63 Virgo, 61 Virgo, and HIP 65183 making a triangle in the center); plus full frame 16bpc TIFF file.
Processed in Photoshop.
Each pixel is c. 12 arc-seconds. Stars visable down to magnitude 10.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 85mm f/2.0 at f/2.8, 9 x 2.5 seconds, ISO 800. IDAS D1.

180515-stack9frames-Spica+y-Hydra+Kraz-stars-1c.tif

Maybe because of my poor english I don't understand that. So, you take 2,5 second expositions only with hand, without stativ about the stars and they does not move? 

[smisy]

18 hours ago, lnlarxg said:

Another clear night on Friday (although round about 2am it got really really cold) and thought i’d Snap the Dumbbell Nebula with my 300p dob with goto. Details stretched with Lightroom mobile (btw if you don’t have it Lightroom, get it!!!)

 

 

Very nice picture! I try also tonight the M27, I just pray for clear sky. I had an effort with my 8" SCT at last sunday, with my Huawei P10 monochrome, but I want to see the colors of this object now.

[susan-parker]

6 hours ago, smisy said:

Maybe because of my poor english I don't understand that. So, you take 2,5 second expositions only with hand, without stativ about the stars and they does not move? 

I hand held the camera above my head, placed against a window frame. Then take multiple shots on tip-toes trying not to breath too much.

It mostly works (but not always), either because my hands slip or shake a bit, or a train is going passed.

A tripod would be better, but the opening in the window is high up and not very large, and my current tripod can't be placed to be used as the angle of the legs won't work.

I can remove a number of boxes from the window ledge, and setup something with a tracking mount; but that is for a proper session which takes time to set up, conduct, and clear away.

However these images are moments of oppertunity as in I look out of the window later on at night and if I see a chance of an image I take as many pictures as possible whilst my partner is brushing their teath!

[Manners2020]

Hello smicey.  How do you manage to get such good alignment with your phone and scope? I've tried 3 different brackets and wasted a lot of time which  could have been spent viewing before I bought a dslr.  The one out of the three I had most success  with  was still far from good. 

[smisy]

At last night I tried to get some color. But my color camera is not so sensitive, like my monochrome. Anyway here are the pictures. I used a Baader moon and skyglow filter, because of the light pollution. The two birds are Swan and Eagle, on last picture is Lagoon. 

[smisy]

18 hours ago, Manners2020 said:

Hello smicey.  How do you manage to get such good alignment with your phone and scope? I've tried 3 different brackets and wasted a lot of time which  could have been spent viewing before I bought a dslr.  The one out of the three I had most success  with  was still far from good. 

Hello! I think, it strongly depend on your phones possibility, what you can do with the telescope. I have good manual options on my Huawei P10. Must to know, its working good only with my 25mm eyepiece, because of the angle of the light, what comes out from the eyepiece. Try with more eyepiece or with barlow/focal reducer, maybe it helps. 

[Manners2020]

Thanks.

[Goldigger]

Sorry if it's been covered in the 124 pages already. 

Any recommendations on a new DSLR please?

[Nigel G]

On 29/05/2018 at 09:38, Goldigger said:

Sorry if it's been covered in the 124 pages already. 

Any recommendations on a new DSLR please?

Of the people I know and images they have produced, I'd say Nikon D5100 is a great choice, very low noise and quite sensitive to red light, compared to my Canons.

Nige.

[Sunnieboy]

On 29/05/2018 at 09:38, Goldigger said:

Sorry if it's been covered in the 124 pages already. 

Any recommendations on a new DSLR please?

I bought a second hand Nikon D5500 (unmodded), excellent and flexible intro to imaging using SW 200 Newt,  HEQ5 Pro, remote control via APT. Not yet decided on best software for processing.  Usually plenty for sale via fleabay etc.

 

Regards

Sunnie

[Goldigger]

That's two votes for Nikon.?

We have a Celestron NexStar Evolution 6, what's the best way to mount a DSLR?

Normal approach with a T adaptor?

Edited May 30, 2018 by Goldigger

[happy-kat]

My preference by far is Canon. I can control it using any of my android tablets makes focusing much easier as I do not have a laptop and there is far more Canon support I feel out there still.

With your nexstar if wanting to get into general DSO imaging then take the telescope off the long focal length adds much more challenges and instead use a DSLR and camera lens, start with wide field even the kit lens to get going with.

I personally prefer to use a T ring with T mount.

Edited May 30, 2018 by happy-kat

[susan-parker]

On 29/05/2018 at 09:38, Goldigger said:

Sorry if it's been covered in the 124 pages already. 

Any recommendations on a new DSLR please?

Or if you want to be a bit diferent... maybe a Pentax K3 Mk II (not the original version) or the Pentax K-1 (Mk II has better ISO), both with the built in Astrotracer mode which gives (if I have read the info correctly) up to five minutes of tracking (depending on lens focal length).

Not sure how accurate this might be with longer telephoto lens or telescopes, but if wide-field astro is your thing could be worth a look.

From the Pentax blurb:

ASTROTRACER

Easy Astronomical tracking for capturing vivid stars

Coupled with in-body SR (Shake Reduction) mechanism, this function easily tracks and photographs astronomical body such as stars. The latitude obtained by the GPS function, and camera position (horizontal/vertical tilt and facing direction) detected by the magnetic and acceleration sensors are used to calculate the movement of astronomical body. The CMOS sensor is synchronized with the movement of astronomical body, making it possible to capture stars as points of light not as trails of light even during long exposures.

https://www.ricoh-imaging.co.uk/en/digital-slr/group/6/body/overview/PENTAX-K-1-mark-II.html

Review here, about the features and limitations of the Astrotracer mode:

http://gippslandimages.com.au/pentax-k1-astrotracer-review/

Edited May 30, 2018 by susan-parker
Added link to Astrotracer review

[Goldigger]

Is there certain features that I should he lookong for in a DSLR, pixels, CMOS type/size, extended ISO, F stop?

Have noticed that the canons can be controlled from an Android device. Which will make taking hundred of snaps easier without bumping the scope.

Canon EOS 1300D?

Edited May 31, 2018 by Goldigger

[happy-kat]

An articulated screen is a nice to have feature, though I don't have this on our 1100d. If you are looking at this from a serious angle then perhaps research more. Or simply look at images taken and see what people used. You can search the gallery for example on 1300d.

[SteveNickolls]

16 hours ago, Goldigger said:

Is there certain features that I should he lookong for in a DSLR, pixels, CMOS type/size, extended ISO, F stop?

Have noticed that the canons can be controlled from an Android device. Which will make taking hundred of snaps easier without bumping the scope.

Canon EOS 1300D?

Hi, and thanks for posting.

An articulated 'Live View' screen does come in handy for when your imaging equipment ends up at odd angles. focusing using Live view on a bright star is a good way to focus manually provided you take your time. Do you need a new camera? I have a Canon 600D and modded 700D so both 'old' against today's fresh offerings so a used slightly older camera will save you some money. I haven't felt the need to utilise the wi-fi capability of the more modern iterations of cameras but you may. I have used an OTG cable with my (again old) hudl to control the cameras but prefer using BYEOS on my laptop when taking images but that is not a camera model specific thing. I would stay away from the mirror less cameras for astro-photography. I would not worry whether a camera is capable of utilising very high ISO values as 200-1600 are fine. A simple, cheap intervalometer will allow you to automate imaging sequences. 

You might want to consider if you want to get a modded camera but that is again not a model specific point.

Completely off subject but I would advise buying a copy of, 'Astro-photography on the Go Using Short Exposures with Light Mounts' by Joseph Ashley, avaliable from our sponsors-https://www.firstlightoptics.com/books/astrophotography-on-the-go-book.html This book is an excellent read and will help with concepts such a field rotation and how long one may image an object depending on its Alt and Az. 

Cheers,
Steve

 

[happy-kat]

As Steve brought up modified camera then I would say pick canon as much easier to either do or have payed to do if it is a canon.

[Stub Mandrel]

But avoid the 750D...

[Nigel G]

On 01/06/2018 at 00:02, Goldigger said:

Is there certain features that I should he lookong for in a DSLR, pixels, CMOS type/size, extended ISO, F stop?

Have noticed that the canons can be controlled from an Android device. Which will make taking hundred of snaps easier without bumping the scope.

Canon EOS 1300D?

I have a standard Canon EOS 1300D, not a bad camera, not great when it comes to long exposures over 5 minutes  quite noisy but that can be dealt with during stacking and processing. Can be fully controlled by tablet, phone or PC by usb or wifi.

Find and disable long exposure noise reduction on Canon cameras if you get one  

Nige.

[susan-parker]

Taken on the night of  the 30th May, Jupiter (big blob in upper centre) which is sitting on the right hand edge of the constellation Libra.

In this image Jupiter and the two moons Io,and Europa are just a blob, but Ganymede is out far enough to be seperate.

The bright pair of stars below and to the right are Zubenelgenubi I and Zubenelgenubi II.

Image is a stack of 10 exposures of 2.0 seconds each. Note that this is still only nautical twilight, we don't actually get any more propper astronomical dark untill after the summer.

Nikon D800 with Nikkor 105mm f/2.5 at f/2.5, ISO 800. IDAS D1 filter.

The Puzzle however is that in the full frame image the stars are down into the magnitude 10 range. However in a slightly further processed 1 to 1 pixel crop it would appear to have stars down to the magnitude 15/16 range.

It could of course just be artifacts of stacking and sensor noise, however the distribution does look "star like" to my admitidly novice eye.

[susan-parker]

Taken Saturday night, top half of the constellation Libra.

Stars are down to magnitude 12.0 (I found at least one).

Image is a stack of 11 exposures of 2.0 seconds each. Hand held (really must sort out a proper mount).

Nikon D800 with Nikkor 105mm f/2.5 at f/2.5, ISO 800. IDAS D1 filter.

In the process of prodding around with Stellarium to check on magnitudes, &c. I found out that I had by happenchance caught the oldest known star with a determined (for variations thereof) age of circa 14.5 billion years in this image!!!

A scaled image of the full FX frame, plus the DSS stacked starting point. A Unimap ID, and a couple of 1to1 pixel crops, one with the "Methuselah star" (otherwise known as HD140283 or SAO159456) in the centre of the image.

More info here, with a bit more explanation as to why it has an apparent age greater than that of the Universe itself: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_p…/hubble/science/hd140283.html

[happy-kat]

You have been busy and an interesting link.

[Manners2020]

Hello all. Anyone any experience  of gimp? I used the month trial of pixinsight which I liked but I can not justify  buying as I virtually  have no time to get out there. Or previous little. I've read it works it's just not very intuitive.  I can live it being finicky  as long as it works. My pc  does not like startools  or I would be using that.. thanks.

[calli]

2 minutes ago, Manners2020 said:

Hello all. Anyone any experience  of gimp? I used the month trial of pixinsight which I liked but I can not justify  buying as I virtually  have no time to get out there. Or previous little. I've read it works it's just not very intuitive.  I can live it being finicky  as long as it works. My pc  does not like startools  or I would be using that.. thanks.

You must differenciate between stacking and finishing the image. I use DeepSkyStacker (DSS) or Autostackert! and then use GIMP to do the final work on the image (like stretching, cropping etc.)

There are some Scripts to stack/align in Gimp but I never used them: https://plus.google.com/communities/102384992102949166364

Here is a video what (very short and no narration) you normally do with GIMP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTR-kuIrGd0

BTW: All my images are postprocessed in GIMP (Version 2.9.x or now 2.10) which has 32bit color depth. And for the topic here done with a Alt/Az mount :) https://goo.gl/photos/fN794VnbNKKwXzdv7

Cheers!

Carsten