A couple of Star71 WIPs (M45, M31)

[Uranium235]

Ive had a couple of clear nights this week, unfortunately during bonfire week (as its no longer just a couple of nights thesedays!), so plenty of flashes and smoky skies to contend with.

M31 was the warmup target while waiting for M45 to rise out of the murk so I got a couple of hours on it before moving on to the main event. I did collect three hours on M45 but had to toss a few of the subs becuase of the dodgy sky (otherwise they would have just contributed to noise and gradients). Another two or three hours should get it to where I need it to be (showing more outlying dust without the noise), same goes for M31 as well, which I tried a little experiment on when eliminating the gradient - which sometimes leads to a slighly brightened corner. Basically, I use a slightly less stretched version and "sprayed" in the darker background using a layer mask (then blurred the mask).... seems to have had the desired effect

M45: 16x600 (L)

M31: 11x600 (L)

Star71, NEQ6, Atik 383L+

More data to follow when conditions allow

Thanks for looking!

[Knighty2112]

Very nice. Well done. Thanks for posting them up.

[nucdoc]

Very nice indeed !

[laudropb]

The Star 71 certainly seems capable of producing some nice images.

[PhotoGav]

Looking good Rob, particularly M45 - always a crowd pleaser! Glad to see that the replacement scope is working nicely for you. We just need some good clear nights now.... I'm aching to get on with my Star71, but struggling with these really poor conditions.

[ollypenrice]

Very good indeed. What more could you ask for at this price (or even a rather higher one?) Good processing, too. Both galaxy and stellar cores are done superbly.

Olly

[Sleepy Kiki]

Lovely images Rob, nice and cleanly processed. Looking forward to seeing them finished.

[Uranium235]

Thanks guys, the finished articles may be a while coming. The weather is looking awful for the next couple of weeks.... wind, rain, clouds... but no sign of this "freezing Winter" we're supposed to be having.... oddly warm for a November.

[Robp]

Very nice images, especially liking that M45!

Think its about time you started an 'imaging with the WO star 71' thread

[StevenWhatley]

love mono images !! look ace love contrast !!

[steppenwolf]

These are great, Rob the 'scope appears to be working well and your processing (as usual) is more than up to scratch!!

[Uranium235]

Very nice images, especially liking that M45!

Think its about time you started an 'imaging with the WO star 71' thread

Might be a good idea!

I'll wait til Ive got a fair crop of images to choose from, then kick one off