If at first you don't succeed.... M36

[MattJenko]

Here is a then and now image. The open cluster M36. First image is one of my first attempts with my Atik 414ex back in March, and the second is last night, when there was a Christmas miracle of a clear sky with no howling gale. Practice does indeed seem to pay off.

[xtreemchaos]

great shots Matt, well done for a nice improvement, it was a nice treat to see some clear sky yesterday.thanks for sharing  charl.

[laudropb]

Very nice images, particularly the second which has some nice star colours.

[Vox45]

Wow, what a difference ! The second one is a lovely image

So what was changed between these 2 shots ? More light frame and stacking ? better PA or guiding ? Processing ?

[MattJenko]

So what was changed between these 2 shots ? More light frame and stacking ? better PA or guiding ? Processing ?

Thanks all.

The main difference is much better concentration on focus with the addition of motorfocuser since the first one was taken. I also dropped the exposure time from 3 mins in the first one to 2 mins for the second image which gives me more distinctive star colour with my setup than any longer exposures. I also gathered 12 subs per colour channel as opposed to 6-8 for the first one, so better signal to noise to begin with. My processing has come on leaps and bounds since as well.

[Vox45]

Thanks for sharing !

[Thalestris24]

Hi Matt

Both of your versions are much better than my efforts! (http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/258550-ts-apo-first-light/page-2#entry2829165)

Louise

[ollypenrice]

Minority opinion, perhaps, but there are things I prefer in the first one. The background sky is flatter in colour terms. I see a gradient top left to bottom right (magenta to green) in the second one along with a magenta bias in the blue stars. But the star colour is better in general, for sure. With a bit more work on background neutralization and colour balance the second one would clearly win.

Olly

[MattJenko]

Excellent, thanks for constructive criticism Olly, always much appreciated. I'll have another go bearing those points in mind. I wonder how much missed potential there would be in amateur images without the assistance provided by yourself and others on this forum. An awful lot by my reckoning.

Louise - you do yourself a disservice!

Matt