M44 with Mars

[Stephen Aish]

Not the best image - only a single exposure of 5 seconds as i was just showing some people the scope- goto wasnt on and i cant get DSS to work properly with all that light, dark, flat and what have you.

(click to enlarge)

realised that it never really gets dark in my garden

[rawhead]

That's a nice sharp image.

A bit of work in photoshop and that LP will vanish. With any luck an expert from the forum will give it a rework

[robindurant]

Hope you don't mind.

(click to enlarge)

[rawhead]

Very nice Robin

[Stephen Aish]

thanks Guys!

whats the LP trick Robin - curves or levels?

Steve

[LostNSpace]

Not a bad image that one Steve.......

Answering the LP issue, using levels will get rid of the LP, click on the black dropper and then click on and area of sky without stars, this will darken the background (but it will sometimes be too dark and unnatural looking).

Mark

[Stephen Aish]

thanks Mark!

[dogfish]

Nice one Stephen (and Robin).

You don't hang around, do you. I look forward to your 13 pane, hi-res, M31

Cheers, Martin

[robindurant]

Mark is correct. When you open the left hand dropper you will see a little circle in one corner, the nearer to the corner the darker the drop will be. It is best to move the circle to a lighter (more towards the centre) say 1/4" and try it first. If too dark, reset and try a bit more to the centre. If its not dark enough, reset and move nearer to the corner. Remember darkening the sky darkens the object as well so it pays to be a little lighter than darker. Also with stars I usually use mid blue colour for dropping, this gives a nice dark, blue sky which I like with stars.

Have another go and post it for me to look at. I rushed yours with a single dark drop, with patience you should be able to do better.

Robin

[robindurant]

Found a few more stars

(click to enlarge)

[LostNSpace]

Stephen, Processing the data that you have taken has to be one of the hardest things to get your head around at 1st. There is a lot of trial and error involved to get the result your looking for.

When it comes to taking Darks,flats,etc...... take at least 3 darks to add to your stack, it is recommended that you take more, one after each light image although not entirely neccesary, make sure when taking dark frames that your ISO, exposure time and temp are the same. Dark frames are used to remove the dark signal from your light frames.

Flat frames - Make sure your camera is still attached to your scope when taking these, place a white sheet, Ttowel or Tshirt in front of the telescope and point it at a source of light, also flats can be taken at dawn.....Flats should be taken with the same ISO speed of the lights although exp time and temp do not matter. taking flat frames helps correct the vignetting you get in an image.

I cannot comment about using dark flats, or bias/offset frames as i havent got that far yet

LP TIP

If where you live is quite heavily light polluted area, a good item to use to help cut out some LP is a camping mat, cheap but effective. Just placing it on the end of your scope will help cut out some stray light from streetlamps and houses.

Anyways, look forward to seeing more images from you in the future.

Have fun

Mark

[Stephen Aish]

thanks again guys!

regarding the camping mat Mark - i do have a dew shield, is this the same idea? i also have the CLS filter but cant yet get it on the T adapter for the 40d so may need a new adapter on that front, although a Watec may be creeping along shortly - then i have to bolt the door in case the EQ6 and 80m APO refrector follow!

for me, the editing is the least of my worries right now. finding more than 4 things to image is the first objective

currently under the thickest blanket of clouds you could imagine in Oxford - then double it

Steve

[Tim]

Heya.

I too struggled with DSS for weeks. Finally decided to read a tutorial. Only now do I know what I was missing.

Stick at it, it is well worth it.

TJ

[Stephen Aish]

thanks TJ,

any links to that tutorial? sounds like just what i need

Steve

[LostNSpace]

Hi Stephen

I would think the dew shield would do a similar job as a camping mat in helping cut out a little LP, but dont quote me on that

The help section in DSS should give you enough info on how to use DSS and what each setting does to put you on the right track when it comes to processing........

I think most of us are in the same boat when it comes to the weather, its great that we can always rely on the great british weather ....Hopefully it will buck up soon......

Good luck in finding a few more objects to image

Mark

[Stephen Aish]

thanks Mark,

just need a clear sky now!

Steve