First galaxy with new scope

[scotttumsh]

Hi this is my first ever go at M31. my first night with my new 130pds and canon 450d. it is only 8 light subs and 2 darks at 30 second each as it was nearly a full moon and starting to get very windy, its a start and im really happy with it.

[wimvb]

No picture, or is it just me?

Anyway, welcome to the dark side (and money pit)

 

Wim

[PeterCPC]

Nope, no picture for me  either.

 

Peter

[ollypenrice]

Pic must have gone down the same hole as the money!

Olly

 

[scotttumsh]

ah i sent this in just as the site was upgrading.anyway here it is now.

[wimvb]

Nice pic.

It seems that the update process was not quite completed, and pictures were not attached yet. Now they show OK

You have a very nice image, with dust lanes showing. This will probably be an object you will return to again and again. More subs and longer total time on target will improve the final result.

Thanks for sharing.

[cjdawson]

That's a great first effort.  Now, I'm going to challange you.

Next time you are out, repeat that picutre, same settings and everything.  But, do it 20 times.  Then put the lens cap on and take another 20.  Now, put your camera to the shorted exposure time that you can take - normally 4000'th of a second or 8000th of a second and take 20 more pictures.

When you go inside, take all those pictures and run them through Deep Sky stacker.  The first 20 are your lights.  The next 20 are your darks, and the next 20 are your dark bias frames (commonly known simply as bias frames)  don't worry about flats or flat bias, you need a little more kit to take those (a t-shirt, or EL Panel) and they're more complex to explain.  It'll be another step in the future.

For now. take the Lights, Darks and flats and stack them in DSS.  Take the output from that, and put it into photoshop or gimp, then use the levels and curves features to bring out the detail.   Enjoy your challange and the results.

Just one final tip - KEEP EVERY IMAGE YOU EVER TAKE!   That one is great, and you'll refer back to it in several years time.  You might also decide to process it, once you have made that step.  If you don't keep it, you'll kick yourself and wish you had, so Keep everything, even if you think it's terrible - it might be just what you want in years to come.

[scotttumsh]

Thanks for the challenge, i will certainly have a go at that, and thanks for the kind words. i do want to learn and improve, i know im limited at the moment with the EQ3-2 mount but i am keen to keep going with imaging and save up for the HEQ5. thanks. Scott

[Stargazer33]

That's a nice image Scott, much better than my first attempt! Remember anything that is worth learning is worth taking your time over. Don't try to rush ahead too quickly. That can lead to missing vital information which can set you back and even discourage you all together.

Keep up the good work & clear skies!

 

[scotttumsh]

Thanks for that Bryan, just taking my time and learnig as i go. loving it

[laudropb]

Very nice first attempt with your new scope.

[RSM]

Great first attempt. My first image of M31 looked remarkably similar to yours. It's really exciting to image something which is distinguishable as a galaxy which you can barely see unless you are lucky enough to get really dark skies. Keep posting and take lots of advice from the members of this forum and you'll be cooking up some great images before you know it (and be a little lighter in the pocket!?)