NGC 281

[steviemac500]

Her's my attempt at the PacMan Nebula. 22 subs @ 1200s and 2 @ 1800s (guiding was being really kind so i thought I'd try) with 30 flats and 25 bias. Basic stretch in PI and DBE and a bit in PS afterwards. Comments and criticism very welcomed.

 

[daz]

Moved to the right board

 

 

[steviemac500]

Oops

[Nova2000]

Wow nice image. Is it with a dslr? 

[steviemac500]

1 hour ago, Nova2000 said:

Wow nice image. Is it with a dslr? 

Thanks. No, it's with the Atik.

[Nova2000]

Which channel is that h2? 

[PatrickGilliland]

Hi there - the obvious thing looking at the image is poor guiding (I assume) star trails are evident.  However you should see this as a good thing in a way.  There is a lot of detail coming through even with that - this will increase dramatically once you resolve the guiding issues.  

I would first spend some time and that and remember 600 good subs are better than 1200's with issues.

Paddy

[steviemac500]

4 hours ago, PatrickGilliland said:

Hi there - the obvious thing looking at the image is poor guiding (I assume) star trails are evident.  However you should see this as a good thing in a way.  There is a lot of detail coming through even with that - this will increase dramatically once you resolve the guiding issues.  

I would first spend some time and that and remember 600 good subs are better than 1200's with issues.

Paddy

Hi Paddy. After the issues I have been having with my guiding recently, this was excellent!!!!  I can see exactly what you mean though and I think there may have only been a couple that were out and I haven't been selective enough when getting rid. I have tried most things to get it perfect every night but have come to the conclusion that it's not going to happen, possibly until I get a larger rig (I'm using an EQ5 at the moment). I take consolation that it's all a learning curve and a pretty steep one at that. I also consider myself fairly blessed living in Cyprus and having dark skies nearly every night!!! I will revisit the subs and have another look to see if I can improve any.

[toxic]

very nice image Stevie

[gorann]

Looks very promising! While sorting out the guiding will be the best option I just tried this deconvolution plug-in to PS that can deal with start trailing quite well:

http://www.focusmagic.com/

You can use this "filter" to correct two things: motion blur and out of focus

Use the motion blur option for star trailing (if most of your subs are ok, just use it on the bad ones). The out of focus option is a great sharpening tool in some cases (but watch out for what it may do to your stars).

Sadly, you soon find out that it is free to try for 10 times and after that they ask you for 65 USD (I am slightly hocked so I may pay....)