NGC281 is teaching me....

[nightster]

NGC281 is teaching me that I'm close on my hardware skills and I'm far off on my software skills.  I ran this target over 8 nights at the end of October.  I got usable data each night and I learned to also turn on the dew heaters before you go to bed. I also learned that OAG are not hard to use once setup with the proper spacings and that a merely mortal EQ6 can get 1200s subs with roundish stars with a 480mmFL scope.   I have a lot of time in this 24x600 + 30x1200 Ha, 21x600 + 23x1200 Oiii, 30x600 + 24x1200 Sii. I didn't want lack of integration time to be an excuse for poor results.

I am learning that my processing skills are lacking. I am trying desperately to learn to use PShop, going at a snails pace with that. I have a bluish back ground that I'm not sure how to correct.  I'm sure there are other issues my tired eyes can't resolve at this point. Any ideas on how to tweak or twist this attempt would be helpful. Just knowing what kinds of issues to look for would benefit me.  Also feel free to demonstrate, as a link to a tiff is below.

 

 

SHO_Tiff_NGC281

[Tim]

Well there isn't a finer target in the night sky (imho) for practising narrowband imaging on.  It is rich and detailed and bright and contrasty in all three common wavelengths, and subtle and needy and teasing all at once. I never get tired of viewing or imaging the Pacman, and was lucky enough to spend some time on it at a dark site with a 24" dob earlier on the year.

One thing, for targets like this, I wouldn't worry too much about a range of sub lengths. Just go as long as you can and get as many as you can. The shorter subs may have a deleterious effect on the stacked quality of the longer ones when combined.

I think you might benefit from reviewing Ken Crawfords tutorials on Depth of field and Multi strength layer blending.

http://www.imagingdeepsky.com/Tutorials/Tutorials.html

Don't be afraid to experiment and find your own style, put your own stamp on your work, seems a shame to copy what has already been done a thousand times.

Hope that helps. Looking forward to seeing this one evolve.

Tim

 

[lux eterna]

Hi nightster,

I think you have a really nice image already, but I opened it in PS and gave it a portion of my standard procedure.

1) Background fix :
GradientXterminator PS plugin (options medium/low) with "balance background color" ticked.
2) Star fix :
Select stars with select/color range/highlights, expand selection 5px, feather selection 3px.
Then make a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer and tweak star colors. Mask away any unwanted changes.
3) Green fix :
Stamp visible or flatten image, then run PS plugin HastaLaVistaGreen (option medium).

/Ragnar

 

 

[Rodd]

Make sure your focus is spot on.  Focus is king when it comes to imaging.  Many imperfections can be helped with good processing....no so focus.  It simply has to be pinhead sharp.

[nightster]

I went back and started from scratch, this  time trying PS clipping layers for the first time. The colors were completely different but not unpleasant. Am I going the wrong way with this color scheme? I know there is no right answer. But any feedback is helpful.