M31 on Skywatcher 150pds

[Gerry Casa Christiana]

Hello all

My M31 I did yesterday evening. Processed in Lightroom. Let me know your thoughts. No guiding by the way! 

http://www.astrobin.com/full/276805/0/?nc=user

Gerry

[Knighty2112]

Not an imager, so can't offer any constructive critism or any thing, but I think it's a cracking  M31 really. Well done!  

[Starwiz]

Very nice!  

John

[wimvb]

Nice M31. Just needs a little colour correction (to get rid of the green colour). Try adjusting the colour levels/sliders. In photoshop you would use a plug in called hasta la vista green (hlvg).

[Gerry Casa Christiana]

I've adjusted it. 

http://www.astrobin.com/full/276805/0/?nc=user

 

not sure it's better!

 

[barrie greenwood]

It is!?

Nice clean shot in my humble opinion it's one subject I've struggled with myself so well done

Regards Baz

[wimvb]

I think you got more colour variation now. That's good. Since you use lightroom, I guess you also used dss to stack. On more than one occasion people have reported that dss stacked images have very little colour. To get the best from this image, you may need heavier artillery than lightroom can provide. Getting good colour from an image can be difficult at times. But you got a good start, with nice stars and plenty of detail in the galaxy. Once you have that, you can always revisit your data when your processing skills improve.

[Starwiz]

21 minutes ago, wimvb said:

I think you got more colour variation now. That's good. Since you use lightroom, I guess you also used dss to stack. On more than one occasion people have reported that dss stacked images have very little colour. To get the best from this image, you may need heavier artillery than lightroom can provide. Getting good colour from an image can be difficult at times. But you got a good start, with nice stars and plenty of detail in the galaxy. Once you have that, you can always revisit your data when your processing skills improve.

I've noticed I seem to lose colour after stacking in DSS, but maybe I just need to get better at processing to bring it out again.

John

[alacant]

Hi. Lovely shot. I think you missed focus a touch. You can use a simple mask to nail it; easier than a Bahtinov and you can make it in 2 minutes. Also, it may be easier not to use your telescope. A 200mm or 300mm lens gets you the whole of the galaxies and you can take longer frames:) HTH

[Gerry Casa Christiana]

Yes DSS does that. Is there a alternative that does the job better? 

Ill check the focus. I was using the APT focus aid. The only problem I find is when I tighten the focus screw it always moves it! 

[wimvb]

I use pixinsight, for stacking and postprocessing. At some point you will need to invest in processing software, consider it part of your imaging setup.  There are several software packages available that can be used for stacking. Some may be specialised for specific targets (such as planetary ap).

In dss you can have a look at the various settings that will be applied to the final stacked image. There may be a setting that will retain more colour in the final image.

[Gerry Casa Christiana]

Ok I think I'm getting closer.  

http://www.astrobin.com/full/276805/0/?nc=user

 

[wimvb]

Looking good. I would crop the lower edge, which has a gradient/stacking artefact.

[wimvb]

Gerry, too bad you didn't post your images here directly. They would have shown a nice progression, that others could learn from.

[Gerry Casa Christiana]

Yes I agree but I'm still learning so I didn't think anyone would be that interested in my Lightroom techniques! I'm interested in trying pixinsight now to see if colours can be better. No idea how much that is. 

I might also give Gimp a try. 

 

[edarter]

Can I ask what the total exposure time and camera setting are for this? 

[Gerry Casa Christiana]

Yes of course. This is a test shot using ISO 3200 for 120 seconds I took lots of exposures but used on 27 in the end as I only wanted the best. I had also 20 darks. I usually do it on 1600 but I though I would bump up the ISO just for a test. I'm happy with the result. 

If there is anything else you would like to know please just ask. 

Gerry

[UKJay1971]

Hi - great image. Can I ask, how did you get 120 sec exposure with no tracking?

 

(Edit: my bad - you said no 'guiding'!)

[Gerry Casa Christiana]

Hi there

What I meant to say is that I do not have a autoguider but just a eq6 goto so I'm constrained to shorter exposures. 

Glad you like it. It's amazing to think from one end to the other is 227,000 light years. 

Gerry

[edarter]

Thanks Gerry. Recently captured Andromeda as my first ever dso and I'm hooked. You're had loads more detail but mine was rather rough and ready and a total of only 9 minutes. 

That was 3 weeks ago and is been cloudy ever since! Not happy :/

Ed

[russp]

For comparison here's the same target with the same number of subs at the same ISO but 30sec exposures but this time processed in PixInsight ... it's worth it to invest in it and spend the time getting to grips with it. (And shot with a camera lens as my scope is too big for Andromeda) you have some lovely detail in your shot and I'm betting the colour is in there too, just needs some easing out. Good job, keep them coming.

[Gerry Casa Christiana]

That is a lovely shot. Well done. I will definitely look into PIxinsight! Although I'll have to wait because my computer is old too! 

Can I ask how much it is? 

Thanks

[mattd85]

Great thread and pics

[spillage]

On 12/20/2016 at 08:23, alacant said:

Hi. Lovely shot. I think you missed focus a touch. You can use a simple mask to nail it; easier than a Bahtinov and you can make it in 2 minutes. Also, it may be easier not to use your telescope. A 200mm or 300mm lens gets you the whole of the galaxies and you can take longer frames:) HTH

@alacant do you have a link for a template to make this type of mask. My homemade bahtinov is looking a bit tatty now but they are such a pain to cut out.

 

[alacant]

23 minutes ago, spillage said:

link for a template

Hi. No link, I don't think you need one. Draw and cut out a piece of card the same size as your tube. Draw across a diameter. The circles are on thirds on the diameter you draw, although I don't think it's critical. So long as there are holes... HTH.