ring nebula

[lmao_37]

This is the second time i have tried to get an image of the ring nebula, first attempt were just awful, so i stuck my nose in my book of astrophotograhy and got some idea's to why the photo's went wrong and i also invested in 2 new bits of kit, a polar alignment scope and a angle c viewfinder for my camara, this is the first time i have stacked any photo's together and i think they have come out very well but i hope i get some feed back with some tips and ideas on how to improve on them. :scratch:

these are a stack of 6x1 min exposure with an iso of 1600 ( i forgot to reset the iso after using my camara last weekend) at prime focus

the second image is an unstacked photo i wanted to get some feedback on how to improve on this :salute: this is a prime focus image with a 60 second exposure @ iso1600

(click to enlarge)

(click to enlarge)

[brendant]

Hi, nice images, M57 is a small target and needs lots of exposore to capture detail. Ideally you should aim for at least 20 subs and aim for as long an exposure as possible.

Your polar scope was a wise investment as an accurate polar alignment is a must. Try and aim for 120 seconds and suggest RAW mode at ISO800 as this will produce less noise in the image.

Your focus looks good but I am only looking at it on a small screen.

Just aim for longer subs and more exposures - well done - its hard getting it all to work but so rewarding when it does.

Brendan

[Sam]

I can only reiterate Brendan's words. More subs. The tracking looks pretty good as there's no trailing on the single exposure. It looks like there's a bit of detail lost in the stacked one though - might be just how it looks on my screen. There's a lot of potential with that image - if you can try for about 40 subs (get rid of any with star trailing) at iso 800 I think you get a very good result. I recently took a M57 image and when it comes to processing is worth having as much data to play with as you can - especially since the size of it means you'll need to crop the image.

Sam

[Psychobilly]

Nice widefield of M57 looking good

More data and agressive culling of any imperfect images should sort it as the focus and tracking look pretty good.

Lower ISO should reduce noise and increase color.

Billy...

[starf]

small but perfectly formed :-)

nice reprocess.

mike

[lmao_37]

Thanks guys for all your advise, this is still very new to me and that was the first time i have stacked a photo, i just cant wait for the weather to improve so i can put all the advise in to practise many thanks

dougie

[Tim]

Hi, and nice start to your imaging career!!

Looking at the unstacked version, there should be LOADS of extra data in the stacked version that still could be pulled out, do you fancy posting it or emailing it over?

Cheers

TJ

[CELESCOPE]

Nice lovely wide field shot

Rog

[lmao_37]

Hi, and nice start to your imaging career!!

Looking at the unstacked version, there should be LOADS of extra data in the stacked version that still could be pulled out, do you fancy posting it or emailing it over?

Cheers

TJ

hi many thanks for the offer, i'll email them to you but its a little hit n miss here at the moment because we are having problems with the internet, but if you would like to email me at lmao_37@hotmail.co.uk ill send you the images once again many thanks

dougie

[steppenwolf]

This is a nice wide-field but the stretching in the first image is a little severe. More subs. and keeping only the best of the bunch for stacking is the way to go on objects like this. Although it is tempting to use a higher ISO value, I'd recommend trying to keep to 800 maximum.

[centroid]

It is, as has been said, a small target, but you've captured it nicely as a widefield shot.

As the guys have said, more subs will make a big difference, and ISO 1600 is a bit of a noisy option, so as Steve says, ISO 800 is a good choice.

BTW, your tracking is working very well,

Dave