RGB imaging with a bright moon

[Marky1973]

I've been collecting data on M51 for a few nights and am just needing 2 hours of Blue to finish (for now). Typically the moon is very bright tonight, but I am sure I read somewhere on these pages that the BLUE wavelength is likely to be the least affected by a bright moon. I am shooting on the opposite side of the sky that will help, but it is a waste on time this close to the full moon? Should I just be patient and get some more practice in with the C9.25? :-)

[gnomus]

Personally, I would wait.

[peter shah]

You are correct, the blue data is the most problematic and it would be the right thing to do.....however the UK isn't the best location to be picky and M51 is bright enough to give it a go.....If you were going for a deep image then you have to wait for dark skies . When ever I do RGB I'm very fussy on which nights I choose.....probably why its been ages since I've manage to complete an image

[Marky1973]

Yeah, my gut says wait, but I am very impatient..... :-)

Mind you I am on tea duty this evening and the kid will be up a bit later as it is Friday, so might just stick the C9.25 outside for now and let it cool ready for Jupiter... :-)

[ollypenrice]

Because new moon is mid week at the moment we can only offer moon-compromised weeks outside that one. This week I've been working with a guest who likes obscure little galaxies from Halton Arp's catalogue. I must say that I've been surprised by how good the luminance data is, despite the fact that the moon is incredibly bright. But colour has not worked.

Olly

[Marky1973]

Cheers Olly. Guess I'll wait... But then that is why I got the SCT,  to do a bit of planetary/lunar imaging and observing when necessary.... Still better than not taking advantage of a clear night somehow!?

[mikey2000]

I'm a bit of a novice here but I say, "Give it a try".  What's the worst that could happen?  You could just delete the files in the end :-)

 

1. I'm finding that this imaging side of astronomy is perhaps somewhat akin to tinkering with an old car.   Part of the fun is in the process and the end result is just a pleasant corollary.  Unless you need to hoist your kit to a remote location, it must surely be worth a try, even just for the sheer fun and to see what happens, adding to the experience bank...

[Marky1973]

Turned out to be a moot point as I fell asleep in front of the telly....

[gnomus]

3 hours ago, Marky1973 said:

Turned out to be a moot point as I fell asleep in front of the telly....

I tried a couple of Ha (3nm) subs and it was a waste of time.  Best to conserve your energies I think.  Did you sleep through anything good?

[Marky1973]

apparently just my good lady wife bringing the C9.25 in out of the garden where it was cooling....which nearly gave me a heart-attack when I woke! Clear night tonight and a good night's sleep so will do some observing tonight to make up for it!

[mikey2000]

Last night, I tried aiming at IC443 the Jellyfish nebula under a 3/4 moon.  What a waste of an hour!  I was going for 3min exposures on my unmodded camera.  Even with stacking and extreme processing, there is almost nothing there.  I can see something approximating what I was realy after but I'm looking forward to a moonless night.....

 

On a moony night, I'll stick to star clusters  - M3 came out quite well on Friday night.  ( no time to process properly yet but I have a good feeling)