First pop at M33

[sheeprug]

I Had a go at M33 the other night (Wow - it was cold!!).  I managed to get 10x 300s lights, but used dithering in APT/PHD2 rather than taking darks.  I'm reasonably pleased with the results in that the guiding seems to be working ok and the focus looks reasonably good, but despite using some simple flats taken the next day with a white shirt over the scope, I still have some gradient left.  

Bearing in mind the kitty is looking a little empty at the moment (Xmas) so I can't stretch to expensive software, what is the best way to improve this?   Try more flats, or is there a good solution based on GIMP?

Best,

SR.   

[ollypenrice]

53 minutes ago, sheeprug said:

I Had a go at M33 the other night (Wow - it was cold!!).  I managed to get 10x 300s lights, but used dithering in APT/PHD2 rather than taking darks.  I'm reasonably pleased with the results in that the guiding seems to be working ok and the focus looks reasonably good, but despite using some simple flats taken the next day with a white shirt over the scope, I still have some gradient left.  

Bearing in mind the kitty is looking a little empty at the moment (Xmas) so I can't stretch to expensive software, what is the best way to improve this?   Try more flats, or is there a good solution based on GIMP?

Best,

SR.   

Good!

Flats won't remove all gradients, especially in colour - to which the eye is very sensitive. I don't think you have much of a problem there, though. I think red and green may be a bit high. Delicate adjustment in levels could sort that out.

Olly

[StuartJPP]

Literally had a 2 minute go at this data. A bit noisy but adding more subs will definitely bring out a nice image...

I used PixInsight and Photoshop v6.0 with Astronomy Tools v1.6 plug-in. Not a cheap software setup, but shows what is hidden in the data.

Perhaps someone with some more cost effective software can have a go, StarTools, GIMP etc.)

 

[Thalestris24]

Oh dear looked horrid on another monitor so I removed it!

[sheeprug]

4 hours ago, StuartJPP said:

Literally had a 2 minute go at this data. A bit noisy but adding more subs will definitely bring out a nice image...

I used PixInsight and Photoshop v6.0 with Astronomy Tools v1.6 plug-in. Not a cheap software setup, but shows what is hidden in the data.

Perhaps someone with some more cost effective software can have a go, StarTools, GIMP etc.)

 

Wow - thanks for that. I'd not realized I'd captured so much colour, and it shows how much of a learning curve I'm on.  If you get time it would be really good to understand your work flow.

I've been taking a look at some of the available tools such as Astroart, and the gradient removal makes a big difference. Unfortunately the trial version doesn't let me save anything, and I can't get the colour demosaic to work properly.  APP and PixInsight trial versions allow saving during the trial period, so I'll take a look there and see if I can do as well. 

I'd love to hear from anybody who is getting good results from the low cost solutions though.   

Best, and Happy Xmas to you all,

SR.