M42 and M43

[RJ901]

M42 and M43: my first target using the new Orion SteadPix EZ. Once all set up, Orion's SteadyPix EZ works really well (though it can be tough swapping lenses on a dark night).

This pic is actually just one shot made into three layers: 1 layer for is the entire picture, one layer with the main body of M42 cut out, and one layer consisting only of M43. I stacked and processed them on the iPhone with the Photoshop Mix application. I found that playing with the stacking transition settings (Blend) yielded the best results when using the following options: Normal, Brighten or Punch. Cutting away portions of the various layers allowed me to expose just the portion I wanted, so the dimmer nebulousness came through without destroying the rest of the photo.

 

For me iPhone afocal AP is the way to go... until I can trick my wife into allowing me to buy a an EQ mount, guide scope, imaging OTA, CCD sensors, etc...

 

13 January 2018

Memphis, Tennessee, USA

Sky Watcher 10" Dob

iPhone 8 Plus

Sky: NELM 4.5-5 Bortle Class 7-8

Edit: Used a cheap bluetooth shutter remote to actually take the photo

[happy-kat]

That's super.

[RJ901]

42 minutes ago, happy-kat said:

That's super.

Thanks, Happy-Kat!