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My First Deep Sky Images


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Hi,

I am finally getting to grips with my new NEQ6Pro Mount, getting into the routine of polar aligning etc. and during the last week or so, I managed to get some trial shots done.
The first sight when seeing your images come up on the camera (my Canon 450D unmodified) preview screen, after taking an exposure is an amazing experience.
I have only used my handheld RS60 shutter release so far and have been counting down the exposures while kneeling down next to my scope.
Now that my "Astro Imaging Anxiety" is calming down a bit, I intend to use APT for my next session !
While taking my images there were a few moments when I thought the camera had "packed in" on me, until I realised that I had left the cap on the telescope after shooting
my darks!   I bet this has happened to everyone!   From what I have done so far, I am getting the feeling that the actual imaging with scope and camera in the garden is the
easy bit and that the processing work afterwards, is the hardest.  I am at last getting a better understanding of processing using DSS and GIMP mainly thanks to this forum.

Below are some of my images - all taken with my Orion ED80 via Canon 450D.
The larger M42 was shot through my Vixen VC200L (which I have had some trouble balancing using the two counterweights that came with my NEQ6Pro mount)

All images were taken at short exposures until I gain more experience.
M42 taking by Orion ED80 - x 7 subs at 30 secs and x 4 darks , ISO 800
M42 taken by Vixen VC200L - x 3 subs at 1 min and x 1 dark , ISO800
M81 taken by Orion ED80 - x 6 subs at 1 min and x 4 darks , ISO800
M1 taken by Orion ED80 - x 4 subs at 1 min and x 2 darks, ISO800

Regards,
Steve



 

M42-02-13-2018_21.34UT_ED80_Canon450D.jpg

M42-02-24-2018_20.50UT_VC200L_Canon450D.jpg

M81-02-21-2018_21.59UT_ED80_Canon450D.jpg

Ast-13-02-2018_21.45UT_M1_ED80_Canon450D.jpg

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A very nice start.

Darks really only work when you have enough of them (15-30). Otherwise you can actually be increasing the noise in the picture instead of reducing it. I know that spending 15 minutes taking darks can seem an awful waste of "lights" time and the trouble with a DSLR is that you can't prepare them in advance. If you are going to use the same exposure length throughout the session, and to allow for fluctuations in the temperature as the session progresses, I used to take 10 at the start of the session (while aligning the mount, etc) and a further 10 at the end of the session (which dismantling the setup) and put them together when making the master dark. I always felt this achieved a reasonable balance between getting a useable master dark and allowing my OCD to take control over changes in conditions during the session.

HTH

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Very good start Steve Well done

As for Darks for my canon 450d unmodded i have a  libary of darks for my canon 450d unmodded  at 0, 5 ,10,15,20 Degree C.

Also using longer exposure will give more detail and more light frames. 

I also use Canon Backyard EOS this will save you messing around with the shutter between exposures and also allows you to dither if and when you go down the guiding route. 

Ialso started with gimp but processing improved (i think) using PS

Lots of good fun tho

Regards

Dean

 

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You are off to a great start. APT is a great program which I use myself. A really handy thing is that it names your files with a D for darks or L for lights so makes it really easy to find and sort them 

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8 hours ago, PembrokeSteve said:

From what I have done so far, I am getting the feeling that the actual imaging with scope and camera in the garden is the
easy bit and that the processing work afterwards, is the hardest.  I am at last getting a better understanding of processing using DSS and GIMP mainly thanks to this forum.

That's why I consider image processing software part of my setup. And as with all things AP related, you get what you pay for. My advice: invest in proper software. There are several good packages available, and most have a "try before you buy" policy. Look around and get a feeling for what software you get along with best.

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1 hour ago, gorann said:

Great start!

An easy way to control your exposures without involving a computer is to get one of these (mine has never failed me):

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Time-lapse-intervalometer-remote-timer-shutter-for-Canon-DSLR-700D-70D-Camera/221359442404?epid=3013769397&hash=item338a0d09e4:g:sA8AAOxy4dNS4Rul

Cheers

How does that work for you in cold weather? The battery in mine died all the time. It used one of those button cell batteries. Maybe with AA(A) batteries they work better.

Skywatcher mounts have a snap port which can control a dslr. I used it on my eq3, which has it in the handcontroller. On the AZ-EQ6 I never got it to work (due to grounding problems I think). But it is quite handy.

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15 minutes ago, wimvb said:

How does that work for you in cold weather? The battery in mine died all the time. It used one of those button cell batteries. Maybe with AA(A) batteries they work better.

Skywatcher mounts have a snap port which can control a dslr. I used it on my eq3, which has it in the handcontroller. On the AZ-EQ6 I never got it to work (due to grounding problems I think). But it is quite handy.

I had to change batteries in one of mine last night but after that it worked at -16°C

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My snap judgement, for what it's worth, is that you might not need longer exposures for a bright object such as M42. I don't know what the histogram of your unprocessed frames looks like, but your images are getting maxed out on the brighter end. However, you will probably see a good payoff in more sub-exposures, which allow you to average closer to the "true" value of each pixel so that you can bump contrast without introducing noise and artifacts. M42 is a surprisingly difficult target for being so large and bright; even a otter like me can produce some nebulosity, but dealing with the Great Nebula's huge dynamic range and subtle gradationsis really a challenge. You're off to an excellent start here!

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On 2018-03-01 at 01:06, PembrokeSteve said:

While taking my images there were a few moments when I thought the camera had "packed in" on me, until I realised that I had left the cap on the telescope after shooting
my darks!   I bet this has happened to everyone!

Yep, or something similar ...

I wouldn't rely on the scope cover or a lens cap when shooting darks. Better to take the camera off the scope and make sure no light can get in when you shoot them. Plastic covers are not good at keeping light out. Better to put the camera in a box (dark, light tight) and/or wrap the front of the capped lens in a double layer of aluminium foil.

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