My golden Pelican

[TareqPhoto]

Hi all,

I am still learning with DSO but really not happy completely with my setup, but i share whatever the results are, hoping to improve sooner or later once i upgrade.

This is Pelican Nebula done with ST80 and HoTech FF[sounds pointless if PA and guiding are gone], QHY163M, and Ha only[Optolong 7nm], i think this 10x180sec, colored it from Astronomy Tools actions and Photoshop tweaks.

 

[TareqPhoto]

Here is same with using all 3 NB filters, so bad or ugly result, and it is my first time trying to use PixInsight, once i have nice data to play with then i will spend time more with PI.

 

[teoria_del_big_bang]

I too have so much to learn and so cannot really help with advice.

However, my personal (very new to all this) opinion is you have a nice image with good detail, not too sure about the colours though, but I sure would be happy with the image. 

I find on this forum it is good to share your images whatever you think as I so far have never seen any bad comments passed only positive feedback and good suggestions how to improve your skills.

Well done, none of this is easy at all and regarding being happy with your setup from what I have seen most people never are ?  even when their setup is beyond what most people would normally spend. It seems there is always a better scope or camera out there that you desire.

Steve

[john2y]

Nice details in the image but check your camera, it looks like the sensor is not exactly perpendicular to the telescope so the right part of the image has elongated stars.  Also consider lowering your Gain or shortening the exposure time since the stars are overexposed. Regarding the second image check some youtube tutorials how to do SHO colour combination in Pixi, many nebulae look better in false colour and Pelican is no exception ? 

[TareqPhoto]

7 hours ago, teoria_del_big_bang said:

I too have so much to learn and so cannot really help with advice.

However, my personal (very new to all this) opinion is you have a nice image with good detail, not too sure about the colours though, but I sure would be happy with the image. 

I find on this forum it is good to share your images whatever you think as I so far have never seen any bad comments passed only positive feedback and good suggestions how to improve your skills.

Well done, none of this is easy at all and regarding being happy with your setup from what I have seen most people never are ?  even when their setup is beyond what most people would normally spend. It seems there is always a better scope or camera out there that you desire.

Steve

Thank you very much Steve!

I am not happy with my setup not all of it, but part of it, in specific it is the scope, it is not a great for imaging all the time, maybe just good but not great, so i will definitely change it, also the filter could be just good quality but not high quality, if i can afford to change i will, those two where i feel i am not happy with my setup, while the camera and the mount are just fine and happy with them, will see later how much i can improve my gear and thus it will improve my results.

[TareqPhoto]

6 hours ago, john2y said:

Nice details in the image but check your camera, it looks like the sensor is not exactly perpendicular to the telescope so the right part of the image has elongated stars.  Also consider lowering your Gain or shortening the exposure time since the stars are overexposed. Regarding the second image check some youtube tutorials how to do SHO colour combination in Pixi, many nebulae look better in false colour and Pelican is no exception ? 

Thank you!

Well, i really don't know how to make that or check out, i think that is because the load is pushing the camera with filter wheel to one side, or the load is trying to separate the imaging setup from the telescope so that it looks like something pulling the camera away from the scope, definitely the gravity and the load of camera+filter wheel, for this reasons i am trying to change my mounting accessories, the dovetail that i use with the scope is very very small which it doesn't give any freedom to move the setup back and forth for proper balancing, also the guiding is off, i think i use my setup with so many issues there and i didn't want to waste the night, i saw the issues and now all what i need is to improve my gear, i can't do anything if my gear itself is at its maximum limits and can't go any further, and i know those issues are only due to my setup, so i will see when i buy accessories to make it possible.

Regarding the exposure or gain, it is short exposure, 3 minutes per frame, people doing minimum 5 minutes, but i think i used high gain, either 177 or 200, but if i lower gain or exposure then i can't have enough photons, my polar alignment or setup or guiding aren't good enough so if i tried 5 minutes with lower gain i will have trails, issues of my setup is killing my learning, people think i can do while the truth is it can't be gone much further, or i choose wrong targets such this one, still experimenting with exposures and settings so i will see one day.

In fact i did follow one YouTube video processing a nebula with narrowbanding filters [Ha/OIII/SII], and that was the results i got anyway.

[tooth_dr]

11 hours ago, TareqPhoto said:

 

I am not happy with my setup not all of it, but part of it, in specific it is the scope, it is not a great for imaging all the time, maybe just good but not great, so i will definitely change it, also the filter could be just good quality but not high quality, if i can afford to change i will, those two where i feel i am not happy with my setup, while the camera and the mount are just fine and happy with them, will see later how much i can improve my gear and thus it will improve my results.

Thats not a bad attempt at all. Well done.

I accept a few folk have used the ST80 for imaging but in essence it isn’t really designed for imaging. My first suggestion would be a new scope or at the very least a longer dovetail to get proper balance. I know what you mean about wasting a night but in reality until you setup and balance your kit properly you are wasting EVERY night.

Regarding the filter - there is nothing that I can see wrong with it. I use that filter too and am happy with the results. Compared to my 12nm filter this 7nm is better.

But great effort, just get the kit issues sorted.  

[john2y]

12 hours ago, TareqPhoto said:

Thank you!

Well, i really don't know how to make that or check out, i think that is because the load is pushing the camera with filter wheel to one side, or the load is trying to separate the imaging setup from the telescope so that it looks like something pulling the camera away from the scope, definitely the gravity and the load of camera+filter wheel, for this reasons i am trying to change my mounting accessories, the dovetail that i use with the scope is very very small which it doesn't give any freedom to move the setup back and forth for proper balancing, also the guiding is off, i think i use my setup with so many issues there and i didn't want to waste the night, i saw the issues and now all what i need is to improve my gear, i can't do anything if my gear itself is at its maximum limits and can't go any further, and i know those issues are only due to my setup, so i will see when i buy accessories to make it possible.

Regarding the exposure or gain, it is short exposure, 3 minutes per frame, people doing minimum 5 minutes, but i think i used high gain, either 177 or 200, but if i lower gain or exposure then i can't have enough photons, my polar alignment or setup or guiding aren't good enough so if i tried 5 minutes with lower gain i will have trails, issues of my setup is killing my learning, people think i can do while the truth is it can't be gone much further, or i choose wrong targets such this one, still experimenting with exposures and settings so i will see one day.

In fact i did follow one YouTube video processing a nebula with narrowbanding filters [Ha/OIII/SII], and that was the results i got anyway.

I feel you, I used to have my guidescope attached with just duct tape and my mount is holding together with the duct tape too. If you have problem with stars trailing just shorten the exposures but make more of them. I don't wanna say that 5x10 minutes = 10x5min but I know a guy who does 4s unguided exposures and does around 4000 of those, the stacking takes forever but the result is comparable to the classic method of doing a few minut exposures. 

This is what I'm talking about http://astrofotky.cz/gallery.php?show=rick/1532151263.jpg the description is in Czech but the important is 4000x4 sec Ha, 900x8 sec OIII

Tutorial I follow for SHO is this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kZPm8wRYgQ

[Guest]

"....Some look at your Pelican and say ....why?....I look at your Pelican and say....why not?!" LOL!

Like your work - interesting to watch the progression as you advance in equipment and skills.

Looks like you're having fun diving into Pixinsight - best tutorials for me were..

Harry's Astro Shed

and 

Light Vortex

among others

David

[TareqPhoto]

Thank you very much all.

I will tell you honest or the truth, last year i didn't plan much of anything, just wanted to start, but because i bought gear quick s my expectations raised quickly, and this year after i bought 2 scopes i felt like why can't do a lot then, but i got busy on planetary and lunar more several months ago, and time to time i was just testing my sky to see if i can get or capture any nebula rather than only Orion, so i got few of them including this Pelican, that gave me hope that if i try harder and have better equipment and made them all work together then i will get results, just i felt maybe i should really take a break from imaging and read more and buy more until i am really really to go out with more knowledge and more relaxed mind and whatever, as i said earlier here, if i go out with many issues and faults in my setup then it will always be a waste only, and that is really not learning anything, learning will be once i have everything ready for me as equipment, and because i am at it yet then why not buy high end gear part of if i can, i don't want to think that i will upgrade something now, and definitely not everything i will buy high end, at the same time not necessary all my setup must be at the cheap affordable side too, i will try to balance in that somehow.

Thanks again for the comments, it will encourage me to do DSO imaging better next time with all advises and tips, and processing skill is something i will work on for sure but not yet, i must have better data first, without that then processing will be another waste inside house on wrong bad files.