My first ever narrowband image

[Starwiz]

SW200p + ASI1600mm-Pro.

Orion mini guide scope with ASI120mc.

Around 20 x 200s and 20 x 260s each in Ha, OIII, SII.

Lights, Darks, Flats and Dark Flats stacked in DSS, final image processed in PS.

Still getting a few guiding issues in PHD2 where it says it's not optimum when the calibration has been done, but can't work out why.  Hence, some of the stars are not as round as I'd like them to be.  Scope is well balanced, with slight offset to reduce backlash and no cable snagging.

I've got quite a few new things working on the way towards this image, so very happy from that standpoint: 

 - Cartes Du Ceil controlling telescope.

 - Plate solving and syncing with telescope.

 - Drift alignment in PHD2.

Comments for improvement welcome as always.

Thanks

John

[barkis]

That is terrific John.Onward and Upward to many more
like this.  Great job, It's like you're a veteran already, well done matey. 
Ron.   

[Starwiz]

1 hour ago, barkis said:

That is terrific John.Onward and Upward to many more
like this.  Great job, It's like you're a veteran already, well done matey. 
Ron.   

Thanks Ron.  Very nice of you to say so.

John

[rickwayne]

Wowsers. Great image. ABSURDLY great image for your first NB!

[red dwalf]

if that was my fist narrowband image i`d be doing cartwheels, excellent result.

[Starwiz]

15 hours ago, rickwayne said:

Wowsers. Great image. ABSURDLY great image for your first NB!

 

14 hours ago, red dwalf said:

if that was my fist narrowband image i`d be doing cartwheels, excellent result.

Thanks.

John

[Doug64]

Great image.

I'm just setting my equipment up having bought a Zwo 1600MM for narrowband work and I hope at some point to be able to get an image like yours.

Doug

[Starwiz]

51 minutes ago, Doug64 said:

Great image.

I'm just setting my equipment up having bought a Zwo 1600MM for narrowband work and I hope at some point to be able to get an image like yours.

Doug

Thanks Doug.

I can't imagine the light pollution is great anywhere in Liverpool (I grew up in Birkenhead), so narrowband is a great way to go, and imaging when the moon is out will make full use of those precious clear skies up there.

There's a great thread on Cloudy Nights about exposures for the ASI1600mm, in case you've not seen it.  It addresses the question of minimum exposure to overcome read noise.

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/573886-sub-exposure-tables-for-asi-1600-and-maybe-qhy163/

John

 

 

[wesdon1]

21 hours ago, Starwiz said:

SW200p + ASI1600mm-Pro.

Orion mini guide scope with ASI120mc.

Around 20 x 200s and 20 x 260s each in Ha, OIII, SII.

Lights, Darks, Flats and Dark Flats stacked in DSS, final image processed in PS.

Still getting a few guiding issues in PHD2 where it says it's not optimum when the calibration has been done, but can't work out why.  Hence, some of the stars are not as round as I'd like them to be.  Scope is well balanced, with slight offset to reduce backlash and no cable snagging.

I've got quite a few new things working on the way towards this image, so very happy from that standpoint: 

 - Cartes Du Ceil controlling telescope.

 - Plate solving and syncing with telescope.

 - Drift alignment in PHD2.

Comments for improvement welcome as always.

Thanks

John

Gorgous image mate! And you're just starting out??? Imagine how good they'll be when you've got a few years experience!?? Amazing work, well done!

[Starwiz]

25 minutes ago, wesdon1 said:

Gorgous image mate! And you're just starting out??? Imagine how good they'll be when you've got a few years experience!?? Amazing work, well done!

Thanks. 

I think my next hurdle is to get the tracking working better, although I'm not sure how just yet.

More clear skies forecast here in Malta for the next several days, so I'll be having another play. 😀

John

[alan potts]

A very good first it is too, lovely image.

[Bobinius]

Hi John,

Looks nice and it should be really satisfying for your first narrowband image!

I am doing my first narrowband with exactly the same target as you and an ASI 1600mm! 😃 I'm still gathering data because of the clouds.

Some improvements could be made for the autoguiding, there is some drift from the lower left in diagonal. Secondly, you have to correct for the magenta haze around the stars, it can be done in pixinsight. Otherwise, very good, the focus is correct, there is no coma and you have no diffraction fan around the big stars (do you use a mask for the main mirror? ). Skywatcher and Orion newtonians rarely produce stars like that.

 

Bogdan

 

[pi_co100]

Great image! What NB filters are you using?

Piero

[ebdons]

Yes fantastic image, amazing first NB image,  stars could be helped with this  http://www.bf-astro.com/starRepair.htm. well done sir! tony

[ebdons]

Sorry for some reason I can't edit the previous post, just copy and paste that link into your browser. tony

[Starwiz]

7 hours ago, Bobinius said:

Hi John,

Looks nice and it should be really satisfying for your first narrowband image!

I am doing my first narrowband with exactly the same target as you and an ASI 1600mm! 😃 I'm still gathering data because of the clouds.

Some improvements could be made for the autoguiding, there is some drift from the lower left in diagonal. Secondly, you have to correct for the magenta haze around the stars, it can be done in pixinsight. Otherwise, very good, the focus is correct, there is no coma and you have no diffraction fan around the big stars (do you use a mask for the main mirror? ). Skywatcher and Orion newtonians rarely produce stars like that.

 

Bogdan

 

Thanks Bogdan, I'll look forward to seeing your image.

Yes, the autoguiding I think I can improve by building a wind screen of some sort.  I've noticed that even the slightest gust on my terrace causes the spikes on the graph to be bigger.

Removal of the magenta haze is something I need to learn about.  I use P.S., so need to know how to do it in that.  Ideally, I want to take some RGB data for my next project so I can replace the narrowband stars with this.

I use a Bahtinov mask for checking the focus, but otherwise there's nothing else added during imaging.  At the mirror end of my SW200p, I have a black cloth cover (my wife made) to stop any unwanted light getting in at that end.

Good luck with your image and hope the clouds clear soon for you.

John

[Starwiz]

7 hours ago, pi_co100 said:

Great image! What NB filters are you using?

Piero

Thanks Piero.

I'm using the ZWO 31mm filters.

John

[Starwiz]

1 hour ago, ebdons said:

Yes fantastic image, amazing first NB image,  stars could be helped with this  http://www.bf-astro.com/starRepair.htm. well done sir! tony

Thanks Tony, I'll have a look at that.

John

[Bobinius]

1 hour ago, Starwiz said:

Thanks Bogdan, I'll look forward to seeing your image.

Yes, the autoguiding I think I can improve by building a wind screen of some sort.  I've noticed that even the slightest gust on my terrace causes the spikes on the graph to be bigger.

Removal of the magenta haze is something I need to learn about.  I use P.S., so need to know how to do it in that.  Ideally, I want to take some RGB data for my next project so I can replace the narrowband stars with this.

I use a Bahtinov mask for checking the focus, but otherwise there's nothing else added during imaging.  At the mirror end of my SW200p, I have a black cloth cover (my wife made) to stop any unwanted light getting in at that end.

Good luck with your image and hope the clouds clear soon for you.

John

Thanx John, hopefully tonight I'll finish the OIII and SII. Yep, I don't know how to do that in PS, in pixinsight the simplest way is to invert the image and use SCNR green reduction (mangenta turns to green when inverted). I'll post the image when it's ready!

All best,

Bogdan