M81 & M82 in PixInsight...

[oymd]

35 subs @120s, Gain120, Unguided. ASI294MC Pro & ED80 + reducer/flattener.

Processed in PixInsight, with a touch of GIMP to the final image.

As hard as i tried, I could not protect M82 from blowing the whites. In BackgroundNeutralization & ColourCalibration, I have not yet figured out how to work on 3 previews?

Preview01 is on blank sky

Preview02 is on the target (Chose M81 here)

Preview03 was on M82, but I could not find a setting to pick preview 03, as well as 02? I had Structure Detection ticked, just in case?

 

[Aramcheck]

In ColourCalibration have you tried just setting a preview on the background & leaving the White defaulted to the whole image (with structure detection ticked)? I think that's what I ended up doing when I had a go at M81/82 last week.

Later on in the processing I found that I had to use different masks for either Galaxy as HDRMultiscaleTransform & LocalHistogramEqualisation needed different settings for each of them.

Cheers
Ivor

[wimvb]

14 hours ago, oymd said:

35 subs @120s, Gain120, Unguided. ASI294MC Pro & ED80 + reducer/flattener.

Processed in PixInsight, with a touch of GIMP to the final image.

As hard as i tried, I could not protect M82 from blowing the whites. In BackgroundNeutralization & ColourCalibration, I have not yet figured out how to work on 3 previews?

Preview01 is on blank sky

Preview02 is on the target (Chose M81 here)

Preview03 was on M82, but I could not find a setting to pick preview 03, as well as 02? I had Structure Detection ticked, just in case?

 

 

Use the preview aggregator script (Script > utilities) and combine pv2 and pv3 into one image. Take pv1 as reference for the background and "aggregated" for white reference. Uncheck structure detection. Then apply to your image.

[oymd]

3 hours ago, wimvb said:

Use the preview aggregator script (Script > utilities) and combine pv2 and pv3 into one image. Take pv1 as reference for the background and "aggregated" for white reference. Uncheck structure detection. Then apply to your image.

Thanks Wim

So, just to double check:

After creating Pv02 & Pv03, run Preview Aggregator on both, which will create one aggregated preview.

In BackgroundNeutralization leave all at defaults - selecting Preview01 as Reference. Apply

then 

In  ColourCalibration in White reference box I will prick AGGREGATED, in Background Reference I will pick Preview01, and UNITICK Structure detection, then apply.

[wimvb]

You have to create the aggregated preview image AFTER background neutralisation. Also remember that this image CAN'T BE REUSED. This is because it's a new image, and won't get the same treatment as the original. This is not a preview, but an image made from two previews.

workflow:

create your previews. Let's call background preview "preview 1"

M81 preview = "preview 2"

M82 preview = "preview 3"

Do background neutralisation with preview 1 as reference.

Create aggregated image from preview 2 and preview 3

Do colour calibration with preview 1 as background reference, "Aggregated" as white point reference. Original image as target. Uncheck structure detection. Pull the small triangle over to the original image (target), in order to apply the process.

Edited April 17, 2020 by wimvb