Horsehead test picture

[wormix]

Good Morning everyone - I recently got my 600d modified and finally had a chance to test it out in the single clear night I have had in what seems like months.

 

I chose the Horsehead / Flame region as a test as I really wanted to see how well the Ha comes out.

 

My setup is a WO Megrez 72 with an OVL field Flattener on HEQ5.  Images are 38 x 60seconds, ISO800 with flats and bias.  I have very quickly stretched as i could tell there were issues whilst imaging but wanted to get something to look at and pick apart.

 

Just wanted clarification on a couple things - firstly, the reflection, is that likely due to an issue with my optics (dirty, smeared, scratched, etc) or is it one of those frustrating things with Alnitak that sometimes happens?

Secondly - the bloat on the brighter stars - is this just overexposure, or an imapct of the camera modification, and if so would a CLS CCD filter help??

 

Cheers in advance

Gareth 

[fifeskies]

Yes , for a modified camera you would need the CLS CCD Filter , not the basic CLS.

The CCD version has additional IR blocking , but beyond the region that we want to retain, so its not simply replacing the IR filter the camera had originally.

In particular it passes the Ha region, only filtering beyond the frequency that is useful. This should help with star bloat.

That said star bloat is probably needing a star mask in post processing.

 

The bright star Alnitak is always a difficult part of getting the Horsehead balanced right.

 

Edited February 15, 2021 by fifeskies