Sh2-112 from SE London (Revised Processing)

[carastro]

Taken from Bromley over 3 nights, it could do with more data to be honest, but 3 nights on the trot staying up until 3.30am did me in. 

Atik460EX and FR x 0.8
Skywatcher ED120 and HEQ5
Ha 27 x 600 (4.5 hours)
Oiii 12 x 300 binned (1 hour)
Sii  12 x 300 binned (1 hour)

Total imaging time 6 1/2 hours

 

I was never happy with the background Nebulosity, so after some more work on this, herewith the new process (you may need yhour sunglasses lol)

 

 

Edited September 5, 2022 by carastro

[old_eyes]

Very nice! On my list to image with the same scope/camera combination (except I don't use a reducer). I hope I do as well.

[Roy Foreman]

Staying up till 3.30am for just one night would do me in ! Looks like it was well worth the effort though. Hopefully you can now sit back and relax and recover whilst waiting for the next batch of clear nights !!!

[MartinB]

That's a cracker Carole.  I like the faint background nebulosity as well

[AstroMuni]

20 hours ago, carastro said:

Taken from Bromley over 3 nights, it could do with more data to be honest, but 3 nights on the trot staying up until 3.30am did me in. 

Amazing image Carole. Its got lots of detail and I as a beginner could get this view playing around in Preview on Mac. So if you spend more time with the processing I am sure you can leverage a lot more from the original data.

 

Edited August 31, 2022 by AstroMuni

[Fegato]

Nice one Carole! Must admit I couldn't do three nights like that either - could you automate and go to bed? I've managed to get to the point where I can leave it all on the patio shooting away all night while I sleep. Took a bit of a leap of faith the first time I did it, and I didn't sleep too well that night, but it all works really well so I've got used to it now. I guess I have no security concerns, which helps (we're in the middle of nowhere) - so the only thing to worry about is un-forecast rain really, as I have no rain monitor. 

[carastro]

Thanks. Very little of my rig is automated.  Not clever enough at IT to do that.  Plus l switch my kit around depending on the size if the target  so it all gets more complicated.   I do sometimes try to snatch some sleep. 
 

Carole

Edited August 31, 2022 by carastro

[AstroMuni]

12 hours ago, carastro said:

Very little of my rig is automated.

What software do you use to manage the mount etc.?

[carastro]

10 minutes ago, AstroMuni said:

What software do you use to manage the mount etc.?

I don't I use the handset.

I have got EQmod and can use it, but without plate solving it is less useful to me than the handset.  

One of my astro buddies has been trying to help me get into plate solving, but thus far we are not having a lot of success.

Carole   

Edited September 1, 2022 by carastro

[AstroMuni]

22 hours ago, carastro said:

I have got EQmod and can use it, but without plate solving it is less useful to me than the handset. 

Lots of us use platesolving with Windows or Mac/Linux/RPi based software and if you start a topic giving details of the issues you are facing, I am sure you will get lots of good advice right here in this forum.

Edited September 2, 2022 by AstroMuni

[carastro]

Thanks but probably best if l stick with the guy who is helping me.  Much is to do with disconnection issues.   I don’t want to change  my capture software either. 
 

Carole

[assouptro]

3 hours ago, carastro said:

Thanks but probably best if l stick with the guy who is helping me.  Much is to do with disconnection issues.   I don’t want to change  my capture software either. 
 

Carole

Great image Carole!

I was looking at this nebula a few weeks ago but haven’t quite finished my latest project 

I know what you mean with the contiguous late nights, I only have parts of my rig automated and still babysit to check focus etc 

Once you have a workflow and software familiarity it’s difficult to change something for the fear of wasting the few clear nights we have! 

what capture software do you use? 

Thanks for sharing! 
Bryan 

[carastro]

2 hours ago, assouptro said:

Once you have a workflow and software familiarity it’s difficult to change something for the fear of wasting the few clear nights we have! 

what capture software do you use? 

Exactly.  I am using the very basic Atik software that came with my cameras = Artemis.  I really love it, and together with this I never bothered to change from PHD1 to PHD2 since PHD1 does everything I need.  When software starts asking me the focal length of my scope etc and the fact that I use several different focal lengths with the various scopes I use, so I would have to keep swapping, I just back off and stick with the simple stuff.   It has always held me in good stead and the only thing that is automated (after a fashion) is my Electronic filterwheel also Atik and this works in Artemis so I can do a complete sequence continuously.  I check my focus manually before I start and check all the filters are parfocal (it is rare that they are not and I presume this is due to temperature).  

I access the laptop in the obsy from indoors via Teamviwer and if I need to change anything in PHD or Artemis (ie: stop or start imaging, change filters, do more of one filter than another), I can do this from inside the house.  I can also check for clouds by watching PHD, and can warm up the camera at the end of a run so that by the time I get back outside to put everything away the camera is normally warmed up by then.  Only thing I can't do from indoors once I am up and running is a Meridian flip and I have to go outside and do this manually.  

Carole 

Edited September 2, 2022 by carastro

[assouptro]

23 hours ago, carastro said:

Exactly.  I am using the very basic Atik software that came with my cameras = Artemis.  I really love it, and together with this I never bothered to change from PHD1 to PHD2 since PHD1 does everything I need.  When software starts asking me the focal length of my scope etc and the fact that I use several different focal lengths with the various scopes I use, so I would have to keep swapping, I just back off and stick with the simple stuff.   It has always held me in good stead and the only thing that is automated (after a fashion) is my Electronic filterwheel also Atik and this works in Artemis so I can do a complete sequence continuously.  I check my focus manually before I start and check all the filters are parfocal (it is rare that they are not and I presume this is due to temperature).  

I access the laptop in the obsy from indoors via Teamviwer and if I need to change anything in PHD or Artemis (ie: stop or start imaging, change filters, do more of one filter than another), I can do this from inside the house.  I can also check for clouds by watching PHD, and can warm up the camera at the end of a run so that by the time I get back outside to put everything away the camera is normally warmed up by then.  Only thing I can't do from indoors once I am up and running is a Meridian flip and I have to go outside and do this manually.  

Carole 

All sounds fairly familiar! 
I too use Artemis and have an Atik fw and use chrome Remote Desktop to view from inside the house

I have upgraded phd though, I was initially reluctant incase I had to train guiding and input all the details of my various scopes but it just retained all that information, I also have several profiles in phd as I too have several scopes and use either an original loadstar or my Atik 314 as guide cameras depending on the set up, once the profile has been created in the phd wizard, it Is really easy to just select the right one for the setup I’m using

I think that the latest phd with multi star guiding is an improvement. 
 

I always have to refocus when changing filters even though they are parfocal (astrodon) with most of my scopes, I’m guessing that’s because they aren’t triplets? so if I have to change filters during a session, I have to stay up!

I purchased a license for SG pro (sequence generator pro) about 3 years ago, but never got around to learning how to use it as Artemis “just works!” 

One additional thing I have introduced to the Artemis workflow is a script for dithering, I found the software and instructions on the phd forum and it works and has improved my imaging so much I would always choose to dither now, I had to do this due to a couple of column defects in my 460 that were difficult to process out but the script has some really weird quirks that would just stop the connection to the camera and phd, I’ve worked out I have to have the computer screen with phd “on top” when it’s dithering as if I am looking at Artemis at that point it would just lock up and I’d have to quit Artemis and phd, then start them up again! 
 

I have just taken a punt on a second hand qhy 268m from ukabs and I will have to learn new software, It worries me but you can’t stay still for too long or it gets harder to change! 
 

Thanks 

Bryan 

Edited September 3, 2022 by assouptro
Typo

[carastro]

@assouptro

Wow, nice to find a fellow Artemis user who also swears by it.  Yes changing to a QHY or CMOS camera means learning new software.  I had a OSC QHY8L at one time, the software that comes with that is really odd and couldn't fathom it out at all.  So I used APT at that time, but in the end I just found m,ono imaging and Artemis so much easier I sold it. 

I also had the script for Artemis dithering, but never managed to get it to work.  

Also I had the demo of SGPro when it first came out, but could not get it to connect to PHD1 or PHD2, even with help from another imager/IT buff, so just gave up and went back to Artemis.

Carole