The Moon-Basic but Great for Me Personally!

[wesdon1]

Hi all. I just wanted to post my new Moon pic, I did it yesterday in between cloud cover. I took a one minute video with DSLR camera, and then used PIPP, then Autostakkert for stacking and sharpening. I know it's rubbish compared to the pros on here, but i'm getting better all the time, and any experience I gain using those complicated processing software applications will help me when I process much more complicated data from nebulae and other DSO's, I feel. You will notice my image is rather under-exposed, this is deliberate, to counteract the intense brightness of the Moon, although on reflection I think I maybe went a little too under-exposed/dark? I still like it though! 

( I added a second stacked image, with 20% stacked frames, instead of 30% stacked frames, to see if there's much of a difference. I can maybe see a slightly brighter image in the 30% version at the top, but the 20% version, at the bottom, looks sharper to me? I dunno!? lol )

Edited December 31, 2022 by wesdon1
I wanted to add 2nd pic with 10% less stacked frames

[PeterCPC]

Not rubbish at all.

[wesdon1]

Just now, PeterCPC said:

Not rubbish at all.

Aww thanks Peter, that's very kind!

[imakebeer]

Great job @wesdon1, glad to see you're keeping at it 👍This is still just with your DSLR on a fixed tripod, right?

Funnily enough I was out a couple of nights ago (29th Dec) having another go at the moon and planets and took a similar pic of the moon. One thing I can recommend from one newbie to another is take a look at http://planetaryimagingtutorials.com/ and the associated videos on YouTube.

In the stacking section he takes you through Autostakkert, then in the processing section he goes through sharpening in Registax. He doesn't profess to be an all knowing expert, but his basic steps with these powerful tools continue to serve me well for the time being.

Anyway, I used these basic steps on my own moon pic and was pleased with the result - I did a tiny bit of extra work in GIMP using the histogram tools just to bring out the shadows and highlights just a little more (remember the GIMP tutorial video I shared in your other thread recently?).

Anyway, keep it up, it's looking good 👍

[Mart29]

5 hours ago, wesdon1 said:

Hi all. I just wanted to post my new Moon pic, I did it yesterday in between cloud cover. I took a one minute video with DSLR camera, and then used PIPP, then Autostakkert for stacking and sharpening. I know it's rubbish compared to the pros on here, but i'm getting better all the time, and any experience I gain using those complicated processing software applications will help me when I process much more complicated data from nebulae and other DSO's, I feel. You will notice my image is rather under-exposed, this is deliberate, to counteract the intense brightness of the Moon, although on reflection I think I maybe went a little too under-exposed/dark? I still like it though! 

( I added a second stacked image, with 20% stacked frames, instead of 30% stacked frames, to see if there's much of a difference. I can maybe see a slightly brighter image in the 30% version at the top, but the 20% version, at the bottom, looks sharper to me? I dunno!? lol )

It's not rubbish,  it's an achievement! We should be proud of every step we take 🙃 

Honestly though, for Luna you really don't need the faff of stacking and editing,  on a good night you can get super sharp images in single frame shots.

Here are some of mine take through the eyepiece with my phone, not even with a holder , just me holding it.  Sometimes keeping it simple gets great rewards.

Edited December 31, 2022 by Mart29

[wesdon1]

16 hours ago, Mart29 said:

It's not rubbish,  it's an achievement! We should be proud of every step we take 🙃 

Honestly though, for Luna you really don't need the faff of stacking and editing,  on a good night you can get super sharp images in single frame shots.

Here are some of mine take through the eyepiece with my phone, not even with a holder , just me holding it.  Sometimes keeping it simple gets great rewards.

Hi @Mart29  You got some amazing shots there, without any processing etc. Very impressive mate! Tbh mart, the processing side of things is a must for me because I'm still trying to learn the basics, so I have more experience when processing the real difficult stuff like galaxies and nebulae. That being said, I will remember your advice in future when I just want to get quick, no fuss Lunar shots! Your Lunar shots are very impressive mate! Thanks for the great advice and awesome pics Mart! 

[wesdon1]

16 hours ago, imakebeer said:

Great job @wesdon1, glad to see you're keeping at it 👍This is still just with your DSLR on a fixed tripod, right?

Funnily enough I was out a couple of nights ago (29th Dec) having another go at the moon and planets and took a similar pic of the moon. One thing I can recommend from one newbie to another is take a look at http://planetaryimagingtutorials.com/ and the associated videos on YouTube.

In the stacking section he takes you through Autostakkert, then in the processing section he goes through sharpening in Registax. He doesn't profess to be an all knowing expert, but his basic steps with these powerful tools continue to serve me well for the time being.

Anyway, I used these basic steps on my own moon pic and was pleased with the result - I did a tiny bit of extra work in GIMP using the histogram tools just to bring out the shadows and highlights just a little more (remember the GIMP tutorial video I shared in your other thread recently?).

Anyway, keep it up, it's looking good 👍

Hi again @imakebeer No mate it was actually my DSLR connected to my 8 inch Newtonian Reflector! I did the roughest of rough polar alignment, then did just 1 minute vid of Moon, zoomed in with a 20mm EP fitted inside my Eyepiece Projection Adaptor. I was actually planning to get Jupiter but the seeing and clouds made it too difficult, so I switched over to the Moon , so as to not have a totally wasted session! 

Oh right brilliant mate! I will take a look at your pics, and also thanks for that link, I will watch/read up that link, I just had a brief look and it looks ace! Thanks! 

LOL yes I did download GIMP, and have started messing around with it, in preparation for the next good clear spell of weather, when I get new data to process, thanks! I am actually only just starting to get comfortable with DSS basics, so still have a long way to go before I'm knocking out APOD winning Galaxy and nebulae pics every week! LOL!

Mate it's ace to see my fellow newbie is still at it also mate! We're both on a exciting journey with so much to look forward to! ( Can you imagine in 2-3 years, how good we'll both get!? )

[Mart29]

49 minutes ago, wesdon1 said:

Hi @Mart29  You got some amazing shots there, without any processing etc. Very impressive mate! Tbh mart, the processing side of things is a must for me because I'm still trying to learn the basics, so I have more experience when processing the real difficult stuff like galaxies and nebulae. That being said, I will remember your advice in future when I just want to get quick, no fuss Lunar shots! Your Lunar shots are very impressive mate! Thanks for the great advice and awesome pics Mart! 

Thanks mate. Well you are in good company here , lots of great advice and help given.  Never be afraid to ask and the guys will sort you 🙃

[Mandy D]

22 hours ago, Mart29 said:

Thanks mate. Well you are in good company here , lots of great advice and help given.  Never be afraid to ask and the guys will sort you 🙃

And the girls, too!

You got some lovely shots of the Moon there, especially considering no stacking. Some of my stacks have come out worse! I'm restricted to camera and lenses at the moment, which is rather annoying. Did you see Uranus occultation, last night? Clouds have cleared here this morning, but refused to budge last night, of course!

[Mart29]

1 hour ago, Mandy D said:

And the girls, too!

You got some lovely shots of the Moon there, especially considering no stacking. Some of my stacks have come out worse! I'm restricted to camera and lenses at the moment, which is rather annoying. Did you see Uranus occultation, last night? Clouds have cleared here this morning, but refused to budge last night, of course!

Of cus the girls 🙃 thanks, I think I just get lucky with the seeing conditions 😅 

Nope , kept checking but the cloud cover was ridiculous 🙄  

I haven't seen anyone post it yet!  It looks great out today,  obviously! 

I want to change direction for abit now and go for nebula and galaxy,  never really had a decent go. I got great views of the ring nebula a few months back but that's it.  

What's your plans for 2023 mate?

Edited January 2, 2023 by Mart29

[Mandy D]

33 minutes ago, Mart29 said:

Of cus the girls 🙃 thanks, I think I just get lucky with the seeing conditions 😅 

Nope , kept checking but the cloud cover was ridiculous 🙄  

I haven't seen anyone post it yet!  It looks great out today,  obviously! 

I want to change direction for abit now and go for nebula and galaxy,  never really had a decent go. I got great views of the ring nebula a few months back but that's it.  

What's your plans for 2023 mate?

Obviously! We all knew the clouds would clear as soon as it was over!

I did M42 several years ago, but not very good at all. So, plans are to have another go this year. I'd like to get Andromeda and the Pleiades. I might as well go for the Horsehead whilst I'm in M42.

I've attached my M42.