The Cygnus Wall: SHO+RGB using an OSC camera from a Bortle 8 city centre

[Lee_P]

Here's another image trying to push what can be done from a city centre with an OSC camera. I used an Optolong L-Ultimate for Ha/OIII; combined with an Askar D2 for SII/OIII; and no filter for colourful stars and RGB data. It's 40 hours of exposure time in total, taken across three weeks. This was the first time I used the PixInsight ScreenStars utility by Bill Blanshan and Mike Cranfield. I found it to be very effective, in conjunction with StarNet2, for removing and later reinserting stars. Imaging details are under the picture, and as ever more info is on my website here. 

 

* 25 August – 15 September 2023 (three weeks)
* Bristol, UK (Bortle 8 )
* Telescope: Askar 130PHQ Flatfield Astrograph
* Camera: ZWO ASI 2600MC-PRO
* Mount: Sky-Watcher EQ6-R PRO
* Guide: William Optics 50mm Guidescope with 1.25″ RotoLock; ZWO ASI 120MM Mini
* Control: ASIAIR Plus
* Software: PixInsight, Lightroom
* Filters:
– Optolong L-Ultimate (Ha / OIII): 540 x 120 seconds (18 hours)
– Askar Colour Magic D2 (SII / OIII): 570 x 120 seconds (19 hours)
– No filter (RGB): 90 x 120 seconds (3 hours)

Total exposure time: 40 hours

By Lee Pullen

[knobby]

Lee your work from Bortle 8 is amazing, I just wish I could find time to put 40 hours into an image, your efforts really pay off !

[simmo39]

Yep, v nice! but to long on one target for me. Get in and out fast!

[Lee_P]

2 hours ago, knobby said:

Lee your work from Bortle 8 is amazing, I just wish I could find time to put 40 hours into an image, your efforts really pay off !

Thanks! The trick is to have a quick set-up and pack-down routine, then just get into the habit of imaging at every opportunity. 

59 minutes ago, simmo39 said:

Yep, v nice! but to long on one target for me. Get in and out fast!

Haha, I think of astrophotography as a marathon, but you prefer the sprint approach 👍

[tomato]

A great result. I also prefer not to dwell too long on a single target, but if you want a stunning image like this and you are under a city sky, I don’t think you have much choice but to put the hours in.

You could argue a permanent observatory makes more sense in a light polluted location, as it will greatly increase your potential imaging time compared to setting up and taking down each session.

[Lee_P]

8 minutes ago, tomato said:

A great result. I also prefer not to dwell too long on a single target, but if you want a stunning image like this and you are under a city sky, I don’t think you have much choice but to put the hours in.

You could argue a permanent observatory makes more sense in a light polluted location, as it will greatly increase your potential imaging time compared to setting up and taking down each session.

Definitely, I agree. I use a pier, but move the telescope in and out of the shed as needed. So my set-up time is about five minutes. It's like a permanent observatory on a budget! 

Edited September 19, 2023 by Lee_P

[Roy Foreman]

40 hrs in 3 weeks. I don't get that much clear sky in an entire year ! Hence I have to grab as much data as possible in a couple of hours.

Nice work and an excellent result. Well done.

[Ouroboros]

Wow. That is amazing. Like a breaking wave of surf!   Well done, Lee. You just seem to get better and better. 

[tooth_dr]

Lovely Lee, really nicely done.  I'm in the same camp as you, and just image one target when we get a 'clear spell'.  I'm currently trying to stack 46 hours on IC1396 and but after 12 hours of processing in APP the PC crashed.  M2 harddrive glitch, thank God it was recoverable.  How do you stack your large number of files?

[Lee_P]

1 hour ago, Roy Foreman said:

40 hrs in 3 weeks. I don't get that much clear sky in an entire year ! Hence I have to grab as much data as possible in a couple of hours.

Nice work and an excellent result. Well done.

We're only 45 miles apart -- surely the weather can't be that different?

 

59 minutes ago, Ouroboros said:

Wow. That is amazing. Like a breaking wave of surf!   Well done, Lee. You just seem to get better and better. 

Thanks, I try to make each picture better than the last one, but it doesn't always work out that way 😂

 

4 minutes ago, tooth_dr said:

Lovely Lee, really nicely done.  I'm in the same camp as you, and just image one target when we get a 'clear spell'.  I'm currently trying to stack 46 hours on IC1396 and but after 12 hours of processing in APP the PC crashed.  M2 harddrive glitch, thank God it was recoverable.  How do you stack your large number of files?

I feel your pain. I use PixInsight, and recently was integrating 2100 subframes (102GB) and it failed after 72 hours of number crunching. It was recoverable though. Normally I'm integrating around 600 subframes, and that takes around 12 - 14 hours. So, I start it in the evening and leave it going all night.