When the first attempt goes hilariously wrong

[SwiMatt]

I am one of those who do JUST VISUAL. But yesterday night I had my first shot at astrophotography Just a month ago I didn't believe taking pictures of the sky could ever be for me, but I just had to see what the fuzz was about.

With just a DSLR and a kit lens, even without a tripod adapted to the camera, even without an intervalometer: I put my camera on the balcony table and took about 30 lights (2.5"), a few darks, a few biases and a few flats (ask me more about the specs if you're interested - they're beyond the point). The goal was not to take the best picture I could: I knew that with 30x2.5" I could really not go anywhere - but with no intervalometer I wasn't about to do a 3 hours session of clicking. But I wanted to test the process, learn about the science of it, see if I could eventually like it. Incidentally, I completely messed up the flats - using a headlamp that had a very concentrated center beam.

My impression? It was a lot of fun. Being under the stars is always good, even from my balcony, no matter the tools at hand. And the processing! Now, don't get me wrong, it was a bit frustrating: I tried processing manually without the flats (on Siril), but there was just not enough signal to do anything with it. Without flats I just couldn't manage to detect enough stars to register the images. On the good side, doing it manually allowed me to understand what each step is for. In the end, I applied the automatic script using my terrible flats course and the result was hilariously bad. But also weirdly satisfying!

There are two reasons I'm posting this horribly wrong attempt:

1. I had just so much fun, and while I will remain a visual observer first, I also will get into getting some gear targeted to photography (a tracking mount, first and foremost);
2. To let any beginners know: you'll mess up, and will mess up hard. As I said, I'm a professional scientist, I understand quite well the things I did and what went wrong, and what I should and should not have done (heck, I knew it while I was doing it). Just have fun with the process, and it won't matter.

Not looking for advice at this stage, just wanted to share a fun experience!

[edarter]

If you enjoyed that, wait til you get the first long exposure image pop up on the DSLR screen of a Galaxy or something bright like the Orion Nebula, it will take your breath away and you will be hooked!

 

[SwiMatt]

30 minutes ago, edarter said:

If you enjoyed that, wait til you get the first long exposure image pop up on the DSLR screen of a Galaxy or something bright like the Orion Nebula, it will take your breath away and you will be hooked!

It's a scary thought! I currently don't have the budget to be too hooked to astrophotography 😂

But I have no doubt that I will continue experimenting with the little setup I have. With a ball head for the tripod I have and an intervalometer I will have enough to give it a "real" try - that's all very cheap and accessible. 

Edited February 2 by SwiMatt

[tomato]

It seems to me you have the ideal approach to get into AP and not be put off by the set backs. 

From time to time, I get a hankering to do some visual astronomy, but it's not long before I get back in front of the laptop.

[SwiMatt]

8 minutes ago, tomato said:

It seems to me you have the ideal approach to get into AP and not be put off by the set backs. 

From time to time, I get a hankering to do some visual astronomy, but it's not long before I get back in front of the laptop.

I can totally understand that! Playing with software and coding is a thing that I like so much, I just never thought before of how much of this there is in astrophotography. That feeling when you do something right and a real picture pops up on your screen (even a wrong one like this)... it's a real dopamine kick. It's the same kick I get when my code at work runs smoothly, on when I fix a tricky bug. I don't understand how I wasn't seeing this side before.

[carastro]

Welcome to our”world”.  Lol

but did you manage to get a better view of the fuzzy thing?  
 

Oh whoops, just re-read your post.  You meant find out what the Fuss is all about (not Fuzz). Lol lol

Edited February 2 by carastro

[SwiMatt]

10 minutes ago, carastro said:

Welcome to our”world”.  Lol

but did you manage to get a better view of the fuzzy thing?  
 

Oh whoops, just re-read your post.  You meant find out what the Fuss is all about (not Fuzz). Lol lol

Things that happen when trying to write in English! I learned something new today

[ONIKKINEN]

Beware, its a slippery slope if you get the imaging bug. Slippery slope might be an understatement, i think its more like being kicked off a cliff and there is no bottom to reach.

Here is my first image of the Andromeda galaxy:

You'll have to take my word on it, since it isn't exactly recognizable as M31 😁. Still, i remember the moment and how excited and proud i was to see anything resembling a deep sky object.

[carastro]

You should see my first M31.  Trailing galore.  Not even sure l still have it.  

[SwiMatt]

1 hour ago, ONIKKINEN said:

Beware, its a slippery slope if you get the imaging bug. Slippery slope might be an understatement, i think its more like being kicked off a cliff and there is no bottom to reach.

Here is my first image of the Andromeda galaxy:

You'll have to take my word on it, since it isn't exactly recognizable as M31 😁. Still, i remember the moment and how excited and proud i was to see anything resembling a deep sky object.

Starting to feel like I should get out while I can

Tonight I will take new flats and to the very least get a normal starry sky...

[Stu]

Yep, I’ve taken some corkers in my time. This is one of my early Moon shots, complete with lunar X.

There are some good ones in my StuPOD thread here:

 

[Mr H in Yorkshire]

A couple of days ago there was a gobsmacking red dawn sky, like something out of an alien invasion movie. I was showering but so impressed that I rushed downstairs, grabbed the phone, ran back, opened the velux (thereby freezing my assets) and took this. I've got one with the moon in, it's even worse!

 

 

Edited February 2 by Mr H in Yorkshire

[SwiMatt]

2 hours ago, Stu said:

Yep, I’ve taken some corkers in my time. This is one of my early Moon shots, complete with lunar X.

There are some good ones in my StuPOD thread here:

 

 

I will no doubt attempt a star trail with my phone next, I have good feelings about winning this 😂

 

[MikeAa]

The thing is, you had a go and you enjoyed what you did!! Bravo!!

[Paul M]

You see it all the time, new starter buys the right gear, uses the best software and within a couple of years or so, they're gone. Burnt out, nowhere to go.

I'm a fast learner but much more enjoy the journey. Perfection and I aren't good bedfellows!

So have a blast, have a laugh, enjoy!

 

[Sunshine]

Amazing! you’ve capture the Bootes void! 

[Swillis]

Sounds like you're having fun and that's the point.

 

14 hours ago, Mr H in Yorkshire said:

thereby freezing my assets) and took this. I've got one with the moon in, it's even worse!

I was slightly cautious about scrolling down to see what was in the picture after reading this.

Edited February 3 by Swillis
spelling

[Mr H in Yorkshire]

@Swillis Yikes, you've made me think about the hazard of inadvertently (that's my excuse your honour) selecting the rear facing camera! That would definitely have been too much information. It is such a shame because the sky really was stunning, the blood red extended from the Eastern horizon to the far west where the moon was still visible. No amount of processing will make any difference.

Edited February 3 by Mr H in Yorkshire

[MalcolmP]

On 02/02/2024 at 11:07, SwiMatt said:

I am one of those who do JUST VISUAL.

But also weirdly satisfying!

Not looking for advice at this stage, just wanted to share a fun experience!

Yes, very satisfying like you I have been Visual for many years but recently my thoughts have turned to AP/EAA as well. Partly to try something new but also with advancing yesrs the spirit is still willing but the flesh is becoming weak!
So starting with simple experiments of just a DSLR and lens to try software etc without great initial expense has been interesting.

Not trying to give advice, just a suggestion for more fun with software, have you tried Deep Sky Stacker ? With my 50mm lens at 5sec exposure ( @ f1.8 and @f2.8 ) I get enough stars to stack and with a 135mm vintage telephoto 2sec ( @ f2.8 ) is good for plenty of stars in DSS ( I have not yet learned how to drive Siril, I have tried !)

Re @ intervalometer
Is your balcony mounted camera within USB range of your computer ? You can do intervalometer in software.

My most satisfying catch so far is a supernova in a galaxy far far away :). No flats or darks just lights and bias. https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/418346-supernova-sn-2024gy-comet-62p-using-just-a-dslr-on-a-tripod/

 

 

Edited February 3 by MalcolmP

[Swillis]

A few years ago I put together a barn door tracker as my initial venture into astrophotography. Unfortunately the time it took to reassemble and small children meant it didn't get much use. But @SwiMatt you sound like the kind of person who would enjoy the challenge and possibly get a lot of enjoyment out of the process (I certainly enjoyed putting it together but just lacked the time at that point to get the most out of it)

[SwiMatt]

6 hours ago, MalcolmP said:

Not trying to give advice, just a suggestion for more fun with software, have you tried Deep Sky Stacker ? With my 50mm lens at 5sec exposure ( @ f1.8 and @f2.8 ) I get enough stars to stack and with a 135mm vintage telephoto 2sec ( @ f2.8 ) is good for plenty of stars in DSS ( I have not yet learned how to drive Siril, I have tried !)

The only reason I haven't tried DSS is because I run all my machines on Linux and DSS is only for Windows

but so far the scrips that come packaged with Siril were good enough for me. My photos were also done at 50mm (with zoom on the kit lens) but @f4 if I'm not mistaken. There is no doubt a way to stack these manually without the flats, but I didn't want to take the time to play around with all the possible settings to detect stars when registering the images.

6 hours ago, MalcolmP said:

Re @ intervalometer
Is your balcony mounted camera within USB range of your computer ? You can do intervalometer in software.

Ah-ha! Good tip, I did not know. I'll look into it, thanks!

 

4 hours ago, Swillis said:

A few years ago I put together a barn door tracker as my initial venture into astrophotography. Unfortunately the time it took to reassemble and small children meant it didn't get much use. But @SwiMatt you sound like the kind of person who would enjoy the challenge and possibly get a lot of enjoyment out of the process (I certainly enjoyed putting it together but just lacked the time at that point to get the most out of it)

Thanks for this tip. It does sound cool, but you got the wrong impression of me 😂 all the talent I have in software manipulation, I lack in hardware  I wish I had the savoir faire and patience for such a project...

[MalcolmP]

1 hour ago, SwiMatt said:

The only reason I haven't tried DSS is because I run all my machines on Linux and DSS is only for Windows

Ah , good point, sorry about that ! In days of yore before Windows, I was also linux oriented but I slipped the other way ( it is a long story involving an obscure German winmodem and Puppy Linux was the only one that had a driver for it , , very long and I dont want to derail your topic  ) but I do still have one machine on Linux Mint for when I get an irresistible urge. 

The intervalometer softwares I had in mind are also of the wrong ilk so I am glad I didnt mention them and commit two faux pas in one post ! 

Should I try to make amends by suggesting ASTAP, has a linux version, it does my short subs/stars very well for plate solving but I've not done much stacking in it yet.

[SwiMatt]

1 hour ago, MalcolmP said:

Ah , good point, sorry about that ! In days of yore before Windows, I was also linux oriented but I slipped the other way ( it is a long story involving an obscure German winmodem and Puppy Linux was the only one that had a driver for it , , very long and I dont want to derail your topic  ) but I do still have one machine on Linux Mint for when I get an irresistible urge. 

The intervalometer softwares I had in mind are also of the wrong ilk so I am glad I didnt mention them and commit two faux pas in one post ! 

Should I try to make amends by suggesting ASTAP, has a linux version, it does my short subs/stars very well for plate solving but I've not done much stacking in it yet.

Absolutely nothing to be sorry about! The more you know

ASTAP starts stretching the limits of my knowledge in dedicated astro software! But it is now saved in my browser as yet something else to look into

[SwiMatt]

A little update because I finally had the time to process the lights I took a month ago from my balcony. Besides major stars, I could see M39 (barely visible), and with coverage of 25x2.5", with tons of light pollution, I count this as a victory. 

The processing was simple and the result is OK-ish - what I would hope for a first attempt: I just stretched the image, removed a couple of visible gradients, and finally annotated the image. The removal of gradients removed a lot of fainter stars, but I'm OK with it. Honestly, I'm looking forward to try some more in the future. But this month my priority has been visual, since we had so little time for it.

Edited March 12 by SwiMatt