M16 - Eagle Nebula thro' Nexstar 8SE (Alt-Az)

[AdityaR]

PRE-READ: Everything was made possible by me(17), with the help of My Brother(16).

 

Equipment:

Telescope - Celestron Nexstar 8SE with f/6.3 SCT Focal Reducer on an Alt-Az Mount

Alignment - Auto Two Star Align, and added some Stars afterwards.

Camera - Canon EOS 600D/ T3i (Unmodified)

Acquisition Software - APT

Processing Softwares - Siril, Adobe Photoshop 2023

Total Light - ~30mins

LIght Frames - 6s x 300 decent frames at ISO1600 (took 400 but DSS rejected 100 of 'em)

Dark Frames - 6s x 50 frames at ISO1600

 

So Hey Guys, This is my first attempt at a nebula (without a filter, I have ordered a UHC filter, it's on the way!). I guess it turned out pretty well for a Newb like me, and for a 30mins exposure through Bortle 7, lol😅. My area has two big Mercury Lights and they pose a lot of hindrances, but they turned off again last night somehow and I knew it was a sign. The area I live in has a Bortle 7-8 sky (Pretty Harsh!), so had to deal with a lot of noise. But I somehow managed it. The processing is still off and I can see it, you can too. But since it's still not the best time to photograph this nebula - I will get a lot of chances till Late July and I plan to get atleast 2000+ exposures! So yeah that's pretty much it. I hope I will have lots more to show to you guys in the future.

Thanks and Sayonara~

 

PS: I would be happy to share the stacked exposure(unprocessed) if anyone of you is willing to give it a try!

 

(I accidentally crossposted it in deepsky imaging too. Sorry!)

Edited June 8 by AdityaR
Better Formatting.

[Demonperformer]

I think that is great for an early attempt. Unmodified DSLR, altaz mount, excessive light pollution - none of these make your job easy. True, it is a bit noisy, but more subs would take care of that.

This shows great promise.

[AdityaR]

Just now, Demonperformer said:

I think that is great for an early attempt. Unmodified DSLR, altaz mount, excessive light pollution - none of these make your job easy. True, it is a bit noisy, but more subs would take care of that.

This shows great promise.

Yeah True but Thank You!

[michael8554]

A great start.

I feel you could increase the contrast without blowing out the stars.

Lower the black level.

And up the saturation.

The Eagle is plainly visible.

Regarding Darks and Canon DSLR's.

There can be a problem with using Darks that aren't temperature matched - the temperature of images rises as the number of images taken increases.

For this reason some Canon DSLR users create a Master Bias and use this as the Dark in DSS.

Saves time too 🙂

Michael

 

[AdityaR]

3 hours ago, michael8554 said:

A great start.

I feel you could increase the contrast without blowing out the stars.

Lower the black level.

And up the saturation.

The Eagle is plainly visible.

Regarding Darks and Canon DSLR's.

There can be a problem with using Darks that aren't temperature matched - the temperature of images rises as the number of images taken increases.

For this reason some Canon DSLR users create a Master Bias and use this as the Dark in DSS.

Saves time too 🙂

Michael

 

Thanks! Will try it when processing the lights with the next batch!

[Vroobel]

What about flat frames? 

[AdityaR]

7 minutes ago, Vroobel said:

What about flat frames? 

I generally just use darks. I haven't explored that option yet!

[alacant]

6 hours ago, AdityaR said:

8SE

Absolutely amazing. OAG, bin, different mount, guide telescope... Try as I may,  I couldn't get anywhere near that with an SE.

600D? Therefore best with no in-camera bias or dark frames, ISO800. For the flat and light frames, simply subtract the offset (2048 for the 18Mp sensor). The former aren't really optional and would improve your excellent image even further.

Well done.

Edited June 8 by alacant
you your

[TiffsAndAstro]

28 minutes ago, AdityaR said:

I generally just use darks. I haven't explored that option yet!

Flats seem to make a huge difference. You really should try them.

Before I starting doing mine with Nina (you should definitely look into Nina if you an old laptop spare) I just put a lint free (I wish) white t-shirt over dew shield/lens, turned my 600d control from manual to AV and butted up a white screen on my tablet/iPad at about 50% brightness.

[AdityaR]

57 minutes ago, TiffsAndAstro said:

Flats seem to make a huge difference. You really should try them.

Before I starting doing mine with Nina (you should definitely look into Nina if you an old laptop spare) I just put a lint free (I wish) white t-shirt over dew shield/lens, turned my 600d control from manual to AV and butted up a white screen on my tablet/iPad at about 50% brightness.

Great I will try flats with the next batch😤. Thank You!

[Vroobel]

57 minutes ago, TiffsAndAstro said:

... about 50% brightness.

 

What does it mean? 

[AdityaR]

1 hour ago, alacant said:

Absolutely amazing. OAG, bin, different mount, guide telescope... Try as I may,  I couldn't get anywhere near that with an SE.

600D? Therefore best with no in-camera bias or dark frames, ISO800. For the flat and light frames, simply subtract the offset (2048 for the 18Mp sensor). The former aren't really optional and would improve your excellent image even further.

Well done.

Would Surely Try That Out. Thank You!

[AdityaR]

3 minutes ago, Vroobel said:

 

What does it mean? 

He probably means, to use the display of your iPad (at 50% brightness) to evenly illuminate the white shirt covering the scope.

[TiffsAndAstro]

1 hour ago, AdityaR said:

Great I will try flats with the next batch😤. Thank You!

Honestly, take some next chance you get and use them on previous data. They might not be perfect, but you might be quite shocked by the result.

I've messed up taking flats at the end of a session twice,  only to then  use ones from a week or two before and got a much improved image.

[TiffsAndAstro]

1 hour ago, Vroobel said:

 

What does it mean? 

Screen brightness slider. Though it will probably vary a bit from device to device.

[Vroobel]

As you use Nina, set the Flat Wizard at 1/2 ADU Max +/- 10-15%, then it doesn't matter how bright is the screen - the wizard adjusts an exposure time on its own. 

Edit. 

ASIAir does it automatically. 

Edited June 8 by Vroobel

[TiffsAndAstro]

25 minutes ago, Vroobel said:

As you use Nina, set the Flat Wizard at 1/2 ADU Max +/- 10-15%, then it doesn't matter how bright is the screen - the wizard adjusts an exposure time on its own. 

Edit. 

ASIAir does it automatically. 

Nina flats wizard is ace. 

[Vroobel]

It is. 

[TiffsAndAstro]

3 minutes ago, Vroobel said:

It is. 

When flat wizard is done I highly recommend removing your tablet from on top of dew shield before parking the scope from zenith ;(

Fortunately I have cat like reactions....

[Vroobel]

I highly recommend making a kind of collar protecting your light source from falling. This collar prevents the 'flat field panel' from any unwanted movement which may affect your flats. After all, it's recommended to collect at least 30 of them. 

Three different apertures, one flat field panel. It doesn't need to be the 3D printout, can be even cardboard, it's just an idea. 

 

 

Edited June 8 by Vroobel

[AdityaR]

14 hours ago, TiffsAndAstro said:

Honestly, take some next chance you get and use them on previous data. They might not be perfect, but you might be quite shocked by the result.

I've messed up taking flats at the end of a session twice,  only to then  use ones from a week or two before and got a much improved image.

I meant that I would use it with the (300 exposures of now and the other next 600 exposures I will take). I will be taking them in the next few days or so and it will not be so long. So yea. But I would definitely give it a try.

[TiffsAndAstro]

5 hours ago, AdityaR said:

I meant that I would use it with the (300 exposures of now and the other next 600 exposures I will take). I will be taking them in the next few days or so and it will not be so long. So yea. But I would definitely give it a try.

next few days....good luck if you live in the uk