m42

[astrokat]

ive been waiting all year to see this (first time) set my alarm for 3 even though work early in the morning, well worth beening nackered all day for lol even got a first atempt at taking a image .

are there any filters to inprove the colour. thanks toby:headbang:

[ATTACH]27166[/ATTACH]

[DAVPPK]

Well, a LP filter and a nebula / OIII would enchance details...

[astrokat]

thanks ive brought a lp filter yesterday i will look at getting a OIII and see how i get on

[DAVPPK]

Good luck and don't stay up TOO late LOL

Dave

[mike.brightmore]

Well done. There are quite a few ways to improve the image. Try posting an image in the astrophotography thread and you will get a lot of very constructive advice.

[Sparrow]

Nice image astroKat - I've just bought the EOS1000D so it's nice to see a result from it. Hope you don't mind - I've had a quick go at the processing to lose some of the light pollution and bring out the nebulosity a bit more. There are others on here far more expert than me who could probably do more with it - the processing is such an important part of the process as I'm learning.

Regards

John

[Parallax]

I don't usually do RGB but I couldn't resist having a go at this.

First off I alinged the R,G & B channels. This reduced the LP effect.

Then it was just a few tweaks of levels and curves and finally some noise reduction.

As suggested, a LP filter would help.

Steve

[astrokat]

thanks guy looks alot better and that was only a 30 sec exposure how do i image with out over exposing the center

thamks again

toby

[Sparrow]

Hi Toby - from what I can gather from the experts, M42 is actually a really hard target to get a good image of - it;s impossible to get the correct exposure for the whole thing with one setting, so to get a good image, you need to take exposures of varying lengths - longer to get the fainter nebula detail and shorter for the centre. Then it's a case of compiling the image from the various exposures to get a balanced picture.

There's a tutorial somewhere on the web on how to do it - you'll need something like adobe photoshop or Paint Shop Pro to do the processing.

[astrokat]

[ATTACH]27195[/ATTACH

here is what ive got after stacking all the picture ive got

[Sparrow]

Hi Toby,

I've had a go at your stack now - hope you don't mind - again, I'm not an expert at the processing and there are members on here who could probably do far more with it, but hopefully you'll like the improvements. SOme nice detail there - like me, it looks like you need a light pollution filter. I'm now saving for one of the EOS clip filters - about £110. I think it will be worth every penny. In the meantime, I've removed as much of the LP as I can for you.

Best wishes

John

[Lerxst]

Will OIII/nebula filters enhance anything when observing, or are they only useful in astro imaging?

[Ant]

M42 has a bright core and lots of faint outer whispy bits.

You can mask off the central brighter parts in photoshop and process only the outer parts, without burning out the core. Or you can take two sets of images. Longer exposures for the outer area's and shorted ones for the central bright area.

Then combine them in photoshop.

You can buy a 2" LP filter which will screw into the 2" adapter. They do not have to be that expensive.

I have two

Light Pollution Reduction - Skywatcher Light Pollution Filter which is £25

Light Pollution Reduction - Baader Neodymium Filter which is £42

I did compare the two in a reveiw here...http://stargazerslounge.com/equipment-reviews/71126-skywatcher-lpr-filter-vs-baader-neodymium-filter.html

HTH

Ant

[astrokat]

ive just ordered a lp filter and looking to get a OIII though there not cheap and one know any good sites for purchasing one thanks

toby