First Photos with 80ed

Wailin

Brilliantly done. Lots of lovely detail in the nebula, how long were the subs?

allinthehead

Wailin wrote: »

Brilliantly done. Lots of lovely detail in the nebula, how long were the subs?

Thanks. Subs were 235*120 seconds

Wailin

Would you not try longer subs? 5 min subs or, better yet, 10min....would result in far less noise and even better detail. Should be easily achievable with a pier mounted set up.

allinthehead

Wailin wrote: »

Would you not try longer subs? 5 min subs or, better yet, 10min....would result in far less noise and even better detail. Should be easily achievable with a pier mounted set up.

Hi Wailin. I appreciate the feedback thanks. I didn't even notice the noise until you mentioned it, but you're right. I think 5-10 mins would be really at the limit without guiding. The reason i got the asi1600 was to avoid this. Maybe it's unavoidable.
I tried another process paying attention to noise. What do you think?

soul278smooth by Richard Sweeney, on Flickr

allinthehead

Or this a combination of both.

soul278smoothcombine by Richard Sweeney, on Flickr

Wailin

Don't get me wrong, i wasn't criticising the image....it's fantastic for 2 min subs. Can't believe the resolution. I think if you tried 5 min subs though you'd have a much higher signal to noise ratio. 10 min would be ideal if the alignment was spot on. With a pier I'd expect you to get 10min easily. Are you autoguiding?

From my phone, the first image is by far the best to me, lovely detail and nice and vivid. Smashing work. Next step is colour blending! A good spell of cold clear nights....!

Wailin

Sorry, just saw you're not guiding.

allinthehead

Seriously i welcome constructive criticism as i get so excited when i see the results that i only see the positive in the image. It wasn't until you mentioned the noise that it became obvious to me.

I've gathered 22 hrs worth of data on ngc1333 but i've realised that my sky's not as dark as i thought as the colour data is virtually useless due to gradients. Quite disappointing really, so narrowband is looking as the only option. Need to pick up some more astrodons for a matching set.

Wailin

That's a pity, the filters are certainly not cheap! But essential i guess with any light pollution around. Would you piggyback an st50 on the main scope and get a guide camera? Cheap set up and i was getting 10 min subs on an neq6 with basic polar alignment.

But keep posting, really looking forward to your images. Just followed you there on flickr.

allinthehead

Ngc1333
Reflection nebula in the Perseus molecular cloud 1000 ly from earth. This is active star forming region with very young stars.

19 hrs 10hrs lum 180second subs, 3hrs each of rgb 180second subs.

Ngc1333. 19 hrs. 180second subs by Richard Sweeney, on Flickr

It's noisy, but that's probably due to my lack of processing skills and severe gradients i had to deal with. It's worth clicking on the image for the higher resolution version.

Kersh

Absolutely brilliant imaging. Thats a serious amount of progress!

allinthehead

Kersh wrote: »

Absolutely brilliant imaging. Thats a serious amount of progress!

Thanks. The permanent pier has made all the difference. I can be focusing on a star in five minutes and framing a target in ten. Lets you take advantage of short periods of clear sky.

allinthehead

california by Richard Sweeney, on Flickr



The California Nebula or ngc 1499 is an emission nebula spanning 100 light years. It lies within the Orion arm of the Milky way at a distance of about 1500 light years from us.

This is my effort from last night under big bright moon.

Captured using a Zwo asi1600 mono cooled camera. Through a skywatcher 80ed with a reducer giving 510mm at f/6.3.

120*2 minute subs unguided at gain 300 and offset 15 using Sgpro.

Master dark, bias, and flats.

allinthehead

califfinal copy 2 by Richard Sweeney, on Flickr

I wasn't happy with the contrast so tweaked it a little with a curves adjustment.

Wailin

Much better well done.

allinthehead

Wailin wrote: »

Much better well done.

Thanks Wailin.

allinthehead

First of the year. Flaming star Nebula.
4 hrs of 120 second subs.

flaming star by Richard Sweeney, on Flickr

Wailin

Smashing image with great detail. Would love to see this in colour.

allinthehead

Wailin wrote: »

Smashing image with great detail. Would love to see this in colour.

Thanks Wailin. I'll be ordering an astrodon 3nm OIII filter soon. Ridiculous money but anyway. I also have a new scope on the way so a new thread may be needed.

The plan eventually is for a dual rig. One scope shooting mono and the other rgb. That's a few years off but essential to make the most of the limited clear skies.