antimorris
sage
Reged: 08/16/09
Posts: 241
Loc: San Antonio-ish, TX
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So I spent tonight shooting Nebulas. First clear night in quite a while, but armed with my CPC 800, Nikon DSLR, and my hair dryer I was able to stay out til after Mars rose to end the evening (well morning by that point) with shots of it. Here is the first one I have processed from the evening. My first attempt at M16 ... yes I know the framing isnt fantastic but I had never actually seen it in a scope and couldnt see it with the 30s subs I was taking so I just kinda relied on the Go-To. It did pretty well I think.
Stack of 59 (took 60 but an airplane went right through the Nebula in one of them) 30 sec. subs on Alt-Az mount shooting prime focus with my Nikon DSLR and f/6.3 focal reducer, ISO 800. Stacked in Nebulosity, Processed in Photoshop CS2.
For my first try at this object I am more than pleased. What do you think?
EDIT: Link to the unprocessed TIFF File is a few lines down in my next comment, please post your processed results!
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Anna
CPC 800 XLT w/FeatherTouch micro-focuser
Orion EON 80ED
unmodded Nikon D40
Meade DSI II Pro with ATIK Filter Wheel & Outback Razorback Cooler
---------------
Morris Astronomy
My Astro Blog
"sic itur ad astra"
Edited by antimorris (10/15/09 11:36 AM)
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Jerry Lodriguss
Vendor
Reged: 07/19/08
Posts: 544
Loc: Voorhees, NJ
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Hi Anna,
Good job, great star colors!
Get an anti-dewer heating strip for the scope and save yourself some trouble...
Jerry
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A Beginner's Guide to DSLR Astrophotography
http://www.astropix.com
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scully1234
sage
Reged: 09/04/07
Posts: 309
Loc: Rush, NY
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Hey Anna !
Thats a great shot for 30 sec subs !
It also looks like there might be more in the picture that can be teased out with processing.
Do you have a place where you can post a link to your stacked TIFF file ?
MEDIAFIRE is one place that lets you upload large files for free.
There are lots of us here who love to play with images while we wait (and wait, and wait) for the clouds to go away !
Also, can you tell us what ISO your camera was set for when you took these exposures ?
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Astrophotographer ! Finally ! (thanks to everyone's help on CN)
My webpage = www.starsinmybackyard.com
Celestron C8 XLT on the CG-5GT mount
Meade 70mm AZ guide scope
Canon EOS 450D (xsi)
DSI color (guide cam)
Acer mini-laptop (for guiding and xsi tethered shooting)
Canon A530 point-n-shoot
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Footbag
sage
Reged: 04/13/09
Posts: 459
Loc: Scranton, PA
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Very nice shot! I'm glad to see someone showing the newest newbies that you can pull off some great stuff in alt-az.
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Adam
Celestron CPC 800, Celestron HD Wedge
Hyperion 17mm, Celestron 40mm Plossl, TMB 9mm
WO 66, SSAG
Modded Canon XS
Lackawanna Astronomical Society
My Gallery
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waassaabee
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 11/26/07
Posts: 2689
Loc: Central California Coast
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Very nice image, great color!! 
If you're on a wedge, you should be able to get some longer subs. Give 60 and 90 seconds a try next go round.
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Gary
34N 120W
-My kingdom for blue squares!-
WO Megrez 90FD/TV 0.8x FR/FF
AT8RC
mini Borg 50/Q-Guide/PHD
CGEM
Canon 350D Hap Griffin Baader mod - o.o
My Friend Flickr
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antimorris
sage
Reged: 08/16/09
Posts: 241
Loc: San Antonio-ish, TX
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Thanks for all the kind words!
Gary. As I said, I was on just Alt-Az. I don't own a wedge.
I will post a link to the unprocessed tiff here in a few so yall can have a go. To answer the ISO question, I was shooting at ISO 800
EDIT: Here is the link to the TIFF File: http://www.mediafire.com/?gwtduk22zz2
Edited by antimorris (10/15/09 11:33 AM)
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justabob
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 05/05/07
Posts: 1675
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Hey Anna, great image and I bet better than anything you have seen through an eyepiece. Your hooked like the rest of us 
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http://www.pbase.com/rkn/astro&page=all
Vixen Sphinx SXW
Meade sn6
Canon EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM Lens
Hutech 1000d
Self modded 350d
ST8300c on order
DSI PRO II
Bob
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Mobius1
professor emeritus
Reged: 08/28/05
Posts: 700
Loc: Madison, WI / Gurnee, IL
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Beautiful! I've never even seen M16 show up on an image, much less through the eyepiece, and there's some great color there. I feel your pain with the hair dryer... my neighbors think I'm insane.
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Martin
William Optics 66SD
Orion 100ED
Orion 120-ST EQ
PST-Ha
Celestron CGE 1100
Canon Rebel XSI with Astronomik filters
DSI-IIC
Homemade spectroscope in progress...
Yerkes Observatory Volunteer
(24" Cass on weekends)
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antimorris
sage
Reged: 08/16/09
Posts: 241
Loc: San Antonio-ish, TX
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When I came in it looked like I had been out in a rain storm, it was crazy. Definitely moved the dew shield, and perhaps a cover for the rest of the equipment, up the needed list
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Anna
CPC 800 XLT w/FeatherTouch micro-focuser
Orion EON 80ED
unmodded Nikon D40
Meade DSI II Pro with ATIK Filter Wheel & Outback Razorback Cooler
---------------
Morris Astronomy
My Astro Blog
"sic itur ad astra"
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waassaabee
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 11/26/07
Posts: 2689
Loc: Central California Coast
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Quote:
Gary. As I said, I was on just Alt-Az. I don't own a wedge.
My bad... I was reading someone elses equipment list... 
Regardless, nickatnight here on CN used to shoot 90 second subs on his CPC925 and got great results, but he's wedged now (and autoguiding). But his alt/az shots were great.
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Gary
34N 120W
-My kingdom for blue squares!-
WO Megrez 90FD/TV 0.8x FR/FF
AT8RC
mini Borg 50/Q-Guide/PHD
CGEM
Canon 350D Hap Griffin Baader mod - o.o
My Friend Flickr
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antimorris
sage
Reged: 08/16/09
Posts: 241
Loc: San Antonio-ish, TX
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I live very near San Antonio, so light pollution tends to be awful. I can occasionally push my subs up to 46-60 seconds depending on how good I can get/keep the alignment, but I have found 30s to be a reliable time for my subs and saves me from having to check every other sub as I am shooting to make sure I dont have star trails. As it is, I tend to double check every 20-25 subs. I will eventually get a wedge, but I still have alot I can do with my Alt-Az setup and would like to push it as much as I can first.
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Anna
CPC 800 XLT w/FeatherTouch micro-focuser
Orion EON 80ED
unmodded Nikon D40
Meade DSI II Pro with ATIK Filter Wheel & Outback Razorback Cooler
---------------
Morris Astronomy
My Astro Blog
"sic itur ad astra"
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antimorris
sage
Reged: 08/16/09
Posts: 241
Loc: San Antonio-ish, TX
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Here is M42 from last night as well. . . ISO 800, 60x30s subs. Same stacking and processing software as M16.
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Anna
CPC 800 XLT w/FeatherTouch micro-focuser
Orion EON 80ED
unmodded Nikon D40
Meade DSI II Pro with ATIK Filter Wheel & Outback Razorback Cooler
---------------
Morris Astronomy
My Astro Blog
"sic itur ad astra"
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Jeff in Austin
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 02/26/07
Posts: 801
Loc: TEXAS
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Hey that's a nice one! I don't recall ever seeing dust from an alt-az shot.
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There's nothing like having a supportive family, including Second Grader w/ scope, curious toddler, and lovely wife.
Supporter of Austin CSC, Austin CalSky.
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Nils_Lars
Post Laureate
Reged: 01/04/08
Posts: 3395
Loc: Santa Cruz Mountains , CA
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Those are very good shots Anna and your definitely making progress , well done.
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Erik
Orion Atlas Self Hypertuned (EQMOD)
Orion ED 80
Williams Optics VII reducer
Celestron 8" SCT
Orion Starshoot Autoguider
PHD guide
Canon 400D Hap Griffin Mod w/Baader filter
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Stilleto CVF and Bahtinov mask
Tamron 75-300mm&28-80mm lenses
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/31986095@N05/
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davidc
sage
Reged: 11/24/05
Posts: 261
Loc: Mesa, Arizona
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Anna,
Great job of M16, the details and colors came thru really well, the trail from that airplane, thru the nebula, would have looked interesting if you left it in the stack. Oh well. Keep up the great work.
David
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13.1 Inch-F/4.8 Royce Conical Homebuilt Dob
8 Inch-F/5 Orion Dob
4 Inch Celestron Reflector Camping Scope
25mm Meade W/A Ep
13mm Orion Stratus Ep
8mm Orion Stratus Ep
2X Meade Barlow
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East Valley Astronomy Club
Searching For Rainbows In The Dark
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antimorris
sage
Reged: 08/16/09
Posts: 241
Loc: San Antonio-ish, TX
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Noone wants to give my M16 a try? Here is the link again.
TIFF File: http://www.mediafire.com/?gwtduk22zz2
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Anna
CPC 800 XLT w/FeatherTouch micro-focuser
Orion EON 80ED
unmodded Nikon D40
Meade DSI II Pro with ATIK Filter Wheel & Outback Razorback Cooler
---------------
Morris Astronomy
My Astro Blog
"sic itur ad astra"
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justabob
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 05/05/07
Posts: 1675
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Quote:
Noone wants to give my M16 a try? Here is the link again.
TIFF File: http://www.mediafire.com/?gwtduk22zz2
I played with it a bit but really did no better than you did. Shotting flat frames would help with the dust bunnies and the gradients. Did you take darks and bias frames?
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http://www.pbase.com/rkn/astro&page=all
Vixen Sphinx SXW
Meade sn6
Canon EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM Lens
Hutech 1000d
Self modded 350d
ST8300c on order
DSI PRO II
Bob
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antimorris
sage
Reged: 08/16/09
Posts: 241
Loc: San Antonio-ish, TX
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Yes I added already stacked it with darks flats and biases
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Anna
CPC 800 XLT w/FeatherTouch micro-focuser
Orion EON 80ED
unmodded Nikon D40
Meade DSI II Pro with ATIK Filter Wheel & Outback Razorback Cooler
---------------
Morris Astronomy
My Astro Blog
"sic itur ad astra"
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Stardaug
professor emeritus
Reged: 08/03/08
Posts: 528
Loc: Ontario, Canada
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Both images are really great! I never got results that good when I first started imaging alt-az, prime focus on my CPC 800. I'm impressed!
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"Keep looking up!"
Shawn / Ontario, Canada
Celestron CPC800 SCT w/XLT & GPS // Skywatcher Equinox 80ED F6.25 500mm APO // Canon Rebel 350XT unmodded // Milburn EQ Wedge (a Meade model modified to fit my CPC)
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mark Jimenez
sage
Reged: 01/08/07
Posts: 338
Loc: Atlanta GA.
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Anna, I tried to process your M16 stack, quite honestly, I couldnt do any better than your post. Great job!! You are progressing very quickly.
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Celestron ASGT
Astro Tech 8" f4 Newt
QHY8
Meade DSI pro
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