Lunatiki
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 08/07/05
Posts: 1857
Loc: Amarillo, TX
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Mars Watch
All images taken with:
Celestron CPC 1100
DBK 21AF04.AS
K3ccd/Registax4/PSP8/Maxim DL IP
ALPO Member #4287
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astrodoctor
member
Reged: 09/27/07
Posts: 51
Loc: Russia
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Good image! The contrast of your images is very low, I think... Why? 
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MEADE LX90 12" GPS, DBK21
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Lunatiki
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Posts: 1857
Loc: Amarillo, TX
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I'm guessing the way I process? I'm not sure. If I increase the contrast, it will over-expose the disc and half of it will be burnt out. I've always wanted a more "natural" looking image, and will sacrifice a bit of detail for that.
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Mars Watch
All images taken with:
Celestron CPC 1100
DBK 21AF04.AS
K3ccd/Registax4/PSP8/Maxim DL IP
ALPO Member #4287
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Lunatiki
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 08/07/05
Posts: 1857
Loc: Amarillo, TX
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And, I'm not sure if it matters, but that image is increased in size 200% from the original. When you say contrast is low, what are you referring to exactly?
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Mars Watch
All images taken with:
Celestron CPC 1100
DBK 21AF04.AS
K3ccd/Registax4/PSP8/Maxim DL IP
ALPO Member #4287
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astrodoctor
member
Reged: 09/27/07
Posts: 51
Loc: Russia
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Quote:
And, I'm not sure if it matters, but that image is increased in size 200% from the original. When you say contrast is low, what are you referring to exactly?
I'm referring to visual view of the planet through my telescope. Mars looks something like this, I think...
(sorry for editing your image)
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MEADE LX90 12" GPS, DBK21
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Lunatiki
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No problem. Thanks for explaining. I think you are saying there isn't as much of a difference between the lighter and darker areas as one would expect?
I usually do as little processing as possible. I'm sure as Mars gets closer and the more light I capture, the greater the difference will get. I could solve it in processing, but I like to let it be. And my processing routine is part of it the reason. Less is more is the way I like to go. I think its one of the reasons I was able to detect the Huygens crater in my latest post. My processing goals are a natural looking image with as little processing done as possible.
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Mars Watch
All images taken with:
Celestron CPC 1100
DBK 21AF04.AS
K3ccd/Registax4/PSP8/Maxim DL IP
ALPO Member #4287
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astrodoctor
member
Reged: 09/27/07
Posts: 51
Loc: Russia
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Quote:
I think you are saying there isn't as much of a difference between the lighter and darker areas as one would expect?
Yes!
Can you post the stacked image with no processing in TIFF format as a .rar or .zip file and the best single frame? It's interesting to see...
Thank you!
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MEADE LX90 12" GPS, DBK21
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t.r.
professor emeritus
Reged: 02/14/08
Posts: 577
Loc: Upstate NY
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The modified pic is essentially the view I had visually with the Sky90 at 250x this morning. Hellas seemed brighter than the pic. The N. polar hood and Syrtis Major stood out well. Thanks for verifying my observation.
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Present Stable:
Kmart 40mm(first scope @ age 8)
Jason 60mm
C80SS
Tak Sky90II
PST
C6XLT
AP130 "Gran Turismo"
C-11XLT
EQ-2,CG-4,ASGT-5,DenkII's,TV(zoom,plossls,Ethos),Pentax XW's,UO volcano set, ZAOII 4mm,BaaderZoom and other un-notables
"For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring."
Carl Sagan
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Lunatiki
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Reged: 08/07/05
Posts: 1857
Loc: Amarillo, TX
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Quote:
Quote:
And, I'm not sure if it matters, but that image is increased in size 200% from the original. When you say contrast is low, what are you referring to exactly?
I'm referring to visual view of the planet through my telescope. Mars looks something like this, I think...
(sorry for editing your image)
I'll get you the single frame a bit later. Here is the stacked result. 3 FIT files, made from about 1000 frames, stacked in Registax 5 with wavelets applied. From here I sharpen, deconvolute and do noise removal, but this is the stacked result.
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Mars Watch
All images taken with:
Celestron CPC 1100
DBK 21AF04.AS
K3ccd/Registax4/PSP8/Maxim DL IP
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Lunatiki
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Reged: 08/07/05
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Here is Registax 5's color version after I use its RGB Autobalance
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Mars Watch
All images taken with:
Celestron CPC 1100
DBK 21AF04.AS
K3ccd/Registax4/PSP8/Maxim DL IP
ALPO Member #4287
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astrodoctor
member
Reged: 09/27/07
Posts: 51
Loc: Russia
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Thank you for posting the images!
The contrast of stacked images is better then processed one. The processing is too soft, I think.
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MEADE LX90 12" GPS, DBK21
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Lunatiki
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Reged: 08/07/05
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Loc: Amarillo, TX
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Thanks for the input, I appreciate it. I've always tried to process on the softer side to avoid artifacts and an artificial look. I like things to look "natural" as possible. I've also found the lighter the processing, the more delicate the features you can pikc up, like the clouds coming off the NPC. I might go back and process it a bit harsher and see how you like it. But thanks again!
Joel
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Mars Watch
All images taken with:
Celestron CPC 1100
DBK 21AF04.AS
K3ccd/Registax4/PSP8/Maxim DL IP
ALPO Member #4287
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Lunatiki
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 08/07/05
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Loc: Amarillo, TX
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Hey astrodoc, is this more in line with what you like you to see?
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Mars Watch
All images taken with:
Celestron CPC 1100
DBK 21AF04.AS
K3ccd/Registax4/PSP8/Maxim DL IP
ALPO Member #4287
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MvZ
sage
Reged: 04/03/07
Posts: 254
Loc: The Netherlands
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Lunatiki, nice images. Personally I also like to see a little more contrast, but with Mars this small it's difficult to keep the artifacts minimal. Anyways, there is a lot of personal taste involved, so you can't actually go wrong either way 
One question though, how do you deal with the ghost edges in your registax files you posted a few images above? Do you simply cut them off manually? Where did they come from? I know that in my last mars image I had a similar effect but then mainly on the shady side of mars. I was thinking perhaps it might be a slight miscolimation. That's just a wild idea though...
Edited by MvZ (11/03/09 01:59 PM)
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Lunatiki
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The brighter and closer Mars gets, those "ghost edges" (good description by the way) should be less and less a problem. Only when Mars is at these smaller diameters do they seem to be a problem. How do I get rid of them? Very carefully airbrush them out. Takes a bit of time, because if you don't do it just right, Mars won't look right.
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Mars Watch
All images taken with:
Celestron CPC 1100
DBK 21AF04.AS
K3ccd/Registax4/PSP8/Maxim DL IP
ALPO Member #4287
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MvZ
sage
Reged: 04/03/07
Posts: 254
Loc: The Netherlands
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Ah ok. I can remember from two years ago that the ghost effect reduced when mars got larger (or possible that the effect stayed the same, but well.. mars got larger so you didn't quite notice it). Still it's an effect I haven't seen when imaging Jupiter (but then again, I have never imaged Jupiter above F/17, and now I'm at F/36 for Mars...)
I just had a go at processing one of the images you published here. I tried to mimic your processing style a little bit using just photoshop. Is it ok if I post the results here?
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Emil
Webcam Astrophotography - Deepsky & Planetary Images
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Mert
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Reged: 08/31/05
Posts: 1803
Loc: Spain, Pamplona
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Hi Joel,
I haven't been out for more then a month now, so
I can't give you a real-world idea on how it looks.
IMHO your image looks great, has a lot of data
but has some sort of blur, maybe due to the stack?
How I wish to have had your problem being out under
the dark skies and imaging 
Clar skies,
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Mert
42º49"N 1º38"W
3" Polarex refractor
6" F12 SW Maksutov,CS2-S
EQ6 + EQMOD 
SPC900NC/DFK21AU04.AS
My web-page don't laugh, I should make it better! 
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Lunatiki
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 08/07/05
Posts: 1857
Loc: Amarillo, TX
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MvZ, feel free. Mert, conditions have been really bad. I've had clear skies but transparency due to the jet stream hasn't been good. I've yet to have a Very Good + night of seeing since I got my 11 inch scope. So most of my images now will be lacking in one way or the other just because of the data captured. Always hoping for that one night though.
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Mars Watch
All images taken with:
Celestron CPC 1100
DBK 21AF04.AS
K3ccd/Registax4/PSP8/Maxim DL IP
ALPO Member #4287
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MvZ
sage
Reged: 04/03/07
Posts: 254
Loc: The Netherlands
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Ok, here you go.
A little difficult to work with a jpeg, but it's fun to try some other processing techniques.
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Emil
Webcam Astrophotography - Deepsky & Planetary Images
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James W.
sage
Reged: 05/14/07
Posts: 245
Loc: Maryland
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Once again, bravo Joel!!!
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James
Meade 12" LX200 GPS
Celestron C6-S
Stellarvue Nighthawk II
Coronado PST H-Alpha
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Meade LPI, Canon Rebel XTI
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