IC5146 115 Stack 85frames 2550s trimmed

IC5146, C19 Cocoon Nebula
42.5 minute EAA view
Cygnus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IC_5146

System

Scope: AT115EDT with dedicated reducer corrector (644mm focal length)
Camera: AT2600MC Pro, 1.2" pixel scale, 2.1 by 1.4 degree field of view

• 30s subs, 450 gain, 0C
• Flat and Hot pixel reduction applied
• Dithering used in guiding
• SharpCap - bilinear filter applied

Guiding: FMA180 and ASI178mm

This is my 3rd day using guiding for EAA.

• First day mis-calibrated PhD2
• Second day overexposed guider gain (saturated flat tops of star profiles) resulted in poor guiding.
• First day guiding performance matched my typical unguided EAA views.
• Normally my unguided subs over 12 seconds show artifacts. At 30 seconds unguided exposures for this system would have noticeable trailing.

About Dithering and good flats and SharpCap enhancements

• Good flat generation and using dithering has drastically improved my EAA images this year. This is mainly noticeable with EAA image backgrounds.
• SharpCap's enhancements have been a useful addition to enhance images without resorting to AP post processing. These work best when minimally applied. Settings used depend on the object

About Guiding

Guiding adds to the complexity of my EAA system. I have avoided using guiding until recently. Now I am exploring the use of guiding and EAA. This means adjusting my guide conditions, and playing withy different EAA gains and sub lengths. To keep using guiding in the future will depend on finding a compelling reason guiding helps my EAA views. I am looking for tighter star images or better views for really faint objects. At least I have achieved a guiding baseline performance that matches my unguided capabilities for EAA.