Ranger 4
Posted 15 September 2023 - 09:05 PM
Spent some time exploring the updated Go-To Catalogue Target/Coordinates tool in SharpCap
SharpCap quickly and effortlessly landed targets dead centre and by the third completed target I was sold on the tool. I'll only bounce out to Stellarium now if the target is not listed in the SharpCap catalogues.
I visited old favourites; M8, M20 and M22 for this exercise.
M8 (NGC 6523,Lagoon Nebula)_2023-09-13_ED103S_ASI585_SC_40X15.0s_600s_Gain400
Messenger
Posted 15 September 2023 - 10:13 PM
great shots man, is that horizontal banding interference from something? I started seeing something similar on my 294mc before I switched computers.
I'm not sure.
I'm wondering if it's a limitation of the ASIAIR Plus (32GB Raspberry Pi version) with the ASI294MC Pro in what it can manage with Live Stacking?
Limitations due to being unguided with the HEQ5 Pro?
Could it be due to smoke (back burning had been going on) or clouds?
Light coming from neighbours homes/ backyards?
Or if it's something I'm doing.... since calibration frames are meant to help with banding maybe it's the way I've taken them?
To be clear - I'm happy with what I've been able to achieve. Always open to learning more.
Well, bit of Google searching and it appears I have some forum reading to do along with a bit of experimentation.
Think I'll make sure to re-shoot my Master Darks and the Master Flat Dark (which is just the Bias but with settings configured to make it a Flat Dark) the night before I intend on viewing, then shoot my Master Flat on the night, before beginning my session test and different exposures for my unguided setup.
https://www.google.c...loudynights.com
Edited by Darth Riker, 15 September 2023 - 10:13 PM.
Vostok 1
Posted 16 September 2023 - 05:01 AM
... lastly:
M22 (NGC 6656,Sagittarius Cluster)_2023-09-13_ED103S_ASI585_SC_76X8.0s_608s_Gain400
M22 (NGC 6656,Sagittarius Cluster)_2023-09-13_ED103S_ASI585_SC_76X8.0s_608s_Gain400.jpg
.... continuing:
M20 (NGC 6514,Trifid Nebula)_2023-09-14_ED103S_ASI585_SC_51X0.00ms__Gain400
Spent some time exploring the updated Go-To Catalogue Target/Coordinates tool in SharpCap
SharpCap quickly and effortlessly landed targets dead centre and by the third completed target I was sold on the tool. I'll only bounce out to Stellarium now if the target is not listed in the SharpCap catalogues.
I visited old favourites; M8, M20 and M22 for this exercise.
M8 (NGC 6523,Lagoon Nebula)_2023-09-13_ED103S_ASI585_SC_40X15.0s_600s_Gain400
Wow really great images! I‘m curious about your Bortle level?
CS!
Ranger 4
Posted 16 September 2023 - 10:13 AM
After trying to get the remaining 2 objects in Cygnus (61 Cyg and NGC 6992) for this month's challenge and failing because they were two high for my mount and by the time I re-tried later in the night had my roof in the way. I decided to go for some easy targets. Clear Sky clock had predicted an unusually excellent night here in Virginia but for the first time in a long time it was wrong on transparency. There was some kind of high-altitude "mush" going on (maybe smoke?). Also I don't have flats captured yet so there is a lot of noise in the center part of the view. Also strangely I was getting what looked like severe coma but it was just on one side of the image (I cropped out most of it in these but a few you might be able to see seagull stars on the left side of the image). I am really confused as to what that could be from... I was using my celestron .63x focal reducer/corrector and verified from a platesolve and calculation that my focal length was .66x meaning that the reducer was pretty close to the optimal location in the image train....I also spent a good amount of time collimating the SCT using the method that I think Tfer mentioned several posts back about using the circle crosshair in sharpcap and matching the defocused star doughnut to the size of the inner ring and then adjusting exposure to see changes in real time. I felt I had an excellent collimation so doubt it was that...Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
All images are from bortal 3.5ish skies in rural Virginia.
Scope was 8" LX200GPS in AltAz with derotator and Celestron .63x focal reducer/corrector. Camera was ASI294MC Pro cooled to -10c. Darks applied but no flats.
Edited by mklosterman1, 16 September 2023 - 10:13 AM.
Fly Me to the Moon
Posted 16 September 2023 - 10:17 AM
.... continuing:
M20 (NGC 6514,Trifid Nebula)_2023-09-14_ED103S_ASI585_SC_51X0.00ms__Gain400
Love your Trifid. What altitude was it where you are at? I barely got it this Summer at 33N plus trees.
Bob
Viking 1
Posted 16 September 2023 - 10:34 AM
First light last night for my new (to me, purchased it used in super condition) AT80EDL with 0.8x Reducer/Flattener (FL of 448mm) on my new AVX mount. Things went OK except for the autoguiding trial with PHD2. I think it's either a balance issue with the DEC axis or a drifting PA due to one leg being on an established paver and the other two on pavers laid down on the rather springy/spongy grass behind the house.
Anyway, here is the unmodified image of NGC7380 (The Wizard Nebula) from live stacking in Sharpcap followed by a cropped version to show more detail of the nebula and remove the dark bar at the bottom of the original image. The EAA image was captured using the above scope with a ZWO Duo-Band 1.25" filter and ZWO 249mc (non-Pro) with 30s sub-exposures, gain 300, and a total exposure of 60 minutes. I used a dark but I didn't have any flats for this image because I didn't have a focus yet to work off of. I was rather pleasantly surprised that there was practically no vignetting at the corners and the image was fairly uniform across the image field for not using a flat. In the full image there is a very slight elliptical shape for stars in the corners that indicated the sensor isn't quite close enough to the R/F. I can't reduce the distance any further with my current setup and it is very very close to the recommended 55mm.
Edit: I forgot to put in the above details that I also had a ZWO UV/IR cut filter in the image train. The Duo-Band plus three other filters are in a 5-position manual filter-wheel with the first position left open and the UV/IR cut is in-between the filter-wheel and the sensor.
NCG7380, The Wizard Nebula, full sensor area image
NGC7380, The Wizard Nebula, cropped to show more detail and remove the dark band at bottom.
Edited by rnyboy, 16 September 2023 - 10:21 PM.
Ranger 4
Posted 16 September 2023 - 07:20 PM
Love your Trifid. What altitude was it where you are at? I barely got it this Summer at 33N plus trees.
Bob
Thanks for your comment, Bob.
The Trifid was at about 61 degrees elevation at the time. I am under Bortle 4 skies.
Steve.
Ranger 4
Posted 16 September 2023 - 07:23 PM
Wow really great images! I‘m curious about your Bortle level?
CS!
Thanks for your feedback, CS. I am under Bortle 4 skies.
Steve.
Viking 1
Posted 16 September 2023 - 09:49 PM
My favorite from my session on 9/15.
I have never viewed NGC6888 using my wide field setup. It was at the end of the night and I was trying to decide what to view last and decided on this.
AT72EDII with a .8 reducer on AVX Mount. Bortle 7 skies
ZWO 294MC. Flats & darks. Optolong L-Extreme filter.
NGC6888
Gain 300. 24s/9min
I really like this image. I think I like it even better than when I use my SCT8.
Collage of the images for the session.
Ranger 4
Posted 17 September 2023 - 09:21 AM
Ranger 4
Posted 17 September 2023 - 09:46 AM
Had the 8" SCT out again last night but seeing was horrible (7ish FWHM stars). I was able to finally get flats captured based on a procedure Corey Mooney told me about (light diffuser/bouncer used for regular photography)- thanks Corey!. Unfortunately, I still had some kind of aberration (looked like coma) even though I was using my celestron .63x coma correcter/reducer. Out of the 7 targets I shot only one turned out (NGC 40). Taken with ASI294MC Pro at -10c with dark flats applied, cropped.
Edited by mklosterman1, 17 September 2023 - 04:25 PM.
Messenger
Posted 18 September 2023 - 07:47 AM
Went out the other night (17th night but images were taken 18th morning). It was a bit turbulent which made getting a really fine manual focus tricky (which you'll probably notice the result of in the images).
Re-used calibration files from last time (including Master Flat). I do need to re-do them (as you'll notice).
Used 30 seconds exposure (still unguided) this time rather than 10 seconds.
Links are to images in my Cloudy Nights gallery.
For all images:
Date: 18/9/23 (18th September 2023)
Scope: C8 SCT
Reducer: Celestron f/6.3 Reducer
Camera: ZWO ASI294MC Pro Camera cooled to 0° C
Filter: ZWO UV/IR Cut Filter
Mount: HEQ5 Pro
Software: ASIAIR App with ASIAIR Plus (32GB)
Exposure: 30 seconds, Unguided, Uncropped
Time: 10 minutes
Calibration Frames:
Master Flat (Stack 20, Exp 5.0s, Bin1, Gain121, cooled to 0°C)
Master Bias as Dark Flat/Flat Dark (Stack 50, Exp 5.0s, Bin1, Gain121, cooled to 0°C)
Master Dark (Stack 20, Exp 30.0s, Bin1, Gain121, cooled to 0°C)
Large Magellanic Cloud (think it is showing the Tarantula Nebula)
SNR B0057-722 (NGC 346)
NGC 7205
World Controller
Posted 18 September 2023 - 11:25 AM
I have been working on a project to view all 100 Hickson Compact Groups (HCGs) of galaxies with my AT130EDT at its native f/7 and ASI290MM mini. The small field of view is fine for these small compact groups. Until last night I had viewed all but two of the HCGs, and last night added one more - HCG90 one of the southernmost groups at Dec -32 in Pisces Austrinus in this 6 minute capture. Click to zoom in.
HCG90 includes NGC7172, a not quite edge-on spiral (at the middle of the top (north) edge of the frame) with a faintly visible dust lane across its disk. The compact group also includes 3 galaxies in a closer grouping towards the middle of the bottom (south) of the frame - NGC7174 and NGC7176 are interacting galaxies, while NGC7173 is the 3rd of the trio, an elliptical galaxy, slightly north of the other two. Hubble images show the interaction between NGC7174 and 7176 in detail for anyone interested.
HCG90; 24 x 15 sec
Edited by alphatripleplus, 18 September 2023 - 11:49 AM.
Viking 1
Posted 18 September 2023 - 12:36 PM
Went out the other night (17th night but images were taken 18th morning). It was a bit turbulent which made getting a really fine manual focus tricky (which you'll probably notice the result of in the images).
Re-used calibration files from last time (including Master Flat). I do need to re-do them (as you'll notice).
Used 30 seconds exposure (still unguided) this time rather than 10 seconds.
Links are to images in my Cloudy Nights gallery.
For all images:
Date: 18/9/23 (18th September 2023)
Scope: C8 SCT
Reducer: Celestron f/6.3 Reducer
Camera: ZWO ASI294MC Pro Camera cooled to 0° C
Filter: ZWO UV/IR Cut Filter
Mount: HEQ5 Pro
Software: ASIAIR App with ASIAIR Plus (32GB)Exposure: 30 seconds, Unguided, Uncropped
Time: 10 minutes
Calibration Frames:
Master Flat (Stack 20, Exp 5.0s, Bin1, Gain121, cooled to 0°C)
Master Bias as Dark Flat/Flat Dark (Stack 50, Exp 5.0s, Bin1, Gain121, cooled to 0°C)
Master Dark (Stack 20, Exp 30.0s, Bin1, Gain121, cooled to 0°C)
Large Magellanic Cloud (think it is showing the Tarantula Nebula)
SNR B0057-722 (NGC 346)
NGC 1763
NGC 7205
Great shots and target selection, your calibration frames really seemed to do the trick.
Viking 1
Posted 18 September 2023 - 11:44 PM
M16
97 x 15.5 seconds Bin 2 385 Gain
294mc uncooled
10" LX50 on an Atlas reduced
Darks no flats (still struggling with good flats)
I added a small fan and heatsink to my 294, my pictures look a lot better but I attribute it to me finally discovering binning after 2 years of EAA..it seemed to cut imaging time in half with less noise.
Viking 1
Posted 18 September 2023 - 11:49 PM
190 x 15.5 seconds
Bin 2
385 Gain
294mc uncooled
10" LX50 on an Atlas reduced
Darks no flats
Bubble Nebula
Edited by kevinrodgers22, 18 September 2023 - 11:49 PM.
Viking 1
Posted 18 September 2023 - 11:52 PM
98 x 15.5 seconds
73 x 15.5 seconds
19 x 15.5 seconds
Bin 2
385 Gain
294mc uncooled
10" LX50 on an Atlas reduced
Darks no flats
The crescent nebule
Trifid nebula
Ring nebula
Edited by kevinrodgers22, 19 September 2023 - 12:00 AM.
Fly Me to the Moon
Posted 19 September 2023 - 11:15 AM
M16
97 x 15.5 seconds Bin 2 385 Gain
294mc uncooled
10" LX50 on an Atlas reduced
Darks no flats (still struggling with good flats)
I added a small fan and heatsink to my 294, my pictures look a lot better but I attribute it to me finally discovering binning after 2 years of EAA..it seemed to cut imaging time in half with less noise.
Looking good with the 10" SCT!
Just about all of the popular cameras with pixels larger than 2.9 um should be run Bin2 with the SCT at f/6.3 and above. It's the best even with a slight undersampling and typical "fair" conditions. I'm going to try 2600MC Bin3 with the C11 at f/6 next time out and may even try it with a narrowband filter for PN's.
Fly Me to the Moon
Posted 20 September 2023 - 02:45 AM
I set up the CPC 1100 for a brief session tonight with the Corrector IV (f/6.1) and NBZ filter using the 533MC Bin3. This was a first for using Bin3. This is also histogram stretch mode 5 without any enhancements. I played with all the enhancements and liked it best without. Flat (bias) applied, hot pixel rejection in-lieu of a dark and linear gradient removal.
I also figured out that it's a couple of the new Preprocessing modes that were causing the histogram to be cut off on the left. The Non-Linear Gradient Removal and Low Frequency Wave modes seem to make the histogram go wonky.
First up is the Cat's Eye Nebula (again) and then yet another Dumbell Nebula. The narrowband filter did help to bring out some outer shell for the Cat's Eye and also some different and interesting detail in M27.
NGC 6543 (Cat's Eye Nebula), [30" / 30.5'], actual size crop
M27 (Dumbell Nebula), [30" / 20'], actual size crop
I've been guiding lately with the CPC 1100 and although the numbers are not great, it seems to be working. Next time out I'm going to try 60 second exposures and see how it goes. The FWHM's were running in the high 3's and low 4's which is good. It makes me wonder if it's a false good because of the NBZ filter. Typical FWHM's are high 4's and low 5's.
EDITED to add that I was tired when I posted this and in looking at M27 a bit more today with a fresh start, it really has a 3D effect going on. Other M27 images I've saved seem 2D in comparison. The (OIII?) which is in front, seems to be floating, with Ha in the background. And the main Ha band in the center seems to extend below (mainly) and somewhat above the main core.
Edited by MarMax, 20 September 2023 - 06:38 PM.
Viking 1
Posted 20 September 2023 - 09:57 AM
Last night's goal was to use my Askar107PHQ/ ZWO533MC/ NO FILTER/ No reducer (yet)/f7. I wanted a variety of DSOs. FWHM started out in high 3's and ended up in the low 5's. The CEM40EC worked great!! I was able to push the M15 frames to 3 minutes unguided!! so I tried 5 minutes..ahhhh NO! All the rest are 90 second captures-flats-darks.
Sharpcap plate solve-goto-resync was spot on and fast! Astrobin is having issues plate solving at the time of posting.
M33--20 frames 30 minutes
M20-9frames 13.5 minutes----Cropped and zoomed---tree got in the way!!
M15 5 frames 15minutes
B92-93--7frames 10.5 minutes dark Nebula
Ranger 4
Posted 21 September 2023 - 03:43 PM
Last night turned out to be cloud-free again. My new battle seems to be dew. My images start out clear and then as the night progresses I'm noticing these wispy circular lines that gradually become more pronounced. I'm assuming that's because of dew or is it something else? I don't have a dew shield for my FMA180 Pro like I do the Evo 8 and AT60ED. Might be time to place an order for one.
I usually spend 5 minutes per target which works but images aren't as bright as I see others post. I doubled the time per target to 10 minutes and seem to be on the right track.
Date: 9/20/23
EAA Target: NGC 869, 884 & 957
Scope: Askar FMA180 Pro
Camera: ZWO 533MC
Filter: Optolong L-Pro
Exposure: 10 seconds
Time: 10 minutes
World Controller
Posted 21 September 2023 - 04:10 PM
Last night turned out to be cloud-free again. My new battle seems to be dew. My images start out clear and then as the night progresses I'm noticing these wispy circular lines that gradually become more pronounced.
Nice pics. You can always buy a small USB powered heating strip to wrap around the FMA180 to combat dew.
Ranger 4
Posted 21 September 2023 - 04:57 PM
Spent some time exploring the updated Go-To Catalogue Target/Coordinates tool in SharpCap
SharpCap quickly and effortlessly landed targets dead centre and by the third completed target I was sold on the tool. I'll only bounce out to Stellarium now if the target is not listed in the SharpCap catalogues.
Nice images Steve -- ( posts 11266 - 7 - 8 )
Check out this thread -
Others here have posted .csv files ( and instructions to implement them ) with other catalogs of objects that can be added to the Sharpcap GoTo feature.
Its so great that they have shared their time and knowledge to prepare them. They work great.
Depending on your computers power , there are options for millions of additional items items.
Mike in Oregon
vicuna - Today, 08:11 AM
Equipment (No astrophotography)
Matthew Paul - Today, 07:42 AM
ATM, Optics and DIY Forum
Flint&Flame - Today, 06:53 AM
Classic Telescopes
nighthoek - Today, 06:53 AM
Astro Art, Books, Websites & Other Media
Zambiadarkskies - Today, 06:21 AM
Beginning Deep Sky Imaging
 Cloudy Nights LLC Cloudy Nights Sponsor: Astronomics |
