334 replies to this topic

[CptNautilus]

Interesting. Seems that have some distance to go before it's a truly useful feature. Now, if they put in the automatic re-focus when needed option without stopping the observation then that would kill several birds with one stone.

  They are supposedly working on it. They said they would reconciliate the Android and the iOS version before the end of the year. I don't know if the automatic autofocus will be part of it.

 

  Hopefully yes because otherwise, the planning seems rather useless. As I use the FITS, I want them as sharply focused as possible, which forces me to refocus whenever the temperature drops by 1°C. That can be quite often, depending on the season.

[gern]

  It does not even close itself automatically when the sun rises, as usual?

I assume it does if it still has power. My battery did not last the night, so I found it in the morning with the scope still pointed at the sky

[mdiastro]

Hello,

 

has anyone noticed that there doesn't seem to be much, if any, difference whether the object (galaxy or nebulae) is imaged for 30 minutes or 60?

 

I have, on several occasions, noticed that as the imaging progresses it doesn't seem to be showing any further detail.

 

I suspect that each 10 second image is being averaged, which would account for it.

 

However, further imaging with FITS and dark frames would no doubt give a much more detailed result. 

 

Or am I completely wrong?

 

I will try M33 tonight at 30 minutes and then 60, and post results tomorrow, if it keeps clear.

[Alien Observatory]

I have not seen much improvement after 40 minutes or so.  I am encouraged by the Hi Resolution Mode and will try to use it more often due to the improved details in the images.  

Pat Utah

[Larry Hansen]

Hello,

 

has anyone noticed that there doesn't seem to be much, if any, difference whether the object (galaxy or nebulae) is imaged for 30 minutes or 60?

 

I have, on several occasions, noticed that as the imaging progresses it doesn't seem to be showing any further detail.

 

I suspect that each 10 second image is being averaged, which would account for it.

 

However, further imaging with FITS and dark frames would no doubt give a much more detailed result. 

 

Or am I completely wrong?

 

I will try M33 tonight at 30 minutes and then 60, and post results tomorrow, if it keeps clear.

    From my limited experience I have noticed that going beyond the recommended time does very little if any good for improving the image quality.  I have tried extending the time on M33 and NGC 7000 and could not tell any. difference.  My eyesight is not very good but my wife's is quite good and she agrees with me.

[Kullas]

Hello,

 

has anyone noticed that there doesn't seem to be much, if any, difference whether the object (galaxy or nebulae) is imaged for 30 minutes or 60?

 

I have, on several occasions, noticed that as the imaging progresses it doesn't seem to be showing any further detail.

 

I suspect that each 10 second image is being averaged, which would account for it.

 

However, further imaging with FITS and dark frames would no doubt give a much more detailed result. 

 

Or am I completely wrong?

 

I will try M33 tonight at 30 minutes and then 60, and post results tomorrow, if it keeps clear.

Have you tried taking it from 10 sec sub to 20 or 30 sec?

[mdiastro]

Hello,

last night I used 20 sec subs with a gain of 27 db. I found the image (M33) to be somewhat less sharp than usual, to be honest; the stars seemed "bloated" and the galaxy fuzzy as well as faint. Last week M33 was faint, but well defined, if you see what I mean.

It may well be that a very clear sky is needed for such imaging, as I live under a Bortle 8 sky.

[Alien Observatory]

Hello,

last night I used 20 sec subs with a gain of 27 db. I found the image (M33) to be somewhat less sharp than usual, to be honest; the stars seemed "bloated" and the galaxy fuzzy as well as faint. Last week M33 was faint, but well defined, if you see what I mean.

It may well be that a very clear sky is needed for such imaging, as I live under a Bortle 8 sky.

I think what you captured at 20 sec and 27db gain would be normal (Stars Bloated).  27db is the Highest Gain Setting available and I would think needs to be reduced to a lower setting when using a 20 second exposure.

 

Unity Gain would be best for longer exposures, but that setting is not defined by Vaonis for the Stellina.  So Trial and Error maybe the only way to find a Gain setting that works with a 20 or 30 second exposures.  

 

Last night I tried a 60 minute stack using the Hi Resolution Mode with the normal 10 second exposure and the resulting image had less detail than a 30 minute Low Resolution image.  M74 is a very difficult target due to its low surface brightness and may benefit from longer exposure times.  I may try that tonight.   Pat Utah

Edited by Alien Observatory, 13 November 2021 - 03:19 PM.

[alphatripleplus]

Hello,

last night I used 20 sec subs with a gain of 27 db. I found the image (M33) to be somewhat less sharp than usual, to be honest; the stars seemed "bloated" and the galaxy fuzzy as well as faint. Last week M33 was faint, but well defined, if you see what I mean.

It may well be that a very clear sky is needed for such imaging, as I live under a Bortle 8 sky.

Last week you would have had less LP from the moon vs this week, which will negatively impact faint details, but not star bloat.

[CptNautilus]

Hello,

 

has anyone noticed that there doesn't seem to be much, if any, difference whether the object (galaxy or nebulae) is imaged for 30 minutes or 60?

 

I have, on several occasions, noticed that as the imaging progresses it doesn't seem to be showing any further detail.

 

I suspect that each 10 second image is being averaged, which would account for it.

 

However, further imaging with FITS and dark frames would no doubt give a much more detailed result. 

 

Or am I completely wrong?

 

I will try M33 tonight at 30 minutes and then 60, and post results tomorrow, if it keeps clear.

  I no longer look much at the JPEG images coming from Stellina. As their stacking process is cumulative, it indeed puts much more weight on the first images than on the last. It might very well be that after some time you don't see much of a difference. Note that if there was any, it could probably not be seen on the screen of a tablet or a smartphone.

 

  A good illustration of that is that if something happen in the first few images (vibration, satellite trail), you'll see it on the real-time image and it will only slowly disappear as more subs are added. However, is the same thing happens later, you'll never see it.

 

  If your stack the FITS yourself (in which case every sub is given the same weight), I can guarantee your that 60 minutes is better than 30, and 120 better than 60. I have gone as far as 4 or 5 hours. Note that you must double the exposure time in order to perceive a difference. 

Edited by CptNautilus, 13 November 2021 - 05:34 PM.

[Alien Observatory]

Another EAA Lesson Learned using the Stellina.  Using the Expert Mode the ONLY Mode of Operation is to Collect Fits images on a USB Memory Stick and stack them off-line.

 

It will not work for Live Viewing a stacking JPEG image, which is a disappointment.  10 sec subs and full gain is the EAA Mode for now.  Pat Utah

[nwcs]

Another EAA Lesson Learned using the Stellina.  Using the Expert Mode the ONLY Mode of Operation is to Collect Fits images on a USB Memory Stick and stack them off-line.

 

It will not work for Live Viewing a stacking JPEG image, which is a disappointment.  10 sec subs and full gain is the EAA Mode for now.  Pat Utah

When you say expert mode do you mean manual pointing? I enabled expert mode and am capturing the Eastern Veil right now and it's doing the normal view in the app. Maybe because I have the USB disk option to save both jpeg and raw?

 

Still working through the issues on stacking outside of the normal Stellina options. I think I'm getting closer. Hopefully I'll get it nailed down before I retire in 15-20 years.

[Alien Observatory]

TY for you input.  I had started M2, then stopped the stack.  Went to Expert Mode (not manual) with15 sec exposure,  20db Gain and the only option was at the bottom of the page to start the collection of FITS images.  When I went back to the live stack it was only showing 10 second exposures and I am not sure it was still collecting 20 second FITS subs.

 

I think the two modes of operation are separate and exclusive to each other.  I will try the manual mode another night to see if it is a pathway for live viewing 20 second subs.

 Pat Utah

Edited by Alien Observatory, 13 November 2021 - 09:44 PM.

[Alien Observatory]

A little news on FB for the Mac Beta Users...Maybe it will be an imbedded in the Stellina App, or maybe it will be in the Almost AP category...Pat Utah    

 

For the Mac users out there, we are getting closer to at least a beta release of our processing software. We can now convert the raw image out of the Stellina to red, green, blue, and luminance images.  We can then combine them into a single color image.  Here is one 10 sec image of the Orion Nebula. It’s got a little green tinge so we need to tweak the color processing just a little bit.

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Edited by Alien Observatory, 13 November 2021 - 10:05 PM.

[nwcs]

A little news on FB for the Mac Beta Users...Maybe it will be an imbedded in the Stellina App, or maybe it will be in the Almost AP category...Pat Utah

For the Mac users out there, we are getting closer to at least a beta release of our processing software. We can now convert the raw image out of the Stellina to red, green, blue, and luminance images. We can then combine them into a single color image. Here is one 10 sec image of the Orion Nebula. It’s got a little green tinge so we need to tweak the color processing just a little bit.

Interesting! Is their goal to provide a raw stacking and processing app? Something like what they do with the files in the device but with more flexibility and power of a desktop? If it’s limited to their devices it could be an ideal platform. It could include whatever special sauce they know about and eliminate options in other tools that are not relevant to their devices.

[nwcs]

First cloudless evening in about a week here. They're due to roll in shortly so I'm taking some darks and hoping to try some fits processing again. Anyway, did the bubble and veil nebulas tonight and both turned out pretty well in jpg form. Here's the Veil one straight out of the device, no processing. 50 minutes total.

 

[Alien Observatory]

I was able to Download the Mac (Beta) version before it disappeared from the Vaonis web site.  So maybe I will get to try it out when they release it.   Pat Utah

[alphatripleplus]

Moderator Note:

 

Anyone is free to post-process their fits files if they wish, but as this is the EAA Forum, let's keep the discussion here to only on-the-fly processing that Stellina does in real time. Thanks.

[Alien Observatory]

Was able to get a Hi Res Image of M2 tonight despite the close by  Moon, Stellina, 10 second subs, 28 minutes, Hi Res (Bin 1), reduced in size for posting.  Pat Utah

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Edited by Alien Observatory, 13 November 2021 - 11:26 PM.

[Alien Observatory]

And the nearby Moon tonight, Stellina, short exposure, Low Res (Bin 2).  Pat Utah

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[mdiastro]

Just a couple of images today. 

The first is the star Mirach, Beta Andromedae, But of interest is the faint smudge at the 1.00 clock position. It is the elliptical galaxy Mirach's Ghost. Imaging was cut short because it was near the zenith and the Stellina was stuttering. 80 secs exposure at 10 sec subs.

 

The 2nd image is the Crab Nebula, Messier 1.  With 30 minutes exposure at 10 sec sub. All under Bortle 8 skies.

Both images cropped for posting.

 

 

Edited by mdiastro, 14 November 2021 - 06:09 AM.

[Larry Hansen]

    Here is a 30 minute capture of the Iris in high res.  Image has been cropped for EAA.

 

 

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[Alien Observatory]

I did try the Manual Mode tonight.  Moon out, high clouds, Very Poor Visibility, but gave it a try.  Pat Utah

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Edited by Alien Observatory, 14 November 2021 - 10:24 PM.

[Alien Observatory]

Manual Mode (EAA JPEG)...  results very poor, maybe the Moon and Hi clouds, or beyond the capabilities of the Stellina...Pat Utah

 

Enter Info as needed (image 1)

 

Enter RA and Dec (from Sky Safari) then Save (image 2)

 

Observe / Edit / Delete (image 3)

 

Image Verified at 15 second Exposure, Results were very Poor after 9 minutes, Hi Res (image 4)

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Edited by Alien Observatory, 14 November 2021 - 10:51 PM.

[Alien Observatory]

And the Moon...waiting for the Partial Eclipse in two days... Pat Utah

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