California nebula DSLR HaRGB

[Jockinireland]

At last a couple of clear nights so tried the California nebula - first time imaging this.

The HA was done on the second light and the seeeing/clarity was much worse than the first night so I dont think its as good as it could be

The result below is a bit of a "Work In Progress" I think because I'm sure it can be improved but wanted to get some thoughts on it at this stage.

Anyway

EOS 1100d (Ha Mod)
Skywatcher Star Adventurer
RGB 61 X 180s ISO 1600
Ha (astronomik 12nm clip in) 50 X 210s ISO 1600
Around 40 darks, flats and dark flats for each session
Stacked in APP processed in Photoshop

Suggestions for improvement greatly appreciated

[MariusD69]

Very nice! Well done! Seems a little overstretched.

[Jockinireland]

Very nice! Well done! Seems a little overstretched.

Thanks for that.Yes I think you are right.

I'm finding it hard to get the HA in without that happening and also making it pinker than I'd like. I'm going to have another go and tone down the HA a bit.

[Juno16]

Nice image Jock, but might look better when you tone it down some.

Really nice wide field view. Great framing!

How do you like the filter?

Thanks,
Jim

[Jockinireland]

Nice image Jock, but might look better when you tone it down some.

Really nice wide field view. Great framing!

How do you like the filter?

Thanks,
Jim

Thanks Jim, yes, we'll see what we can do to tame it a bit.

I've only managed 2 attempts with that filter so far but I think I like it. It certainly makes a difference though combining the Ha with the RGB is more difficult than the various tutorials make it seem - combining them is easy but getting the Ha layer to the right level first is what I struggle with - as seen above.

Focusing can be tough - I use BYEOS and thats hard enough - I think it would be next to impossible if I was just using the camera live view screen as some people do.

But I have yet to use it for the reason I got it - i.e. to use it to collect Ha data during bright moon to combine with RGB from dark nights.

[Juno16]

Thanks Jim, yes, we'll see what we can do to tame it a bit.

I've only managed 2 attempts with that filter so far but I think I like it. It certainly makes a difference though combining the Ha with the RGB is more difficult than the various tutorials make it seem - combining them is easy but getting the Ha layer to the right level first is what I struggle with - as seen above.

Focusing can be tough - I use BYEOS and thats hard enough - I think it would be next to impossible if I was just using the camera live view screen as some people do.

But I have yet to use it for the reason I got it - i.e. to use it to collect Ha data during bright moon to combine with RGB from dark nights.

You will have plenty of opportunities to image with the moon!

Just curious. Might have to go that way one day myself. Just now trying out my first lp filter. Shot 30 x 5 min images last night and will hopefully add more data tonight. Hopefully it will be a nice addition. I’ll tell you what though, i have found it nearly impossible to shoot 5 minute iso 800 darks during the daytime. Even covered up with a black bag, i still see some light intrusion.
I will just wait until I shoot flats tomorrow and take JT’s advice [mention]JayTee[/mention] by putting the camera in the freezer to shoot darks.
Looking forward to your next process!

Jim

[helicon]

Looks good with lots of detail.

[kt4hx]

Nice image indeed. Would be nice if we could see NGC 1499 in such detail visually! Just so you know, I have annotated your image to reveal that you also captured the planetary nebula IC 2003 and the lenticular galaxy IC 2005 in the mix. The galaxy suffers additional extinction from the foreground nebula. Well done!

IC 2003: mag=11.6, size=11.0", central star=15.0
IC 2005: mag=14.8, size=0.35'x0.25', surface brightness=11.9

[Jockinireland]

Nice image indeed. Would be nice if we could see NGC 1499 in such detail visually! Just so you know, I have annotated your image to reveal that you also captured the planetary nebula IC 2003 and the lenticular galaxy IC 2005 in the mix. The galaxy suffers additional extinction from the foreground nebula. Well done!

IC 2003: mag=11.6, size=11.0", central star=15.0
IC 2005: mag=14.8, size=0.35'x0.25', surface brightness=11.9

Thanks for that Alan, thats just amazing!

[JayTee]

I will just wait until I shoot flats tomorrow and take JT’s advice by putting the camera in the freezer to shoot darks.

For those of you in warm climates like me, I only use the refrigerator. Nonetheless, it still works as advertised, also, remember to pre-brief your spouse that she's going to see something that's not food in her refrigerator. This might forestall a loud interaction. But then again maybe it's better to just ask for forgiveness than permission.

Cheers,
JT