M42 three years of data

Post your DSO images here.
User avatar
ic_1101 Canada
Orion Spur Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 968
Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 1:19 pm
4
Location: Canada
Status:
Offline

TSS Photo of the Day

M42 three years of data

#1

Post by ic_1101 »


While waiting around for clear skies I processed M42 with data collected over three years from various scopes (SVR102T, SW120ED,Askar-FRA300) and cameras (asi294mc, asi183mc, qhy268c). Out of 9hrs of data I picked the best 3hrs and processed in APP, PI and Photoshop. I try to image M42 every years but so far the weather hasn't cooperated. Thx for checking it out and your C&C is always appreciated.
Cheers
Alex
M42.jpg
Last edited by ic_1101 on Sun Jan 22, 2023 11:12 am, edited 1 time in total.
Alex
Scope: SW Esprit 120ED, Askar FRA300
Mount: ZWO AM5
Cameras: QHY268M/C, QHY183M/C, ASI290MM
Software: Pixinsight, AstroPixelProcessor, SGP
Observatory: Exploradome with Nexdome rotator
https://www.astrobin.com/users/ic_1101/
User avatar
bobharmony
Local Group Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 2028
Joined: Sun May 12, 2019 1:11 pm
4
Location: Connecticut, US
Status:
Offline

TSS Photo of the Day

Re: M42 three years of data

#2

Post by bobharmony »


That is gorgeous, Alex. I think one of the most underrated tools we have in the box is aggressively throwing out all but the best subs and using just the best in our stacks.

Bob
Hardware: Celestron C6-N w/ Advanced GTmount, Baader MK iii CC, Orion ST-80, Canon 60D (unmodded), Nikon D5300 (modded), Orion SSAG
Software: BYE, APT, PHD2, DSS, PhotoShop CC 2020, StarTools, Cartes du Ciel, AstroTortilla

Image
User avatar
Ylem United States of America
Universal Ambassador
Articles: 0
Online
Posts: 7477
Joined: Sun May 12, 2019 2:54 am
4
Location: Ocean County, New Jersey
Status:
Online

TSS Photo of the Day

Re: M42 three years of data

#3

Post by Ylem »


Wow, that beautiful Alex!
Clear Skies,
-Jeff :telescopewink:


Member; ASTRA-NJ



Orion 80ED
Celestron C5, 6SE, Celestar 8
Vixen Porta Mount ll
Coronado PST
A big box of Plossls
Little box of filters
:D



User avatar
Juno16 United States of America
Universal Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 8195
Joined: Sun May 12, 2019 3:13 pm
4
Location: Mississippi Gulf Coast
Status:
Offline

TSS Awards Badges

TSS Photo of the Day

Re: M42 three years of data

#4

Post by Juno16 »


Wow, outstanding image Alex!
Awesome combination of cameras and scopes.

I am very interested in your data “culling” technique.
Evidently your technique works very well, but a couple of questions if you don’t mind and have the time.
I’m trying to understand how deleting that much data improves the overall image.
Do you do your preprocessing in APP or PI?
If you use PI for preprocessing, what method and criteria do you use to select your best frames? SubframeSelector?
How do you select criteria for rejection? S/N, eccentricity, stars?

I’m admittedly chose the laze route. I just blink for flawed frames, then let WBPP sort it out. I currently use PSF Signal weight or PSF SNR.

I guess that there are other variables in play too like sky quality.
In my light polluted backyard, I guess my mental “crutch” is thinking that I have more data which leads to a better image (my thinking).
Of course, even though I might be using 8 hours of data, WBPP might be weighing some frames 10x higher than the worse frame’s which essentially is eliminating those frames.
My apologies for all of the questions, but I’m just try to learn!
Thanks Alex!
Jim

Scopes: Explore Scientific ED102 APO, Sharpstar 61 EDPH II APO, Samyang 135 F2 (still on the Nikon).
Mount: Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro with Rowan Belt Mod
Stuff: ASI EAF Focus Motor (x2), Orion 50mm Guide Scope, ZWO 30 mm Guide Scope, ASI 220mm min, ASI 120mm mini, Stellarview 0.8 FR/FF, Sharpstar 0.8 FR/FF, Mele Overloock 3C.
Camera/Filters/Software: ASI 533 mc pro, ASI 120mm mini, Orion SSAG, IDAS LPS D-1, Optolong L-Enhance, ZWO UV/IR Cut, N.I.N.A., Green Swamp Server, PHD2, Adobe Photoshop CC, Pixinsight.
Dog and best bud: Jack
Sky: Bortle 6-7
My Astrobin: https://www.astrobin.com/users/Juno16/
User avatar
messier 111 Canada
Universal Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 9472
Joined: Mon Nov 09, 2020 2:49 am
3
Location: Canada's capital region .
Status:
Offline

TSS Awards Badges

Re: M42 three years of data

#5

Post by messier 111 »


really one of the most beautiful I've seen, the colors and the details are breathtaking, thx.
apod for me .
I LOVE REFRACTORS , :Astronomer1: :sprefac:

REFRACTOR , TS-Optics Doublet SD-APO 125 mm f/7.8 . Lunt 80mm MT Ha Doublet Refractor .

EYEPIECES, Delos , Delite and 26mm Nagler t5 , 2 zoom Svbony 7-21 , Orion Premium Linear BinoViewer .

FILTER , Nebustar 2 tele vue . Apm solar wedge . contrast booster 2 inches .

Mounts , berno mack 3 with telepod , cg-4 motorized , eq6 pro belt drive .

“Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won't come in.”
― Isaac Asimov

Jean-Yves :flags-canada:
User avatar
Unitron48 United States of America
Local Group Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 2747
Joined: Sun May 12, 2019 12:48 am
4
Location: Culpeper, VA (USA)
Status:
Offline

TSS Awards Badges

Re: M42 three years of data

#6

Post by Unitron48 »


Amazing processing...incredible result!! An APOD winner for sure!!

Dave
Unitron (60mm, 102mm), Brandon 94
Stellarvue SVX127D
http://www.unitronhistory.com

"Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better." Albert Einstein
User avatar
ic_1101 Canada
Orion Spur Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 968
Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 1:19 pm
4
Location: Canada
Status:
Offline

TSS Photo of the Day

Re: M42 three years of data

#7

Post by ic_1101 »


Juno16 wrote: Sun Jan 22, 2023 12:53 pm Wow, outstanding image Alex!
Awesome combination of cameras and scopes.

I am very interested in your data “culling” technique.
Evidently your technique works very well, but a couple of questions if you don’t mind and have the time.
I’m trying to understand how deleting that much data improves the overall image.
Do you do your preprocessing in APP or PI?
If you use PI for preprocessing, what method and criteria do you use to select your best frames? SubframeSelector?
How do you select criteria for rejection? S/N, eccentricity, stars?

I’m admittedly chose the laze route. I just blink for flawed frames, then let WBPP sort it out. I currently use PSF Signal weight or PSF SNR.

I guess that there are other variables in play too like sky quality.
In my light polluted backyard, I guess my mental “crutch” is thinking that I have more data which leads to a better image (my thinking).
Of course, even though I might be using 8 hours of data, WBPP might be weighing some frames 10x higher than the worse frame’s which essentially is eliminating those frames.
My apologies for all of the questions, but I’m just try to learn!
Thanks Alex!
Thx for your kind comments Jim!
I do all my preprocessing in APP and to be honest I have not tried the subframe selector in PI.
I first run Blink in PI and remove any frames with gross flaws like aircraft trails or obvious poor exposures due to thin clouds, from then on I use APP for all preprocessing. I first run a star analysis and look at the quality parameter which is based on noise, star density, star size and star shape (FWHM). APP selects a reference image which received the highest score. Then I run three integrations with the weights based first on quality then on noise and finally on star shape (this will usually give me the smallest roundest stars) using 60% of the subframes with the highest scores. I then compare the 3 integrated results to one another and choose the best one to my eyes. If I have enough integration time I will then run it again using only 30% of the subframes. The 30% is pretty aggressive but if I have enough subframes it pays off in a much better final image.
PI subframe selector probably gives you more as far as different metrics in its analysis but I've been using APP for quite a while and have been happy with the results.
Hope this helps somewhat.
Cheers my friend
Alex
Alex
Scope: SW Esprit 120ED, Askar FRA300
Mount: ZWO AM5
Cameras: QHY268M/C, QHY183M/C, ASI290MM
Software: Pixinsight, AstroPixelProcessor, SGP
Observatory: Exploradome with Nexdome rotator
https://www.astrobin.com/users/ic_1101/
User avatar
MariusD69 Romania
Inter-Galactic Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 3633
Joined: Sun May 12, 2019 1:22 pm
4
Location: Romania
Status:
Offline

TSS Photo of the Day

Re: M42 three years of data

#8

Post by MariusD69 »


Wonderful image! Well done, Alex!
Marius
Mount: iOpton Cem60, HEQ5-for spare
Scopes: newt SW 150/750PDS, dobson SW 150/1200; SW 114/500; TS Photoline 80mm f/6 Triplet APO; SW ST80
Cameras: ASI294MC Pro; ASI1600MM Pro; Atik 314L+mono; Canon 1100D; QHY5III-178m; QHY5L-II-m ; ASI224; Altair GPCAM 290M, GPCAM290C
Accessories: Baader MPCC; GPU KomakorrF4; TS Flat2; TS 0.79x FR/FF
User avatar
Gordon United States of America
Site Admin
Site Admin
Articles: 1037
Online
Posts: 8268
Joined: Wed Apr 24, 2019 10:52 pm
4
Location: Cottonwood, AZ
Status:
Online

TSS Awards Badges

TSS Photo of the Day

I Broke The Forum.

Re: M42 three years of data

#9

Post by Gordon »


Congratulations Alex on having your image selected as todays TSS APOD!

app.php/article/1-22-2023-tss-astrophot ... of-the-day
Gordon
Scopes: Explore Scientific ED80CF, Skywatcher 200 Quattro Imaging Newt, SeeStar S50 for EAA.
Mounts: Orion Atlas EQ-g mount & Skywatcher EQ5 Pro.
ZWO mini guider.
Image cameras: ZWO ASI1600 MM Cool, ZWO ASI533mc-Pro, ZWO ASI174mm-C (for use with my Quark chromosphere), ZWO ASI120MC
Filters: LRGB, Ha 7nm, O-III 7nm, S-II 7nm
Eyepieces: a few.
Primary software: Cartes du Ciel, N.I.N.A, StarTools V1.4.

Image
User avatar
Makuser United States of America
In Memory
In Memory
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 6394
Joined: Mon May 06, 2019 12:53 am
4
Location: Rockledge, FL.
Status:
Offline

TSS Awards Badges

TSS Photo of the Day

Re: M42 three years of data

#10

Post by Makuser »


Hello Alex. Just a dazzling M42 image with 3 years of data collecting through 3 different telescopes. This total new reprocessing is a complete success as shown by the vivid nebulosity and dark dust colors and details. Thanks for sharing another great work with us Alex and congratulations on receiving the much deserved TSS APOD Award today.
Marshall
Sky-Watcher 90mm f/13.8 Maksutov-Cassegrain on motorized Multimount
Orion Astroview 120ST f/5 Refractor on EQ3 mount
Celestron Comet Catcher 140mm f/3.64 Schmidt-Newtonian on alt-az mount
Celestron Omni XLT150R f/5 Refractor on CG4 mount with dual axis drives.
Orion 180mm f/15 Maksutov-Cassegrain on CG5-GT Goto mount.
Orion XT12i 12" f/4.9 Dobsonian Intelliscope.
Kamakura 7x35 Binoculars and Celestron SkyMaster 15x70 Binoculars. ZWO ASI 120MC camera.
>)))))*>
User avatar
Juno16 United States of America
Universal Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 8195
Joined: Sun May 12, 2019 3:13 pm
4
Location: Mississippi Gulf Coast
Status:
Offline

TSS Awards Badges

TSS Photo of the Day

Re: M42 three years of data

#11

Post by Juno16 »


ic_1101 wrote: Sun Jan 22, 2023 4:24 pm
Juno16 wrote: Sun Jan 22, 2023 12:53 pm Wow, outstanding image Alex!
Awesome combination of cameras and scopes.

I am very interested in your data “culling” technique.
Evidently your technique works very well, but a couple of questions if you don’t mind and have the time.
I’m trying to understand how deleting that much data improves the overall image.
Do you do your preprocessing in APP or PI?
If you use PI for preprocessing, what method and criteria do you use to select your best frames? SubframeSelector?
How do you select criteria for rejection? S/N, eccentricity, stars?

I’m admittedly chose the laze route. I just blink for flawed frames, then let WBPP sort it out. I currently use PSF Signal weight or PSF SNR.

I guess that there are other variables in play too like sky quality.
In my light polluted backyard, I guess my mental “crutch” is thinking that I have more data which leads to a better image (my thinking).
Of course, even though I might be using 8 hours of data, WBPP might be weighing some frames 10x higher than the worse frame’s which essentially is eliminating those frames.
My apologies for all of the questions, but I’m just try to learn!
Thanks Alex!
Thx for your kind comments Jim!
I do all my preprocessing in APP and to be honest I have not tried the subframe selector in PI.
I first run Blink in PI and remove any frames with gross flaws like aircraft trails or obvious poor exposures due to thin clouds, from then on I use APP for all preprocessing. I first run a star analysis and look at the quality parameter which is based on noise, star density, star size and star shape (FWHM). APP selects a reference image which received the highest score. Then I run three integrations with the weights based first on quality then on noise and finally on star shape (this will usually give me the smallest roundest stars) using 60% of the subframes with the highest scores. I then compare the 3 integrated results to one another and choose the best one to my eyes. If I have enough integration time I will then run it again using only 30% of the subframes. The 30% is pretty aggressive but if I have enough subframes it pays off in a much better final image.
PI subframe selector probably gives you more as far as different metrics in its analysis but I've been using APP for quite a while and have been happy with the results.
Hope this helps somewhat.
Cheers my friend
Alex

Thank you for the explanation Alex. I don't know APP, but I have heard only good about it.
I do understand now. The bottom line is that selecting the best images for pre-processing pays off in a better image with less frames.
I use WBPP in PI and it really makes things easy. I have gone the manual way (Debaying, StarAlignment, Integration) and then to the SubframeSelector. Just as a test, I compared WBPP to manual pre-processing and using only the "prime" frames after analysis in the SubframeSelector. I only cut back the total of frames by about 30%. I stretched both the WBPP master and the manually pre-processed file with the 30% reduction in frames (in SS), I really couldn't tell any visual difference in details (color, stars, or overall image quality). So, I haven't gone any way besides WBPP. I just figured that WBPP weighed the poor frames so low that they had little impact on the finished pre-processed file.
I really appreciate your explanation.
I think that it is time for me to do another test using only the best frames with SubframeSelector!!!

Congratulations on the APOD and cheers to you my friend!
Jim

Scopes: Explore Scientific ED102 APO, Sharpstar 61 EDPH II APO, Samyang 135 F2 (still on the Nikon).
Mount: Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro with Rowan Belt Mod
Stuff: ASI EAF Focus Motor (x2), Orion 50mm Guide Scope, ZWO 30 mm Guide Scope, ASI 220mm min, ASI 120mm mini, Stellarview 0.8 FR/FF, Sharpstar 0.8 FR/FF, Mele Overloock 3C.
Camera/Filters/Software: ASI 533 mc pro, ASI 120mm mini, Orion SSAG, IDAS LPS D-1, Optolong L-Enhance, ZWO UV/IR Cut, N.I.N.A., Green Swamp Server, PHD2, Adobe Photoshop CC, Pixinsight.
Dog and best bud: Jack
Sky: Bortle 6-7
My Astrobin: https://www.astrobin.com/users/Juno16/
User avatar
Ylem United States of America
Universal Ambassador
Articles: 0
Online
Posts: 7477
Joined: Sun May 12, 2019 2:54 am
4
Location: Ocean County, New Jersey
Status:
Online

TSS Photo of the Day

Re: M42 three years of data

#12

Post by Ylem »


Congratulations for the APOD on that amazing image Alex!
Clear Skies,
-Jeff :telescopewink:


Member; ASTRA-NJ



Orion 80ED
Celestron C5, 6SE, Celestar 8
Vixen Porta Mount ll
Coronado PST
A big box of Plossls
Little box of filters
:D



User avatar
Gmetric Great Britain
Milky Way Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 1224
Joined: Sun May 12, 2019 6:08 am
4
Location: Japan
Status:
Offline

TSS Photo of the Day

Re: M42 three years of data

#13

Post by Gmetric »


Beautiful image Alex and congrats on the APOD, a well-deserved one at that.
Arry (Bortle 7 area)

Telescopes: Sky-Watcher ED72II, Sky-Watcher PDS130, Sky-Explorer SN F4 200mm astrograph and Vixen F11.1 90mm
Cameras: Nikon D5300 modded, Canon Kiss X8i modded, Cooled Canon kiss X4 modded, Atik 16IC and 383 colour, ASI120MC, QHY5LII
Mount: Sky-Explorer HEQ 5 belt driven
User avatar
ic_1101 Canada
Orion Spur Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 968
Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 1:19 pm
4
Location: Canada
Status:
Offline

TSS Photo of the Day

Re: M42 three years of data

#14

Post by ic_1101 »


Gordon wrote: Sun Jan 22, 2023 7:45 pm Congratulations Alex on having your image selected as todays TSS APOD!

app.php/article/1-22-2023-tss-astrophot ... of-the-day
Thank you Gordon for selecting this image for a TSS APOD!
Thx everyone for your kind comments, it’s very much appreciated.

Alex
Alex
Scope: SW Esprit 120ED, Askar FRA300
Mount: ZWO AM5
Cameras: QHY268M/C, QHY183M/C, ASI290MM
Software: Pixinsight, AstroPixelProcessor, SGP
Observatory: Exploradome with Nexdome rotator
https://www.astrobin.com/users/ic_1101/
User avatar
TheButcher United States of America
Vendor
Vendor
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 1337
Joined: Sat May 18, 2019 4:41 pm
4
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Status:
Offline

TSS Photo of the Day

Re: M42 three years of data

#15

Post by TheButcher »


That is Excellent Alex!!! And Congrats n the APOD!!!
Telescopes:Apertura AD12 Dob + Rings for EQ mode Mounts: iOptron CEM70 w/ Tri-Pier Barlows:GSO 2x Shorty Focuser: Rigel nStep Cameras: ZWO174mm

See All of my Images at: https://astronebula.com/slide-show/
User avatar
starfield United States of America
Milky Way Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 1011
Joined: Fri Aug 30, 2019 3:22 pm
4
Location: San Diego
Status:
Offline

TSS Awards Badges

TSS Photo of the Day

Re: M42 three years of data

#16

Post by starfield »


Really nice Alex and like the way the core turned out.
Scopes: Esprit 100, 12.5" Telekit Dob
Camera: 294 MC Pro, 224 mc, 2600mm
Guiding: ZWO 290 mini on 120mm guide scope
Mounts: EQ6R-Pro, EQ Platform.
Filters: Optolong L-Pro & L-Enhance, Chroma 36mm LRGB, 5nm HA, 3nm OIII, 3nm SII.
Software: SharpCap, SGP, StarTools 1.7, Photoshop, Pixinsight
The Death Star Observatory
Astro Photos:https://www.astrobin.com/users/starfield/
User avatar
Unitron48 United States of America
Local Group Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 2747
Joined: Sun May 12, 2019 12:48 am
4
Location: Culpeper, VA (USA)
Status:
Offline

TSS Awards Badges

Re: M42 three years of data

#17

Post by Unitron48 »


Unitron48 wrote: Sun Jan 22, 2023 2:20 pm Amazing processing...incredible result!! An APOD winner for sure!!

Dave
And congrats on your selection!!

Dave
Unitron (60mm, 102mm), Brandon 94
Stellarvue SVX127D
http://www.unitronhistory.com

"Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better." Albert Einstein
User avatar
Jockinireland Ireland
Milky Way Ambassador
Articles: 0
Online
Posts: 1920
Joined: Sat Aug 24, 2019 7:56 pm
4
Location: Galway
Status:
Online

TSS Photo of the Day

Re: M42 three years of data

#18

Post by Jockinireland »


Excellent image and a well deserved APOD
Scope: Skywatcher Evostar 80ED (SW 0.85 FR/FF) on a SW NEQ6Pro
Guiding; SW Evoguide 50ED, ASI 120mm mini
Meade 8" LX200 GPS on wedge (Guided with a cheapo 50mm guidescope and a ZWO ASI 120mm mini)
Sharpstar 61EDPH II (with dedicated 0.8 reducer) with wiliam Optics 32mm uniguide
Camera: ASI2600MC pro. QHY 163M with ZWO 7nm NB filters, Canon EOS700D astro mod
Secondary mount: Skywatcher StarAdventurer

My Astrobin https://www.astrobin.com/users/mackiedlm/
User avatar
BigKahuna United States of America
Jupiter Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 249
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2020 12:23 am
4
Location: New Jersey, USA
Status:
Offline

TSS Photo of the Day

Re: M42 three years of data

#19

Post by BigKahuna »


Congrats on the APOD!
Telescopes/Mounts : Explore Scientific ED102 or Celestron C6N on AVX, 8SE OTA on ASGT, NexStar 114GT/AZ, Meade ETX-90EC w/ Observer Base, Orion XT10i
Binoculars: Pentax 10x50
Camera : ZWO 533MC Pro, Canon EOS Rebel T6, ZWO ASI224MC

Clear Skies,
Ron
Member ASTRA-NJ

Image
User avatar
Richard South Africa
Milky Way Ambassador
Articles: 0
Online
Posts: 1151
Joined: Mon May 13, 2019 6:55 am
4
Location: South Africa/Czech Rep
Status:
Online

Re: M42 three years of data

#20

Post by Richard »


Amazing what images we get now , thats like one would see in astro books when I was young , actually its better
Reflectors GSO 200 Dobs
Refractors None
SCT C5 on a SLT mount
Mak 150 Bosma on a EQ5
Post Reply

Create an account or sign in to join the discussion

You need to be a member in order to post a reply

Create an account

Not a member? register to join our community
Members can start their own topics & subscribe to topics
It’s free and only takes a minute

Register

Sign in

Return to “Deep Sky Images”