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I have 20 subs at 35 seconds, ISO 800, Canon 60D, stopped down to f5, used the moon to focus and then used gaffer's tape to clamp the focus.
Lens: Rokinon 135mm f2 ED
Mount: IOptron SGP
The cr2 raw data was organized in Bridge.
Each sub was preprocessed in Photoshop CC, eg, for stacking and alignment: then to Lightroom CC, for some noise reduction, and a tone curve. Exported as a .jpg.
M110 and M32 provide the usual sideshow.
Thanks for looking,
Ian
Attachments
Ian
Fracs: Stellarvue 70T f6; SW 120mm Esprit f7; "Mark Mk. II" - 60 mm Tasco f6; C80 frac f 11.4
SCT: C8 Edge f10 or f7 with reducer
Dob: 14.5" homebuilt strut dob (f4.5 ZOC mirror), Nexus II, Moonlite focuser
Mounts - Ioptron Skyguider pro, Astro Physics GTO900
Cameras and lenses - ZWO 2600 mc, 290 mm mini, Canon 60D modded with Rokinon 10mm 2.8; Rokinon 135mm f2
Skysafari 6 Pro, Astro Pixel Processor, Pixinsight - using Mac tablet and ASIair pro to run the AP rig.
"Mothers! It is there!" - Rafael Gonzales-Acuna, 2018.
Imaging is so gratifying! I know that you are having fun with this and I am too watching your images come in.
Looking forward to your new stack!
Thanks,
Jim
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), ZWO OAG, 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, ASI 220mm mini , 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/
Thanks for proving (again) telephoto imaging can be fun and rewarding. Nice job, Ian, on imaging M31. I hope to do that soon with my 200mm Canon EF-L telephoto. I'll post the results when I do. I'll have to wait until dear ol' Luna vacates the sky.
BTW, I've never heard of the Gaffer's Tape brand focus lock. Is that possibly similar to my Gorilla Duct Tape brand focus lock for night-time use on terrestrial telephoto lenses?
Telescopes: Meade LX90 10-inch f/10 UHC Coma-free SCT; Explore Scientific 127mm f/7.5 APO ED triplet refractor; Explore Scientific 102mm f/7 APO ED triplet refractor; Explore Scientific 80mm f/6 APO ED triplet refractor; Skywatcher 72mm f/6 ED Schott doublet refractor; Meade 70mm f/5 APO quadruplet astrograph refractor; Skywatcher Quattro 8-inch f/4 Newtonian astrograph; Orion 6-inch f/4 Newtonian astrograph; Skywatcher SkyMax 180mm f/15 Maksutov; iOptron 150mm f/12 Maksutov; Orion f/9 Ritchey-Chretien RC astrograph Eyepieces: Set of 7 Baader Hyperion eyepieces, 3 Meade 5000 glass handgrenades; 1970s era Japanese manufactured Meade 12.5mm Orthoscopic, and too many other eclectic eyepieces to list Mounts: Skywatcher EQ6-R Pro mount; Orion Atlas EQ-G mount Post-production Software: Not good enough … oh, okay ... Canon's proprietary CanoScan ArcSoft 9000F photoshop suite
Kanadalainen wrote: ↑Thu Oct 10, 2019 12:13 pm
I just noticed that conversion to a jpg seemed to give the image some graininess.
I have another 40 subs that I will incorporate later this week, and perhaps smooth it out.
Ian
I noticed that too when I zoom it, kind of like ice crystals forming on a window.
Exactly, but the tiff is nice and smooth, particularly in the halo. I will read more about uploading restrictions etc on files, see what I can do. Its not insurmountable.
Ian
Fracs: Stellarvue 70T f6; SW 120mm Esprit f7; "Mark Mk. II" - 60 mm Tasco f6; C80 frac f 11.4
SCT: C8 Edge f10 or f7 with reducer
Dob: 14.5" homebuilt strut dob (f4.5 ZOC mirror), Nexus II, Moonlite focuser
Mounts - Ioptron Skyguider pro, Astro Physics GTO900
Cameras and lenses - ZWO 2600 mc, 290 mm mini, Canon 60D modded with Rokinon 10mm 2.8; Rokinon 135mm f2
Skysafari 6 Pro, Astro Pixel Processor, Pixinsight - using Mac tablet and ASIair pro to run the AP rig.
"Mothers! It is there!" - Rafael Gonzales-Acuna, 2018.
Hankmeister3 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 10, 2019 1:00 pm
Thanks for proving (again) telephoto imaging can be fun and rewarding. Nice job, Ian, on imaging M31. I hope to do that soon with my 200mm Canon EF-L telephoto. I'll post the results when I do. I'll have to wait until dear ol' Luna vacates the sky.
BTW, I've never heard of the Gaffer's Tape brand focus lock. Is that possibly similar to my Gorilla Duct Tape brand focus lock for night-time use on terrestrial telephoto lenses?
Thank you Hankmeister,
I found the Gaffer's astro focus lock tape in the DIY section, just beside Gorilla brand role. Its lovely that Home Depot is so accomodating and willing to help astrophotographers.
Other thoughts...which crowd the mind of someone getting their feet wet:
I honestly think the sweet spot for this D60 is at around ISO 1600, and perhaps I will accumulate more data @ 60 seconds when the clouds and rain abate.
Ian
Fracs: Stellarvue 70T f6; SW 120mm Esprit f7; "Mark Mk. II" - 60 mm Tasco f6; C80 frac f 11.4
SCT: C8 Edge f10 or f7 with reducer
Dob: 14.5" homebuilt strut dob (f4.5 ZOC mirror), Nexus II, Moonlite focuser
Mounts - Ioptron Skyguider pro, Astro Physics GTO900
Cameras and lenses - ZWO 2600 mc, 290 mm mini, Canon 60D modded with Rokinon 10mm 2.8; Rokinon 135mm f2
Skysafari 6 Pro, Astro Pixel Processor, Pixinsight - using Mac tablet and ASIair pro to run the AP rig.
"Mothers! It is there!" - Rafael Gonzales-Acuna, 2018.
Kanadalainen wrote: ↑Thu Oct 10, 2019 2:30 pmExactly, but the tiff is nice and smooth, particularly in the halo. I will read more about uploading restrictions etc on files, see what I can do. Its not insurmountable.
Hi Ian,
Whenever I have a big honker of an image like that (such as a lunar mosaic), I will upload the TIF to Flickr and post here via link or img tags. Flickr allows your first 1000 images free and they've yet to squawk at me for image size. Just a thought for your consideration.
Bryan Scopes: Apertura AD12 f/5; Celestron C6-R f/8; ES AR127 f/6.4; Stellarvue SV102T f/7; iOptron MC90 f/13.3; Orion ST80A f/5; ES ED80 f/6; Celestron Premium 80 f/11.4; Celestron C80 f/11.4; Unitron Model 142 f/16; Meade NG60 f/10 Mounts: Celestron AVX; Bresser EXOS-2; ES Twilight I; ES Twilight II; iOptron Cube-G; AZ3/wood tripod; Vixen Polaris Binoculars: Pentax PCF WP II 10×50, Bresser Corvette 10×50, Bresser Hunter 16×50 and 8×40, Garrett Gemini 12×60 LW, Gordon 10×50, Apogee 20×100
Kanadalainen wrote: ↑Thu Oct 10, 2019 2:30 pmExactly, but the tiff is nice and smooth, particularly in the halo. I will read more about uploading restrictions etc on files, see what I can do. Its not insurmountable.
Hi Ian,
Whenever I have a big honker of an image like that (such as a lunar mosaic), I will upload the TIF to Flickr and post here via link or img tags. Flickr allows your first 1000 images free and they've yet to squawk at me for image size. Just a thought for your consideration.
Thanks Bryan! Good idea... I will sign up.
Ian
Ian
Fracs: Stellarvue 70T f6; SW 120mm Esprit f7; "Mark Mk. II" - 60 mm Tasco f6; C80 frac f 11.4
SCT: C8 Edge f10 or f7 with reducer
Dob: 14.5" homebuilt strut dob (f4.5 ZOC mirror), Nexus II, Moonlite focuser
Mounts - Ioptron Skyguider pro, Astro Physics GTO900
Cameras and lenses - ZWO 2600 mc, 290 mm mini, Canon 60D modded with Rokinon 10mm 2.8; Rokinon 135mm f2
Skysafari 6 Pro, Astro Pixel Processor, Pixinsight - using Mac tablet and ASIair pro to run the AP rig.
"Mothers! It is there!" - Rafael Gonzales-Acuna, 2018.
"The Hankmeister" Celestron 8SE, orange tube Vixen made C80, CG4, AZ-EQ5 and SolarQuest mounts.
Too much Towa glass/mirrors.
Solar:
H/A - PST stage 2 mod with a Baader 90mm ERF on a Celestron XLT 102 (thanks Mike!)
Ca-K - W/O 61mm, Antares 1.6 barlow, Baader 3.8 OD and Ca-K filters with a ZWO ASI174mm.
W/L - C80-HD with Baader 5.0 & 3.8 Solar film, Solar Continuum 7.5nm and UV/IR filters with a Canon EOS 550D. Member of the RASC
You stack in photoshop? You must have the patience of a saint! Why not use a stacking program like DSS or something? It'll make your job much easier!
It's a nice image given the short subs. You might try a gradient filter like Gradient Xterminator (Photoshop plug in) for the gradient.
Stuart
Personal equipment: TEC 140 F7 on Astro-Physics Mach 1 mount. Camera QSI 683ws7. Guide with Vario guiding scope
Shared equipment through Star Shadows Remote Observatory through PROMPT/ CTIO/Chile 16" RCOS 16803 chip
Shared equipment through San Diego Astronomy Society 14" RC with 16803 chip on a paramount
Software (for my stuff) PemPRO, SGP, PHD, Focus Boss, ASCOM, and Pixinsight on the other end.
Stuart wrote: ↑Tue Oct 15, 2019 4:05 am
You stack in photoshop? You must have the patience of a saint! Why not use a stacking program like DSS or something? It'll make your job much easier!
It's a nice image given the short subs. You might try a gradient filter like Gradient Xterminator (Photoshop plug in) for the gradient.
Stuart
Hi Stuart,
Thanks for your kind comments.
No patience here. To be very clear, I am using Photoshop CC 2019, and have no other experience with older copies, and so can't speak to their limitations. I use a file function that provides a modicum of automation
-> Files>Scripts>Load files into stack.
When you do this you have the option of choosing an auto-align mode, and you can set it up for layering as well. This is all done on a MacBook Pro platform.
I have used Sequator as well, and am experimenting with SiRil.
Easy!
Ian
Ian
Fracs: Stellarvue 70T f6; SW 120mm Esprit f7; "Mark Mk. II" - 60 mm Tasco f6; C80 frac f 11.4
SCT: C8 Edge f10 or f7 with reducer
Dob: 14.5" homebuilt strut dob (f4.5 ZOC mirror), Nexus II, Moonlite focuser
Mounts - Ioptron Skyguider pro, Astro Physics GTO900
Cameras and lenses - ZWO 2600 mc, 290 mm mini, Canon 60D modded with Rokinon 10mm 2.8; Rokinon 135mm f2
Skysafari 6 Pro, Astro Pixel Processor, Pixinsight - using Mac tablet and ASIair pro to run the AP rig.
"Mothers! It is there!" - Rafael Gonzales-Acuna, 2018.
Oh, cool. They must have updated photoshop since I last used it years ago. In the old days you had to manually align each image to each other.
Personal equipment: TEC 140 F7 on Astro-Physics Mach 1 mount. Camera QSI 683ws7. Guide with Vario guiding scope
Shared equipment through Star Shadows Remote Observatory through PROMPT/ CTIO/Chile 16" RCOS 16803 chip
Shared equipment through San Diego Astronomy Society 14" RC with 16803 chip on a paramount
Software (for my stuff) PemPRO, SGP, PHD, Focus Boss, ASCOM, and Pixinsight on the other end.