New Image: Very First Deep Sky Image - Orion Nebula

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New Image: Very First Deep Sky Image - Orion Nebula

#1

Post by JSBach1801 »


Howdy!

This is my very first deep sky image, and naturally Orion was calling my name. It's not my first astrophotography image (I have photographed the moon, Jupiter, and some landscapes with stars before), but nothing like this. I bought my first tracking mount and telescope back in early February, but we have had nonstop cloud cover for weeks. Been quite frustrating really. However, we had a perfectly clear night on the 16th, so I made use of it. This is in a Bortle class 4 area, but I was shooting back over a city a mile or so away with a population of about 50,000. Not a perfect spot, but I knew of a great place to setup where I would not be bothered so for my first trip it seemed like a good location. My elevation was close to 5000 feet (~1500 m) ASL.

I have a Sky Watcher EQM-35i, a William Optics Zenithstar 73 III APO, and a Sony a7IV Mirrorless camera. I went with a non-astro camera because I also dabble in other types of photography.

95 light frames with 30 second exposures at 400 ISO, 40 darks, 60 bias, and 60 flats. I used Deep Sky Stacker, StarNet++, and Photoshop for the processing.

It was bitterly cold, I almost lost my mind trying to find Polaris for the first time through the alignment scope, and I lost a perfectly good pocket knife in the snow. However, when I saw the results, it made my day!

Even still, I see lots and lots of room for improvement. Very interested to hear any critiques you all might have. Cheers!
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Last edited by JSBach1801 on Sun Mar 19, 2023 5:41 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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ApophisAstros Great Britain
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Re: New Image: Very First Deep Sky Image - Orion Nebula

#2

Post by ApophisAstros »


Super . took me years to be able to process like that , love it.
Thanks for posting.
Rog.
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Re: New Image: Very First Deep Sky Image - Orion Nebula

#3

Post by JSBach1801 »


ApophisAstros wrote: Sun Mar 19, 2023 9:01 am Super . took me years to be able to process like that , love it.
Thanks for posting.
Rog.
Thank you!

My background in "traditional" photography certainly came in handy once I was in Photoshop. Stretching, levels adjustment, color balance, etc. all came quite naturally.
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Re: New Image: Very First Deep Sky Image - Orion Nebula

#4

Post by Juno16 »


That’s a beautiful image JSB!

Excellent coloration!
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.
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Re: New Image: Very First Deep Sky Image - Orion Nebula

#5

Post by KathyNS »


That's your very first deep sky image? Wow! Well done!
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DSO AP: Orion 200mm f/4 Newtonian Astrograph; ATIK 383L+; EFW2 filter wheel; Astrodon Ha,Oiii,LRGB filters; KWIQ/QHY5 guide scope; Planetary AP: Celestron C-11; ZWO ASI120MC; Portable: Celestron C-8 on HEQ5 pro; C-90 on wedge; 20x80 binos; Etc: Canon 350D; Various EPs, etc. Obs: 8' Exploradome; iOptron CEM60 (pier); Helena Observatory (H2O) Astrobin
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Re: New Image: Very First Deep Sky Image - Orion Nebula

#6

Post by Mac »


That's a great capture. Leaps and bounds beyond mine.

Welcome to the forum.
Steve

Scopes : Explore Scientific ED102 Triplet APO - Radian Raptor Triplet APO - Orion 50mm
Mount : AVX EQ | Software : KStars - EKOS - Stellar OS | Cameras : ZWO ASI533MC ASI1600MM ASI120MM-mini
CPU : Mac Studio, iMac - Kstars-Ekos on Raspberry Rpi4/RPi5 | Misc : Thousand Oaks dew controller - DewNot straps - Optolong L-enhance - ZWO EAF
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Re: New Image: Very First Deep Sky Image - Orion Nebula

#7

Post by bobharmony »


Great start, JSB! It looks like you have prepared very well.

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

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Re: New Image: Very First Deep Sky Image - Orion Nebula

#8

Post by messier 111 »


wow a first ? magnificent image , thx .
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.”
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Re: New Image: Very First Deep Sky Image - Orion Nebula

#9

Post by Bigzmey »


Great capture JSB!
Scopes: Stellarvue: SV102ED; Celestron: 9.25" EdgeHD, 8" SCT, 150ST, Onyx 80ED; iOptron: Hankmeister 6" Mak; SW: 7" Mak; Meade: 80ST.
Mounts: SW: SkyTee2, AzGTi; iOptron: AZMP; ES: Twilight I; Bresser: EXOS2; UA: MicroStar.
Binos: APM: 100-90 APO; Canon: IS 15x50; Orion: Binoviewer, LG II 15x70, WV 10x50, Nikon: AE 16x50, 10x50, 8x40.
EPs: Pentax: XWs & XFs; TeleVue: Delites, Panoptic & Plossls; ES: 68, 62; Vixen: SLVs; Baader: BCOs, Aspherics, Mark IV.
Diagonals: Baader: BBHS mirror, Zeiss Spec T2 prism, Clicklock dielectric; TeleVue: Evebrite dielectric; AltairAstro: 2" prism.
Filters: Lumicon: DeepSky, UHC, OIII, H-beta; Baader: Moon & SkyGlow, Contrast Booster, UHC-S, 6-color set; Astronomik: UHC.

Observing: DSOs: 3106 (Completed: Messier, Herschel 1, 2, 3. In progress: H2,500: 2180, S110: 77). Doubles: 2382, Comets: 34, Asteroids: 255
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Re: New Image: Very First Deep Sky Image - Orion Nebula

#10

Post by MariusD69 »


Awesome! Great job!
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
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Re: New Image: Very First Deep Sky Image - Orion Nebula

#11

Post by helicon »


Looks super nice....my first efforts at planetary and lunar work have not turned out well. But you hit a home run right of the bat.
-Michael
Refractors: ES AR152 f/6.5 Achromat on Twilight II, Celestron 102mm XLT f/9.8 on Celestron Heavy Duty Alt Az mount, KOWA 90mm spotting scope
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Re: New Image: Very First Deep Sky Image - Orion Nebula

#12

Post by JSBach1801 »


Thank you for the kind words everyone! It is much appreciated. I was no less surprised than many of you at how much detail I was able to capture. :D
bobharmony wrote: Sun Mar 19, 2023 1:12 pm Great start, JSB! It looks like you have prepared very well.

Bob
You bet, Bob. I have been watching "how-to" style videos for a long time now, years even. One content creator on YouTube, with the name "Nebula Photos," was my main resource for what types of images to capture, how to capture them, and how to stack everything.

Cheers!
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Re: New Image: Very First Deep Sky Image - Orion Nebula

#13

Post by Richard »


Thats really good and not even considering its your 1st
Reflectors GSO 200 Dobs
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Re: New Image: Very First Deep Sky Image - Orion Nebula

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Post by starfield »


What a great first shot! You are well on your way down the rabbit hole.
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.
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Re: New Image: Very First Deep Sky Image - Orion Nebula

#15

Post by Makuser »


Hi Lyle. Wow, this is a beautiful M42 (Orion Nebula) image. Beautiful nebulosity colors and details in your capture. I have never advanced beyond lunar/planetary imaging so I am always amazed at the wonderful DSO captures that I see here on TSS. Thanks for sharing this view with us Lyle and you are really off to a great start.
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.
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Re: New Image: Very First Deep Sky Image - Orion Nebula

#16

Post by Greenman »


Nice image Lyle, the wide field is great.
Cheers,

Tony.

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Smart Scope: Dwarf II - Club and outreach work.

AP Refractor: Altair 72EDF Deluxe F6;1x & 0.8 Flatteners; Antares Versascope 60mm finder. ASIAir Pro.Li battery pack for grab & go.

Celestron AVX Mount; X-cel LX eyepieces & Barlows 2x 3x, ZWO 2” Filter holder,

Cameras: main DSO ASI533MC; DSO guide ASI120MM; Planetary ASI224MC; DSLR Canon EOS100 stock.

Filters: Astronomik IR cut; Optolong L-Pro; Optolong L-Enhance.

Binoculars: Celestron 15 x 70.

Latitude: 52.219853
Longitude: -1.034471
Accuracy: 5 m
Bortle 4 site. https://maps.google.com/?q=52.21985,-1.03447

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Re: New Image: Very First Deep Sky Image - Orion Nebula

#17

Post by Jockinireland »


Thats a fantastic first image. Well done. I certainly remember that "wow" when I saw my first astro image and it was not even close to as good as this!
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

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Re: New Image: Very First Deep Sky Image - Orion Nebula

#18

Post by jthommes »


Congrats on your first deep sky image! Its a wonderful first!
Jim Thommes
Jim's Astrophotography
David Levy Maksutov Newtonian, Celestron Edge 9.25, FSQ-106N Refractor (on loan), WO ZenithStar 66 APO Refractor, WO Megrez II APO, Sigma 150 mm EOS Lens
Losmandy G11/Gemini, iOptron GEM45, Celestron Advanced VX, iOptron CEM70
ST8300M Camera, Atik 383L, Canon 350D (IR cut modified), ASI1600M, ASI294M, ASI260M
Observatory - Desert Astronomy Association (Shelter Valley, CA)
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