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This photo was taken as part of the competition from ChileScope.com (www.chilescope.com/), thanks to the access granted to raw materials from a remote telescope in the mountains in Chile.
Telescopes NN 2 and 3:
OTA Newtonian ASA 1900mm/500mm (F/3.8) + 10 position dual color filter wheel on German Equatorial mount
CCD Camera FLI ProLine 16803
L (Bin1) = 43frames * 10min (07:10:00)
R (Bin2) = 26frames * 5min (02:10:00)
G (Bin2) = 22frames * 5min (01:50:00)
B (Bin2) = 26frames * 5min (02:10:00)
H-Alpha (Bin1) = 20frames * 20min (06:40:00)
Total time of exposure on both telescopes = 20:00:00
+ calibration
See this link (www.chilescope.com/equipment-and-infrastructure/telescope...) for more details about the telescope
In this frame:
Star of the Unicorn/Monoceros (15 Mon, S Mon, HIP 31978 A, SAO 114258, HD 47839, HR 2456, WDS J06410+0954AB), 4.65m
the Cone Nebula, the Christmas Tree Cluster, Snowflake Cluster, Fox Fur Nebula (NGC 2264 - SH 2-273 - LBN 911 - Cr 112 - Mel 49 - Ced 84b), 3.90m
* * *
Soft: DeepSkyStacker v. 4.1.1
Mars will be at opposition on October 13th, but its already so bright in our sky and only getting brighter. I planned to use my planetary camera to get an up close view, but I had some technical difficulties last night. So I did what I often do, shoot the heavens with my 500mm lens!
Equipment:
Celestron CGEM Mount
Nikkor 500mm f/4 P Ai-s at f/5.6
Sony a7RIII (unmodified)
Altair 60mm Guide scope
GPCAM2 Mono Camera
Acquisition:
Taos, NM: my backyard - Bortle 3
14 x 60" for 14 min of exposure time.
5 dark frames
15 flats frames
15 bais frames
Guided
Software:
SharpCap
PHD2
DeepSkyStacker
Photoshop
My mount was polar aligned with SharpCap (what an amazing system for aligning). I'm not comfortable using my SCT as my lens yet. My solution is to piggyback my Sony a7RIII and adapted Nikkor 500mm f/4 P Ai-s on a ADM dovetail rail on the top of my optical tube. I used DeepSkyStacker to combine all frames and then processed the TIFF file in Photoshop. I stretched the 32 bit file just a bit, and sharpened quite a bit to make the diffraction spikes stand out. I brought it into Lightroom and used the selective hues to make Mars the color I wanted, a bit of texture added and then export.
Along the top are M36 and M38 star clusters. The two big nebulae on the bottom are the tadpole on the left and the flaming star on the right.
Modified Nikon D750 (sensor filter removed)
Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 @ 200mm
Optlong L-Pro filter, LXD75 mount
120x30" iso800 shots stacked with DeepSkyStacker, processed in Ps
/// Setup
- Camera: Moravian G2-8300 + OAG
- Telescope: Omegon 126/880 Triplet Apo
- Corrector: TS 2.5" Fullframe Corrector
- Mount: Losmandy G11 on Pier
- Guiding Camera: Lodestar X2
/// Software
- Capturing Software: Sequence Generator Pro
- Processing Software: DeepSkyStacker / Fitswork / PixInsight
/// Image Integration
- Date: 19.04.18
-9x300" R / bin 1x1 / -20°C
-9x300" G / bin 1x1 / -20°C
-9x300" B / bin 1x1 / -20°C
-15x300" L / bin 1x1 / -20°C
(1h15min RGB + 1h15min Luminance)
This was my first attempt at a combined 4 hour exposure. The seeing was average, and got increasing worse, with clouds in the middle, my camera ran out of battery... always learning. It's the first time I even captured this though. Hoping to get more detail in the future!
Modified Nikon D750 (sensor filter removed)
Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 with TC-14: 280mm f/4
Optlong L-Pro filter, LXD75 mount
46x90" iso800 shots stacked with DeepSkyStacker, processed in Ps & Lr
A widefield look at the Constellation Orion. I've been meaning to do this for awhile and I'm pretty happy with the results!
Equipment:
Skywatcher EQ6-R Mount
Noct-NIKKOR 58mm f/1.2 Ai-S
Sony a7RIII (unmodified)
Altair 60mm Guide scope
GPCAM2 Mono Camera
Acquisition:
Taos, NM: my backyard - Bortle 3
10 x 300" for 50 min and 20 sec of exposure time.
4 dark frames
15 flats frames
15 bias frames
Software:
SharpCap
DeepSkyStacker
Photoshop
My mount was polar aligned with SharpCap (what an amazing system for aligning). I then mounted my a7RIII and adapted Noct-NIKKOR 58mm f/1.2 Ai-S lens at f/2/8 to the top rail of my scope. I used SharpCap to achieve "excellent" polar alignment. I shot ISO 400, f/2.8 and 300" exposures. I stacked lights/darks/flats/bias frames in deepskystacker. I then processed the TIFF file in photoshop stretching the file, minimal cropping and I used Astronomy Tools Action Set to help bring back star color and to enhance the brighter star colors. Topaz Labs Sharpen and Denoise used as well.
Images taken on March 2, 2021
Mars reflects the sun's light and is ~22 light minutes from Earth. The Pleiades is an open star cluster that is ~ 442 light years away from us. While these two are so different, both of them are prominent and easy to spot in the night sky. It’s very cool to witness the two so close to each other. I knew this was happening, but my life and job have been so busy lately it slipped my mind until it was basically happening already.
Step outside tonight and take a lookup. You can find this event just ahead of the constellation Orion. The next time these two will be near each other in our night sky again in 2038!
Equipment:
Celestron CGEM Mount
Canon FD 300mm f/4 L at f/5.6
Sony a7RIII (unmodified)
Altair 60mm Guide scope
GPCAM2 Mono Camera
Acquisition:
Taos, NM: my backyard - Bortle 3
10 x 121" for 20 min and 10 sec of exposure time.
10 dark frames
15 flats frames
15 bais frames
Guided
Software:
SharpCap
PHD2
DeepSkyStacker
Photoshop
My mount was polar aligned with SharpCap (what an amazing system for aligning). I'm not comfortable using my SCT as my lens yet. My solution is to piggyback my Sony a7RIII and adapted Canon FD 300mm f/4 L on a ADM dovetail rail on the top of my optical tube. I used DeepSkyStacker to combine all frames and then processed the TIFF file in Photoshop. I stretched the 32 bit file and used Gradient XT on the image. I then made it a 16 bit file and stretched in level, then curves. I used the color sampler tool and levels to do my best to keep the background space black. I then using my skillset and relied on Astronomy Tools Action Set, and dodging and burning a bit to give the image the finishing touches.
Edasich, Comet 2022 E3, NGC 5907 from home (SQM 17.4) 012323 1705-1909 RT DSS (M) CS2-stretched-image (6,2,1,S) crop afphoto (1920x1536)
... from left to right, Callisto, Europa, Jupiter, Io, Ganymed.
So far we know 79 moons of Jupiter, of which only the four largest can be seen in the picture. A fascinating fact is that our moon is roughly the size between Io and Europa, but Jupiter's moons are 2000 times farther away from Earth (600 million km) compared to our moon, but they are still so big that Galileo already knew all four satellites.
This picture was taken more or less by chance. When I was taking night photos from my balcony, I focused on Jupiter with my 50mm and got a nice chain of light points from Jupiter and its moons. The final image is interpolated from 35 images with different ISOs (500-2000) and rather short exposure times with a Sigma Contemporary at 600 mm, f9 with 1.4x teleconverter and a Sony A7RIII without using a mount, aligned with SIRIL and stacked with DeepSkyStacker, with 4x drizzle and some fine-tuning with Photoshop.
Shotdate: 13-8-2016
Camera: Nikon D4s
Optics: NIKKOR 24-120mm f4.0 @ 35mm f4.0
Mount: SkyWatcher NEQ6 Pro
Exposure: 60 seconds
ISO-speed: 3200
Lights: 250
Darks: 25
Flats: 18
Bias: 105
Stacking in DeepSkyStacker
Post-processing of the background in PixInsight
Adding the meteors in PhotoShop, for a grand total of 29 Percoids and one other.
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) continues to decorate the sky with a majestic tail that can be easily seen from dark skies. Here, captured with my Nikon D5600 camera and a Nikkor 135mm lens. I used a comet stack (in DeepSkyStacker) and a very subtle processing with Siril and Gimp.
Magnitude: 4.45
Distance: 0.64 AU
Constellation: Ophiuchus
Although it is beginning to move away, the comet still offers a spectacle worthy of admiration and is a perfect reminder of the immensity and beauty of the universe.
Exposure: 7.5 minutes, Iso: 800, f/5.6.
Shotdate: 26-11-2016
Camera: Nikon D4s
Optics: Celestron 9.25" EdgeHD
Mount: SkyWatcher NEQ6 pro
Exposure: 300 sec
ISO-speed: ISO3200
Lights: 56 frames
Bias: 134 frames exposure: 1/8000 s
Dark: 75 frames exposure: 5 min
Flat: 30 frames exposure: 1 s
Stacked in DeepSkyStacker v3.3.4 post-processing in PixInsight v1.8
Setup :
Canon EOS 5DIII
Canon 100-400L @ 400mm - f/4.5-5.6 @ f/5.6
6400 ISO
Monture Star Adventurer
84 poses de 33 secondes (46'12")
23 darks
15 flats
Traitement Deep Sky Stacker + Photoshop
/// Setup
- Camera: Moravian G2-8300
- Telescope: Omegon 126/880 f/7 Triplet Apo
- Corrector: TS 2.5" Fullframe Corrector
- Mount: Losmandy G11 on Pier
- Guiding Camera: Starlite Xpress Lodestar X2
- Guiding Scope: TS Photoline 80/500 f/6.25 Triplet Apo
/// Software
- Capturing Software: Sequence Generator Pro / PHD2
- Processing Software: DeepSkyStacker / PixInsight 1.8
/// Image Integration
- Date: 21.09.17
- 7x900" H-alpha / bin 1x1 / -20°C
(1h 45min)
Seen in the constellation Sagittarius, the Lagoon Nebula, and Trifid Nebula shine even against the brilliance of the Milky Way bands they are near. The Lagoon Nebula was discovered before 1654, and later the Trifid Nebula was first observed in 1764. They both are ~5,000 light-years away from us here on Earth. They are both easily observed with the naked eye from dark areas, a pair of binoculars or telescope really brings out the details though!
Shot from my back yard near Taos, New Mexico.
Equipment:
Celestron CGEM Mount
Nikon 500mm f/4 P AI-s - shot at f/5.6
Sony a7RIII (unmodified)
Altair 60mm Guide scope
GPCAM2 Mono Camera
Acquisition:
Taos, NM: my backyard - Bortle 3
26 x 136" for 58 min and 56 sec of exposure time.
5 dark frames
15 flats frames
15 bais frames
Software:
SharpCap
DeepSkyStacker
Photoshop
PHD2
My mount was polar aligned with SharpCap (what an amazing system for aligning). I then mounted my a7RIII and adapted Nikon 500mm f/4 P AI-s lens to the top rail of my scope. I used SharpCap to achieve "excellent" polar alignment. I shot ISO 1600, f/5.6 and 135" exposures. I stacked lights/darks/flats/bias frames in deepskystacker. I then processed the TIFF file in photoshop stretching the file, minimal cropping and I used Astronomy Tools Action Set to help bring out details and colors.
I previously imaged the Orion and Running Man Nebulas in November. My exposure was only about an hour. With the new moon last night, I got my gear out and did just shy of three hours on this target.
Equipment:
Celestron CGEM Mount
Nikkor 500mm f/4 P Ai-s at f/5.6
Sony a7RIII (unmodified)
Altair 60mm Guide scope
GPCAM2 Mono Camera
Acquisition:
Taos, NM: my backyard - Bortle 3
80 x 120" for 2 hr 41min and 20 sec of exposure time.
20 dark frames
15 flats frames
15 bais frames
Guided
Software:
SharpCap
PHD2
DeepSkyStacker
Photoshop
My mount was polar aligned with SharpCap (what an amazing system for aligning). I'm not comfortable using my SCT as my lens yet. My solution is to piggyback my Sony a7RIII and adapted Nikkor 500mm f/4 P Ai-s on a ADM dovetail rail on the top of my optical tube. I used DeepSkyStacker to combine all frames and then processed the TIFF file in Photoshop. I stretched the 32 bit file and used Gradient XT on the image. I then made it a 16 bit file and stretched in level, then curves. I used the color sampler tool and levels to do my best to keep the background space black. I then using my skillset and relied on Astronomy Tools Action Set, and dodging and burning a bit to give the image the finishing touches.
My first Deep Sky image.
Mi primera imagen del Cielo profundo.
Mount Skywatcher AZ EQ5 GT , Scope Skywatcher 80/400 , Canon EOS 100d.
ISO 800
10 Lights 3 min.
6 Darks
6 Bias
Proces. DSS , PS , LR
La galaxia de Andrómeda, también conocida como Galaxia Espiral M31, Messier 31 o NGC 224, es una galaxia espiral gigante con un diámetro de doscientos veinte mil años luz y que contiene aproximadamente un billón de estrellas.[4] Es el objeto visible a simple vista más lejano de la Tierra.
The Andromeda Galaxy (/ænˈdrɒmᵻdə/), also known as Messier 31, M31, or NGC 224, is a spiral galaxy approximately 780 kiloparsecs (2.5 million light-years) from Earth.[4] It is the nearest major galaxy to the Milky Way and was often referred to as the Great Andromeda Nebula in older texts. It received its name from the area of the sky in which it appears, the constellation of Andromeda, which was named after the mythological princess Andromeda.
Being approximately 220,000 light years across, Andromeda is the largest galaxy of the Local Group, which also contains the Milky Way, the Triangulum Galaxy, and about 44 other smaller galaxies. Despite earlier findings that suggested that the Milky Way contains more dark matter and could be the largest in the grouping,[12] the 2006 observations by the Spitzer Space Telescope revealed that Andromeda contains one trillion (1012) stars:[9] at least twice the number of stars in the Milky Way, which is estimated to be 200–400 billion.[13]
i never thought this might work with an unmodified camera, but as you can see - you can see it :) just one more reason to modify my old 50D...
as usual, heavy wind made most images worthless, just 10 out of 60 qualified for stacking, so a lot of noise is visible.
Canon 5DMIII unmodified
70-200mm f/4 L @ f/5 & 200mm
Tracking with Vixen Polarie
Stacked with DeepSkyStacker, post editing (again - pretty heavy this time) in Photoshop and Lightroom
10x 60sec @ ISO3200
total exposure time 10 minutes
shot under a bortle 5+ sky
The Iris Nebula is a bright reflection, meaning it glows due to the scattering of the light from its central star. It is officially named NGC 7023, and images of it show off the dark regions of cosmic dust its surrounded by.
Shot from my back yard near Taos, New Mexico.
Equipment:
Celestron CGEM Mount
Nikon 500mm f/4 P AI-s
Sony a7RIII (unmodified)
Altair 60mm Guide scope
GPCAM2 Mono Camera
Acquisition:
Taos, NM: my backyard - Bortle 3
85 x 180" for 4 hours 16 min and 25 sec of exposure time.
6 dark frames
15 flats frames
15 bais frames
Software:
SharpCap
DeepSkyStacker
Photoshop
Guided
My mount was polar aligned with SharpCap (what an amazing system for aligning). I then mounted my a7RIII and adapted Nikon 500mm f/4 P Ai-s lens to the top rail of my scope. I used SharpCap to achieve "excellent" polar alignment. I shot ISO 3200, f/4 and 180" exposures. I stacked lights/darks/flats/bias frames in deepskystacker. I then processed the TIFF file in photoshop stretching the file, minimal cropping and I used Astronomy Tools Action Set to help bring out details and colors.
My best attempt so far at capturing this iconic nebula :)
Hope you like it!
Captured with Nikon D7500 and Sigma 100-400 at 400mm.
About 1h of cumulated exposure stacked in Deepskystacker.
I reprocessed this data that I shot in November 2022. I used PixInsight and was able to pull out a lot more detail.
The Triangulum Galaxy lies ~2.7 million light years away from Earth and is part of our local group of galaxies. It lies in the constellation Triangulum, from where it gets its name. Charles Messier cataloged it first in 1764. He published his Catalog of Nebulae and Star Clusters in 1771 and listed it as object number 33, hence the name M33.
Equipment:
SkyWatcher EQ6-R
Nikkor 500mm f/4 P AI-S at f/5.6
Sony a7rIII (unmodified)
ZWO 30mm Guide scope
GPCAM2 Mono Camera
Acquisition:
Taos, NM: my front yard - Bortle 3
28 x 301" for 2 hours, 26 min, and 56 sec exposure time.
3 dark frames
15 flats frames
15 bias frames
Guided
Software:
SharpCap
PHD2
DeepSkyStacker
PixInsight
Photoshop
Lightroom
I polar aligned my mount using SharpCap Pro. My Sony a7rIII and adapted Nikkor 500mm f/4 P AI-S were mounted on an ADM vixen rail and secured to the SkyWatcher EQ6-R mount. The guide scope/camera was attached to the camera's hot shoe. I used PHD2 to autogude during the imaging session. DeepSkyStacker was used to combine all frames, and the outputted TIFF file was brought into PixInsight using: STF, Cropping, Dynamic Background Extraction, BlurXTerminator, plate solving, color correction, NoiseXTerminator and then the DSO was separated from the stars, and both files processed and stretched separately and then recombined using PixelMath. That file was brought into Lightroom for Metadata and EXIF tags, light post-processing, and cropping to the final image.
This is the first deep-sky object I've imaged since March! My mount broke and spent several months in the shop. The good news is, it's back and working again. :)
Taken with a TMB92L, Hutech-modified Canon T3i DSLR, Orion SSAG autoguider and 50mm guidescope, and Celestron AVX mount. Consists of 24 180-second light frames, plus darks, flats, and bias frames. Captured with BackyardEOS, stacked in DeepSkyStacker, and processed in Photoshop.
Taken using Skywatcher 80ED Pro (.85XFR), Celestron Nexstar SLT Mount & Nikon D3300.
194x30" lights (ISO 1600), 100 flats, 110 bias. Stacked in DeepSkyStacker and processed in Photoshop.
Equipment:
Celestron CGEM Mount
Canon FD 300mm f/4 L
Sony a7RIII (unmodified)
Altair 60mm Guide scope
GPCAM2 Mono Camera
Acquisition:
Taos, NM: my backyard - Bortle 3
52 x 151" for 2hrs 10min and 50sec of exposure time.
10 dark frames
15 flats frames
15 bias frames
Guided
Software:
SharpCap
PHD2
DeepSkyStacker
Photoshop
My mount was polar aligned with SharpCap (what an amazing system for aligning). I'm not comfortable using my SCT as my lens yet. My solution is to piggyback my Sony a7RIII and adapted Canon FD 300mm f/4 L on a ADM dovetail rail on the top of my optical tube. I used DeepSkyStacker to combine all frames and then processed the TIFF file in Photoshop using my skill set and relying on the famous Astronomy Tools Action Set.
I am hoping to catch Comet Leonard in the sky, but here is a shot of Neowise taken in 2020. This was taken with the Pentax DA 50-135mm and Pentax K-5. The stars were tracked using the Pentax Astrotracer. 5 Shot Stack stacked using DeepSkyStacker
My latest photo of the stunning Soul Nebula!
I captured this dynamic emission nebula in the constellation Cassiopeia using an astrophotography camera and a small refractor telescope from my backyard in Ontario, Canada.
This dramatic rendition was created using a process known as 'narrowband imaging' that isolates the most impactful gases in this object.
If you're an amateur astrophotographer - you may want to photograph this area with an even wider field of view to capture the nearby 'Heart Nebula' as well.
Captured Fall 2022.
Equipment Used:
Camera: bit.ly/3zJm8WN
Filters: bit.ly/40NKA53
Telescope: bit.ly/3EdUKDr
Mount: bit.ly/419y8MN
Controller: bit.ly/3MaDnrl
Total Exposure:
8 Hours (40 x 240s Ha, OIII, SII)
DeepSkyStacker, Photoshop, PixInsight
Taken with a TMB92L, Hutech-modified Canon T3i DSLR, Orion SSAG autoguider and 50mm guidescope, and Celestron AVX mount. Consists of 34 300-second light frames, plus darks, flats, and bias frames. Captured with BackyardEOS, stacked in DeepSkyStacker, and processed in Photoshop.
My first image of a Galaxy with the Moravian Camera. This time only RGB.
/// Setup
- Camera: Moravian G2-8300
- Telescope: Omegon 126/880 f/7 Triplet Apo
- Corrector: TS 2.5" Fullframe Corrector
- Mount: Losmandy G11 on Pier
- Guiding Camera: MGen
- Guiding Scope: TS Photoline 80/500 f/6.25 Triplet Apo
/// Software
- Capturing Software: Sequence Generator Pro
- Processing Software: DeepSkyStacker / Fitswork / PixInsight 1.8
/// Image Integration
- Date: 14.10.17
- 5x600" Red / bin 1x1 / -25°C
- 5x600" Green / bin 1x1 / -25°C
- 5x600" Blue / bin 1x1 / -25°C
(2.5h RGB)
This is a reworked image of the Gamma Cygni nebula.
Stacked in DeepSkyStacker and processed with PixInsight.
-captured: 25.09.16
26x600" ISO200
4.33h
Nun hat auch mir Corona einen Quarantäne-Strich durch die Rechnung gemacht. So konnte ich gestern Abend nicht wie geplant das schöne Wetter für die Sternen-Fotografie nutzen. Zum Glück gibt es da noch über das Internet steuerbare Roboter-Teleskope :-) Das Bild zeigt meinen ersten Versuch einer Aufnahme mit einem Teleskop der Firma iTelescope.
-----
Now that Corona has put me on quarantine too, I couldn't use the nice weather for star photography as planned last night. Fortunately, there are still robotic telescopes that can be controlled via the Internet :-) The picture shows my first attempt at imaging with an iTelescope device.
-----
object: NGC 2024 - flame nebula
place of observation: Mayhill, New Mexico, USA
optics: Takahashi TOA-150 (1105mm, F 7.3)
camera: QHY268C One Shot Color CMOS
10x150s light frames stacked with DeepSkyStacker and postprocessed with Photoshop
Thor's Helmet Nebula lies in the constellation of Canis Major (The Great Dog). It's named after the Norse god of thunder because of its remarkable resemblance to the headwear donned by Thor. It's an emission nebula and it is about 15,000 light-years away.
Telescope: William Optics ZenithStar 81 Refractor
Mount: Losmandy GM811G
Imaging Camera: ZWO ASI 2600MC Pro
Filter: Optolong L-eXtreme Dual-band Filter
Site: Elk Grove, California, USA Bortle 6
Processing: DeepSkyStacker, Photoshop 2020
Calibration Files: None
Guiding: None
Nikon D3300, Nikkor 10-24mm @ 10mm, F/3.5, ISO 3200, 20 second exposure. 10 lights stacked in DeepSkyStacker & post-processed in Photoshop
This is a stack of 60 exposures of 30s each, i.e. 30 minutes in total, plus 15 dark-frames. The camera (Sony ILCE7 III) and the 135mm lens (SEL135F18GM) have been attached to a motorized equatorial mount (Star Adventurer) in order to compensate for earth rotation, while shooting at F2.0/ISO 1600. Stacking has been done with DeepSkyStacker, and final editing with Photoshop. Place of observation was close to Bremen, in the northern part of Germany.
11 Images shot at ISO800 f/2.8 Stacked with DeepSkyStacker. Shot from the base of the sand dunes looking towards Alamosa. Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Colorado.
I went back and reshot this, framing it to include both objects, where before NGC 288 was a surprise for me.
I've been wanting to shoot this galaxy for awhile and I pulled out my gear last night to do it finally. It is to the south and pretty low, near the horizon. I have to shoot towards the town of Taos to get this galaxy. I was unaware of the star cluster, NGC 288 before I began shooting last night.
Equipment:
Celestron CGEM Mount
Nikkor 500mm f/4 P Ai-s at f/4
Sony a7RIII (unmodified)
Altair 60mm Guide scope
GPCAM2 Mono Camera
Acquisition:
Taos, NM: my backyard - Bortle 3
47 x 120" for 1 hr 34min and 47 sec of exposure time.
11 dark frames
15 flats frames
15 bais frames
Guided
Software:
SharpCap
PHD2
DeepSkyStacker
Photoshop
My mount was polar aligned with SharpCap (what an amazing system for aligning). I'm not comfortable using my SCT as my lens yet. My solution is to piggyback my Sony a7RIII and adapted Nikkor 500mm f/4 P Ai-s on a ADM dovetail rail on the top of my optical tube. I used DeepSkyStacker to combine all frames and then processed the TIFF file in Photoshop. I stretched the 32 bit file and used Gradient XT on the image. I then made it a 16 bit file and stretched in level, then curves. I used the color sampler tool and levels to do my best to keep the background space black. I then using my skillset and relied on Astronomy Tools Action Set, and dodging and burning a bit to give the image the finishing touches.
My latest photo from the backyard!
Known as the "Seagull Nebula", this emission nebula sits along the border of constellations Monoceros and Canis Major.
I captured this image over 3 nights using a monochrome CMOS camera and narrowband filters. The images were stacked in DeepSkyStacker and processed in PixInsight and Adobe Photoshop.
Over the next few months, I will slowly introduce some of the key PixInsight techniques I use into my premium (free updates forever) astrophotography image processing guide: bit.ly/astro-processing
Image Details:
41 x 300s SII
20 x 300s Ha
27 x 300s OIII
Chroma 3nm SHO Filters
Camera: bit.ly/ASI2600MMPro
Telescope: bit.ly/ESPRIT100
Mount: bit.ly/EQ6-R
Orion Nebula / Nebulosa de Orión (M42, Messier 42, NGC 1976)
Second and last attempt in 2021 to shoot the M42 nebula, in this time with the same unmodified Sony A7M3 camera and Sony FE 100-400 GM lens, but I use the tracker Skytwatcher AZ-GTI in EQ Mode and QHY guided camera with 60mm tube to increase exposure times.
The location and the weather conditions were ideal, but everything began to go wrong when I did not carry the AC50s Powerbank with me to power the laptop, badly enough that I always carry another portable Powerbank for the tracker, this except the day. During the session, the Sony A7M3 did not admit to connecting any of the 2 Mini-USB cables that it carried for the remote shutter camera control, so I finally decided to launch the shots with the wireless remote control and keeping track of the exposure time.
Despite all this, for a 54 min. total exposure time, quite a few details of this magnificent nebula have been captured with this equipment. It is definitely worth the effort to use guided mount and tracking, there is a brutal difference in the results obtained compared to using only a tripod and low exposure times.
I will continue in future sessions trying to capture more light by increasing the number of shots and exposure.
Segundo y último intento en 2021 de captar a M42, en esta ocasión con la misma cámara no modificada Sony A7M3 y el objetivo Sony FE 100-400 GM, pero utilizo la montura guiada Skytwatcher AZ-GTI EQ Mode y una cámara de seguimiento QHY con tubo de 60mm para aumentar los tiempos de exposición.
La nueva ubicación y las condiciones meteorológicas fueron las idóneas, pero todo se empezó a torcer cuando no lleve conmigo el Powerbank AC50s para alimentar el portátil, manos mal que siempre llevo para la montura otro Powerbank portable, esto salvo el día. Durante la sesión, la Sony A7M3 no admitió conectar ninguno de los 2 cables Mini-USB que llevaba para el auto disparador, por lo que finalmente decidí lanzar las tomas con el mando a distancia y llevando la cuenta del tiempo de exposición.
A pesar de todo ello, para ser una toma de 54 min. de tiempo total de exposición, se han captado bastantes detalles de esta magnífica nebulosa con este equipo.
Definitivamente merece el esfuerzo utilizar montura guiada y seguimiento, hay una diferencia brutal en los resultados obtenidos con respecto a utilizar trípode fijo y bajos tiempos de exposición.
Seguiré en futuras sesiones intentando captar más luz aumentando el número de tomas y exposición.
- Date/Fecha: 12/30/2021
- Higueruelas 1.010m asl (39° 48' 25" N / 0° 53' 19" O)
Bortle 4 location
GEAR
- Tracker Sky-Watcher AZ-GTi EQ Mode
- Guiding with QHY 5L-II Mono and guidescope EZG-60
- Camera Sony ILC3-A7M3 APS-C Mode
- Lens Sony FE 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 GM OSS
IMAGE
- 20 Lights at 600mm, ISO 800, 30seg, f5.6 (for the core)
- 30 Lights at 600mm, ISO 1600, 90seg, f5.6 (for the nebula)
- 17 Darks at 600mm, ISO 800, 30seg, f5.6
- 5 Darks at 600mm, ISO 800, 90seg, f5.6
- 8 Darks at 600mm, ISO 1600, 90seg, f5.6
- Total time of exposition 54m.
SOFTWARE
- Stellarium & PHD2 to guide the tracker
- Stacked with DeepSkyStacker
- Image viewer Adobe Bridge
- Image processing with Adobe Camera Raw and Adobe Photoshop
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Thank all for your visit and awards.
On Explore 01/02/2022
This is the Flaming Star Nebula (IC405) and the Tadpole Nebula (IC410). The Flaming Star Nebula is the coma-shaped nebula on the top, the Tadpole Nebula is the large, circular nebula near the bottom. From Wikipedia, IC405 is an emission and reflection nebula in the constellation Auriga, surrounding the bluish star AE Aurigae. It shines at magnitude +6.0. IC410 is a faint and dusty emission nebula of more than 100 light-years across approximately 12,000 light-years away from Earth in the northern constellation of Auriga. NGC 1893, an open cluster, is embedded inside IC410. High clouds filled the imaging area causing the fuzzy display.
Tech Specs: Williams Optics REDCAT51, ZWO AS2600mc-Pro running at 0C, Sky-Watcher EQ6R-Pro mount, Optolong L-eNhance filter (2”), 24 x 300 second exposures, guided using a ZWO 30mm f/4 mini guide scope and ZWO 120 Mini, controlled with a ZWO ASIAir Pro, ProAstroGear Black-CAT and ZWO EAF, stacked in DSS and processed using PixInsight. Image date: September 23, 2022. Location: The Dark Side Observatory (W59), Weatherly, PA, USA (Bortle Class 4).
The comet C/2020 F3 Neowise captured in all its glory during the night from 11th to 12th July 2020.
I was lucky enough to be in Brittany at this time and to enjoy clear skies with very low level of light pollution.
I took several shots with my Nikon D7500 camera and Sigma 100-400 lens at 100mm focal length and stacked them with Deepskystacker.
The final result is the stacked shots overlaid on one individual shot for the ground. This is why the foreground is slightly blurred.
Hope you enjoy it as much as I did enjoy capturing this beauty!
Tracked with Skywatcher Staradventurer.
Bit try and experiment of astrophotography. Here 3 horizontal images attached in DeepSkyStacker software.
Found in the sword of the Orion Constellation, the Orion Nebula is visible to the naked eye. It is only 1,500 light years away from us and thus appears very bright. It is worth checking out with a small telescope or even a pair of binoculars.
Equipment:
Celestron CGEM Mount
Nikkor 500mm f/4 P Ai-s at f/5.6
Sony a7RIII (unmodified)
Altair 60mm Guide scope
GPCAM2 Mono Camera
Acquisition:
Taos, NM: my backyard - Bortle 3
47 x 90" for 1 hr 11min and 17 sec of exposure time.
11 dark frames
15 flats frames
15 bais frames
Guided
Software:
SharpCap
PHD2
DeepSkyStacker
Photoshop
My mount was polar aligned with SharpCap (what an amazing system for aligning). I'm not comfortable using my SCT as my lens yet. My solution is to piggyback my Sony a7RIII and adapted Nikkor 500mm f/4 P Ai-s on a ADM dovetail rail on the top of my optical tube. I used DeepSkyStacker to combine all frames and then processed the TIFF file in Photoshop. I stretched the 32 bit file and used Gradient XT on the image. I then made it a 16 bit file and stretched in level, then curves. I used the color sampler tool and levels to do my best to keep the background space black. I then using my skillset and relied on Astronomy Tools Action Set, and dodging and burning a bit to give the image the finishing touches.
I saw that Flickr user Henrique J.Silva posted his version of this scene yesterday. I had a good night where I live and I wanted to try my hand at capturing the same scene with similar gear.
Equipment:
Celestron CGEM Mount
Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 AF-D @ f/2.8
Sony a7RIII (unmodified)
Altair 60mm Guide scope
GPCAM2 Mono Camera
Acquisition:
Taos, NM: my backyard - Bortle 3
43 x 151" for 1hour 5min and 13sec of exposure time.
7 dark frames
15 flats frames
15 bais frames
Guided
Software:
SharpCap
PHD2
DeepSkyStacker
Photoshop
My mount was polar aligned with SharpCap (what an amazing system for aligning). I'm not comfortable using my SCT as my lens yet. My solution is to piggyback my Sony a7RIII and adapted Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 AF-D on a ADM dovetail rail on the top of my optical tube. I used DeepSkyStacker to combine all frames and then processed the TIFF file in Photoshop. I stretched the 32 bit file and used Gradient XT on the image. I then made it a 16 bit file and stretched in level, then curves. I used the color sampler tool and levels to do my best to keep the background space black. I made a layer to overexpose the galaxies a bit and then masked off the Triangulum Galaxy to try to match it to the brighter Andromeda Galaxy. I used dodging and burning to bring out a bit more detail in the galaxies. I then using my skillset and relyed on Astronomy Tools Action Set to give the image the finishing touches.