View allAll Photos Tagged Nonlinear
Description: This image of the Elephant’s Trunk Nebula IC 1396 was developed from 37x300s subs or 3.08 hours of total exposure time. A dual bandpass integrated image was first separated into Starless and Stars only images. The Starless image was split into its RGB components, which were individually boosted as appropriate, followed by the application of appropriate weighting factors to the individual RGB channels, further followed by LRGB Combination. The resulting image was then recombined with the Stars only image the result of which was post processed with various color masks using Curves Transformation to generate a final image.
Date / Location: 12 July 2023 / Washington D.C.
Equipment:
Scope: WO Zenith Star 81mm f/6.9 with WO 6AIII Flattener/Focal Reducer x0.8
OSC Camera: ZWO ASI 2600 MC Pro at 100 Gain and 50 Offset
Mount: iOptron GEM28-EC
Guider: ZWO Off-Axis Guider
Guide Camera: ZWO ASI 174mm mini
Focuser: ZWO EAF
Light Pollution Filter: Optolong L-eXtreme Dual Bandpass
Processing Software: Pixinsight
Processing Steps:
Preprocessing:
I preprocessed 37x300s subs (= 3.08 hours) in Pixinsight to get an integrated image using the following process steps: Image Calibration > Cosmetic Correction > Subframe Selector > Debayer > Select Reference Star and do a Star Align > Image Integration.
Linear Postprocessing:
Dynamic Crop > Dynamic Background Extractor (doing subtraction to remove light pollution gradients and division for flat field correction) > Background Neutralization > Color Calibration > Blur Xterminator > Noise Xterminator.
Nonlinear Postprocessing and additional steps:
Histogram Transformation > Star Xterminator to create Starless and Stars Only Images.
Starless Image > Noise Xterminator > Local Histogram Equalization > Multiscale Median Transform > Curves Transformation to boost O(III) and H-alpha signals > Split RGB channels > Create new green and blue channels > Boosted the channels as appropriate > LRGB Combination > Curves Transformation using various color masks.
Stars Only Image > Morphological transformation.
Pixel Math to combine the Starless Image with the Stars Only Image to get a Rejoined Image.
Rejoined Image > Dark Structure Enhancement > Topaz AI.
Pixel Math to combine the non-AI Rejoined Image with the Topaz AI Image to get a final image.
Scope: WO Zenith Star 81mm f/6.9 with WO 6AIII Flattener/Focal Reducer x0.8
OSC Camera: ZWO ASI 2600 MC Pro at 100 Gain and 50 Offset
Mount: iOptron GEM28-EC
Guider: ZWO Off-Axis Guider
Guide Camera: ZWO ASI 174mm mini
Light Pollution Filter: Chroma LoGlow Broadband
Date: 14, 18 February 2023
Location: Washington D.C.
Exposure: 81x300s subs (= 6.75 hours)
Software: Pixinsight
Processing Steps:
Preprocessing: FITS data > Image Calibration > Cosmetic Correction > Subframe Selector > Debayer > Select Reference Star and Star Align > Image Integration.
Linear Postprocessing: Dynamic Crop > Dynamic Background Extractor (subtraction to remove light pollution gradients and division for flat field corrections) > Background Neutralization > Color Calibration > Blur Xterminator > Noise Xterminator.
Nonlinear Postprocessing: Histogram Transformation > Star Xterminator to decompose into Starless and Stars Only images.
Starless image > Histogram Transformation > Noise Xterminator > Local Histogram Equalization.
Apply a First Curves Transformation as appropriate to boost the blue signal from the galaxy's arms. Apply an RGB Split. After adjusting the weights for the individual RGB components (noting that the R serves as both the L channel and the red channel when using an OSC camera), apply LRGB Combination to get a blue boosted image.
Apply a Second Curves Transformation as appropriate to boost the red signal from the galaxy's core. Apply an RGB Split. After adjusting the weights for the individual RGB components (noting that the R serves as both the L channel and the red channel when using an OSC camera), apply LRGB Combination to get a red boosted image.
Use Pixel Math to combine 0.5 x red boosted image + 0.5 x blue boosted image to get a Composite image.
Use Pixel math again to combine 0.75 x Composite image + 0.25 x an HDR Multiscale Transform-modified Composite image to get a New Composite image.
Process the New Composite image with Curves Transformation using color masks.
Apply Histogram Transformation and Local Histogram Equalization to get a Final Starless image.
Use Pixel Math to rejoin the Final Starless image with the Stars Only image (modified by a Morphological Transformation if needed) to get a rejoined image.
Rejoined image > Topaz Labs > DeNoise AI > Gigapixel AI.
Use Pixel Math to combine 0.25 x non-AI Composite + 0.75 x Gigapixel AI = Final Result.
WR-134 is a Wolf Rayet star located in Cygnus. The star itself, located about 6000 light years from Earth, is surrounded by a Oxygen-dominated nebula that is being blown around by radiation and winds from the WR star itself. The star itself is about 5 times the radius of our sun and was one of the first three stars observed in Cygnus to have intense emission lines rather than continuous or absorption lines. This class of stars is now known as Wolf-Rayet stars.
This image is a HOO Bicolor image totaling about 34.7 hours of exposure time taken over 7 nights.
This image will eventually be mosaic'd with the Crescent Nebula, which I am current halfway done gathering data for.
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Equipment:
- Scope: AstroTech AT65EDQ Quad APO
- Mount: Rowan Belt Modded Orion Sirius EQ-G
- Imaging Camera: ZWO ASI1600mm-Pro
- Guidescope: QHY MiniGuideScope
- Guide Cam: QHY5L-II Mono
----------------------------------------
Software:
- EQMOD/StellariumScope for mount control
- APT for image capture and platesolving
- PHD2 for guiding
- PixInsight for Processing
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Acquisition:
- Location: Sugar Land, TX
- Gain: 200; Offset: 50; Camera @ -10C
- 195 x 300" Ha - Chroma 5nm
- 221 x 300" OIII - Chroma 3nm
- 30 flats, flat darks, and darks (from library) per session
- Nights: 7/30/20, 8/3/20, 8/4/20, 8/6/20, 8/7/20, 8/10/20, 8/11/20
- Total Integration Time: 34.7 Hours
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Processing (Apply to each Ha and OIII master):
- ImageIntegration
- DrizzleIntegration
- DynamicCrop to get rid of edges
- DBE
- Deconvolution
- Linear noise reduction via EZDenoise Script
- HistogramTransformation for Stretch
- HistogramTransformation for contrast
- CurvesTransformation to bring out nebulosity
- DarkStructureEnhance script (Ha only)
-----------------------------------------
Combining Ha and OIII Masters via the following Pixelmath Combination:
- R: iif(ha>.15,ha,(ha*.8)+(oiii*.2))
- G: iif(ha>0.5,1-(1-oiii)*(1-(ha-0.5)),oiii*(ha+0.5))
- B: iif(oiii>.1,oiii,(ha*.3)+(oiii*.2))
-------------------------------------------
Further Processing:
- Invert -> SCNR Green -> Invert back to remove magenta cast
- Export to Photoshop for slight color tweaking
- Bring back to PI for curves on hue and contrast
- Pushed nebulosity by creating a starless version of the image and then using the following Pixelmath Expression:
- 1- (1-$T)*(1-$T)
- Recombined this enhanced nebulosity version with the original version via the following Pixelmath Expression:
- F=0.4; (1- (1-$T)*(1-starless)*F)+($T*~F)
- Additional CurvesTransformation for contrast
- LocalHistogramEqualization on ring nebula with RangeMask
- Create star mask via Starnet++, binarize and convolute star mask
- MorphologicalTransformation to reduce star size
- CurvesTransformation to shift hue to red from rusty red
- Extract blue channel and apply ask a mask and use CurvesTransformation to emphasize the OIII emissions and balance some color
- Nonlinear noise reduction via ACDNR and luminance mask
- Final Export
Description: This is my image of the Andromeda Galaxy M31 based on about 15 hours of total exposure time. The angular size of M31 is a huge 178x63 arcminutes which occupies a significant portion of the APS-C sensor of my camera. Since there are also numerous background stars, finding a relatively star-free area to do a Background Neutralization is a bit of a challenge. I also found achieving a proper color balance to be another challenge. Various sources indicate the presence of an outer bluish halo encompassing the core. I tried to achieve my objective by applying a series of Curves Transformations while protecting the background with a mask. As a side note, while numerous stars are present, I decided against applying a Morphological Transformation to reduce their brightness because in doing so I detected an undesirable ringing effect. One possible solution is to apply Multiscale Linear Transform with deringing selected. However, I have not tested that option.
Date / Location: 21-23 September and 8-10 October 2022 / Washington D.C.
Equipment:
Scope: WO Zenith Star 81mm f/6.9 with WO 6AIII Flattener/Focal Reducer x0.8
OSC Camera: ZWO ASI 2600 MC Pro at 100 Gain
Mount: iOptron GEM28-EC
Guide Scope: WO 50mm Uniguide Scope
Guide Camera: ZWO ASI 290mm
Focuser: ZWO EAF
Light Pollution Filter: Chroma LoGlow Broadband
Processing Software: Pixinsight
Processing Steps:
Preprocessing: I preprocessed 184x300s subs (= 15.3 hours) in Pixinsight to get an integrated image using the following steps: Image Calibration > Cosmetic Correction > Subframe Selector > Debayer > Select Reference Star and Star Align > Image Integration.
Linear Postprocessing: Rotation > Dynamic Crop > Dynamic Background Extractor (subtraction to remove light pollution gradients and division for flat field corrections) > Background Neutralization > Color Calibration > Noise Xterminator.
Nonlinear Postprocessing: First Histogram Transformation > Second Histogram Transformation > First Local Histogram Equalization > Second Local Histogram Equalization First Curves Transformation > Second Curves Transformation > Third Curves Transformation > SCNR Noise Reduction.
This is the Western Veil Nebula, in the constellation Cygnus: it’s directly overhead in the Northern hemisphere right now at about 11pm. This is actually just a small part of it: it’s actually part of a huge loop that is a supernova remnant of a star that went kablooey about 10,000 years ago. And it’s actually not so much a circle as a sphere: the shock waves from the supernova are so thin (well, 4 billion miles, about the distance from earth to Pluto) they can only be observed edge on, so it ends up looking like a circle in the sky. And it’s expanding at about 1.5 million kilometers an hour. The big star in the center is 52 Cygni, and is just there to look pretty.
I’ve always loved this target and have wanted to image it for a while. This image comprises maybe 16 hours of 5 minute exposures from my backyard, viewed through ionized hydrogen and oxygen filters. . . . OOUK CT8 ASI 1600MM Pro ASI 290MM mini Skywatcher EQ6-R Pro Chroma Ha 5nm x 121 x 300” Chroma Oiii 3nm x 58 x 300” Processed in Pixinsight . . . Processing steps: WeightedBatchPreprocessing script Deconvolution DBE Take nonlinear via HistogramTransformation HDR Multiscale Transform Combine via Pixelmath Ha=R, 50/50=G, Oiii=B Create starmask via DSO Mask Remove stars with morphologicaltransform, MLMT, and convolution (Barry Wilson method) CurvesTransformation and Histogram Transformation on nebulosity for color tweaks Create synthetic Lum via Pixelmath and CurvesTransformation De-emphasized stars on Lum using Morphological Transformation Applied Lum using ChannelCombination, Clab space Removed 1 layer using MLT Unsharp Mask TGVDenoise Save for web viewing
It's been a few years since I last shot this cluster, so I decided to revisit it. Using the same gear as I did last time, however I have less light pollution where I'm at now, better processing skills, and a bit more total exposure time. Captured on May 9th and 10th, 2022 from my Bortle 6 driveway.
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**[Equipment:](i.imgur.com/ejpKkwU.jpg)**
* TPO 6" F/4 Imaging Newtonian
* Orion Sirius EQ-G
* ZWO ASI1600MM-Pro
* Skywatcher Quattro Coma Corrector
* ZWO EFW 8x1.25"/31mm
* Astronomik LRGB+CLS Filters- 31mm
* Astrodon 31mm Ha 5nm, Oiii 3nm, Sii 5nm
* Agena 50mm Deluxe Straight-Through Guide Scope
* ZWO ASI-120mc for guiding
* Moonlite Autofocuser
**Acquisition:** 2 hours 40 minutes (Camera at Unity Gain, -15°C)
* Lum- 59x90"
* Red- 17x90"
* Green- 15x60"
* Blue- 16x60"
* Darks- 30
* Flats- 30 per filter
**Capture Software:**
* Captured using [N.I.N.A.](nighttime-imaging.eu) and PHD2 for guiding and dithering.
**PixInsight Processing:**
* BatchPreProcessing
* StarAlignment
* [Blink](youtu.be/sJeuWZNWImE?t=40)
* ImageIntegration
* DrizzleIntegration (2x, Var β=1.5)
**Linear:**
* DynamicCrop
* Dynamic Background extractions
**RGB:**
* ChannelCombination to map monochrome R, G, and B images into a color image
* PhotometricColorCalibration
* Slight SCNR green
* HSV repair
* ArcsinhStretch + HistogramTransformation to bring nonlinear
**Luminance:**
* NoiseXTerminator
* ArcsinhStretch + HistogramTransformation to bring nonlinear
**Nonlinear:**
* LRGBCombination with stretched L as luminance
* Several curves transformations to adjust lightness, contrast, saturation, etc
* MultiscaleLinearTransform for large scale chrominance noise reduction
* SCNR green
* More Curves
* Resample to 80%
* Annotation
This is a 2 panel mosaic. Been putting off processing this since mosaics are a bitch to work with. Capturing it was fun, since I figured out how to turn my streetlamp off with a laser pointer. This is only a part of the seagull nebula, as there's quite a bit [more nebulosity surrounding my FOV](www.reddit.com/r/astrophotography/comments/m625js/the_sea...). Captured on February 19, 20, 21, 22, and 23rd, 2021 from a Bortle 6 zone.
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**[Equipment:](i.imgur.com/6T8QNsv.jpg)**
* TPO 6" F/4 Imaging Newtonian
* Orion Sirius EQ-G
* ZWO ASI1600MM-Pro
* Skywatcher Quattro Coma Corrector
* ZWO EFW 8x1.25"/31mm
* Astronomik LRGB+CLS Filters- 31mm
* Astrodon 31mm Ha 5nm, Oiii 3nm, Sii 5nm
* Agena 50mm Deluxe Straight-Through Guide Scope
* ZWO ASI-120MC for guiding
* Moonlite Autofocuser
**Acquisition:** 13 hours 0 minutes (Camera at Unity Gain, -20°C)
Left Panel:
* Ha- 28x360"
* Oiii- 19x360"
* Sii- 19x360"
Right Panel:
* Ha- 28x360"
* Oiii- 19x360"
* Sii- 17x360"
Calibration frames:
* Darks- 30
* Flats- 30 per filter
**Capture Software:**
* Captured using [N.I.N.A.](nighttime-imaging.eu) and PHD2 for guiding and dithering.
**PixInsight Processing:**
* BatchPreProcessing
* StarAlignment
* [Blink](youtu.be/sJeuWZNWImE?t=40)
* ImageIntegration
* DrizzleIntegration (2x, Var β=1.5) (per panel per channel)
**Making the mosaic:** (per channel)
* StarAlign left panel to right (Register/union mosaic mode) to make rough mosaic
* StarAlign both panels to rough mosaic (register/match mode)
* GradientMergeMosaic to combine aligned panels into single mosaic image
**Linear:**
* DynamicCrop
* AutomaticBackgroundExtraction
* DynamicBackgroundExtraction
* EZ Decon + Denoise (Ha only)
* STF applied via HistogramTransformation to bring each channel nonlinear
**Combining Channels:**
* PixelMath to make classic SHO to RGB image
* Pixelmath to make RGB image using [ForaxX's palette](thecoldestnights.com/2020/06/pixinsight-dynamic-narrowban...)
>R= (Oiii\^~Oiii)\*Sii + ~(Oiii\^~Oiii)*Ha
>G= ((Oiii\*Ha)\^~(Oiii\*Ha))\*Ha + ~((Oiii\*Ha)\^~(Oiii\*Ha))\*Oiii
>B= Oiii
* Pixelmath to blend classic SHO and ForaxX SHO images 50:50
**Nonlinear:**
* LRGBCombination with Ha as luminance
* Shitloads of CurveTransformations to adjust lightness, saturation, contrast, hues, etc.
* SCNR to partially remove green
* ACDNR
* LocalHistogramEqualization
* DarkStructureEnhance
* ColorSaturation
* More Curves
* EZ Star Reduction
* NoiseGenerator to add noise into reduced star areas
* Resample to 60%
* Annotation
Captured most of this data in August and made a pseudo-true color image of it with the HaGO palette at that time. Needed an early evening target more recently and decided to capture sulfur data to make a SHO image. I'm liking the more 'subdued' look of this compared to some of my previous SHO images. Also made a [starless version](i.imgur.com/o5p1fkp.jpg) to better show off the fainter nebulosity. Captured on August 21-24th and October 19th and 20th, 2021 from a Bortle 6 zone.
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**[Equipment:](i.imgur.com/6T8QNsv.jpg)**
* TPO 6" F/4 Imaging Newtonian
* Orion Sirius EQ-G
* ZWO ASI1600MM-Pro
* Skywatcher Quattro Coma Corrector
* ZWO EFW 8x1.25"/31mm
* Astronomik LRGB+CLS Filters- 31mm
* Astrodon 31mm Ha 5nm, Oiii 3nm, Sii 5nm
* Agena 50mm Deluxe Straight-Through Guide Scope
* ZWO ASI-290mc for guiding
* Moonlite Autofocuser
**Acquisition:** 23 hours 24 minutes (Camera at Unity Gain, -15°C)
* Ha- 92x360"
* Oiii- 85x360"
* Sii- 57x360"
* Darks- 30
* Flats- 30 per filter
**Capture Software:**
* Captured using [N.I.N.A.](nighttime-imaging.eu) and PHD2 for guiding and dithering.
**[PixInsight Processing:](www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7FuApFSGuA)**
* BatchPreProcessing
* SubframeSelector
* StarAlignment
* [Blink](youtu.be/sJeuWZNWImE?t=40)
* ImageIntegration
* DrizzleIntegration
**Linear:**
* DynamicCrop
* DynamicBackgroundExtraction
* EZ Decon + Denoise (Ha only)
* STF applied via HistogramTransformaion to bring each channel nonlinear
**Combining Channels:**
* PixelMath to make classic SHO to RGB image
* SCNR > Invert > SCNR > Invert to partially remove excess greens and magentas
* Pixelmath to make RGB image using [ForaxX's palette](thecoldestnights.com/2020/06/pixinsight-dynamic-narrowban...)
>R= (Oiii\^~Oiii)\*Sii + ~(Oiii\^~Oiii)*Ha
>G= ((Oiii\*Ha)\^~(Oiii\*Ha))\*Ha + ~((Oiii\*Ha)\^~(Oiii\*Ha))\*Oiii
>B= Oiii
* Pixelmath to blend classic SHO and ForaxX SHO images 50:50
**Nonlinear:**
* LRGBCombination with Ha as luminance
* Shitloads of CurveTransformations to adjust lightness, contrast, saturation, hues, etc.
* LocalHistogramEqualization
> two rounds of this, one at size 16 kernel for the finer 'feathery' details, and one at 150 for larger structures
* More curves
* EZ Star reduction
* NoiseGenerator to add noise back into reduced stars
* ColorSaturation
* DarkStructureEnhancement
* Extract L channel > LRGBC again for chrominance noise reduction
* Even more curves
* Resample to 60%
* Annotation
* HistogramTransformation to lower black point
* More curves
* Resample to 60%
* Annotation
Moscú - Moscow - Москва
Happening (de la palabra inglesa que significa acontecimiento, ocurrencia, suceso) es toda experiencia que parte de la secuencia provocación-participación-improvisación. Tiene su origen en la década de 1950 y se considera una manifestación artística multidisciplinaria. Aunque se han relacionado con el pop-art y el movimiento hippie, los happenings se integran dentro del conjunto del llamado performance art.
En un principio, el happening artístico fue una tentativa de producir una obra de arte que naciese del acto a organizar y con la participación de los "espectadores" (que abandonasen así su posición de sujetos pasivos y se liberasen a través de la expresión emotiva y la representación colectiva). Aunque es común confundir el happening con la llamada acción artística el primero difiere de la segunda en la improvisación.
El happening, como manifestación artística múltiple que pretende la participación espontánea del público, suele ser efímero. Por este motivo los happenings suelen presentarse en lugares públicos, irrumpiendo en la cotidianeidad.
es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happening
A happening is a performance, event, or situation meant to be considered art, usually as performance art. The term was first used by Allan Kaprow during the 1950s to describe a range of art-related event or multiple events.
Happenings occur anywhere and are often multi-disciplinary, with a nonlinear narrative and the active participation of the audience. Key elements of happenings are planned but artists sometimes retain room for improvisation. This new media art aspect to happenings eliminates the boundary between the artwork and its viewer.
In the late 1960s, perhaps due to the depiction in films of hippie culture, the term was used much less specifically to mean any gathering of interest from a pool hall meetup or a jamming of a few young people to a beer blast or fancy formal party.
Model NIKON D7000
Exposure Time 1/40 sec.
F-stop f/16
ISO 100
MeteringMode Pattern
Flash No
Focal Length 82 mm
Exposure Bias 0 step
No element of my work in whole or part may be copied, reproduced, distributed and/or used in any form of publication, print, internet or any form of media without my express written permission. Please contact me if you would like to use one of my images.
Shot this back in April; and tried processing it several times but I never liked how it turned out until now. Decided to go with a blend of OSH + Jimmy's Royal Palette (math below) instead of a typical Hubble palette that I use for most of my SHO images. This photo is also a 2 panel mosaic. Because M8 is fairly low declination, I had to use a laser to turn off the streetlamp at the end of my driveway while shooting it (more for the guidecam than for the main narrowband pics). Overall I'd consider this an improvement over my previous bicolor pic of the nebula from 2019. Captured on April 24th and 25th, 2022, from a Bortle 6 zone.
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**[Equipment:](i.imgur.com/ejpKkwU.jpg)**
* TPO 6" F/4 Imaging Newtonian
* Orion Sirius EQ-G
* ZWO ASI1600MM-Pro
* Skywatcher Quattro Coma Corrector
* ZWO EFW 8x1.25"/31mm
* Astronomik LRGB+CLS Filters- 31mm
* Astrodon 31mm Ha 5nm, Oiii 3nm, Sii 5nm
* Agena 50mm Deluxe Straight-Through Guide Scope
* ZWO ASI-290mc for guiding
* Moonlite Autofocuser
**Acquisition:** 4 hours 55 minutes (Camera at unity gain, -15°C)
**Left Panel:**
* Ha - 10x300"
* Oiii - 10x300"
* Sii - 8x300"
**RightPanel:**
* Ha - 12x300"
* Oiii - 10x300"
* Sii - 9x300"
* Darks- 30
* Flats- 30 per filter
**Capture Software:**
* Captured using [N.I.N.A.](nighttime-imaging.eu) and PHD2 for guiding and dithering.
**PixInsight Processing:**
* BatchPreProcessing
* SubframeSelector
* StarAlignment
* [Blink](youtu.be/sJeuWZNWImE?t=40)
* ImageIntegration
* DrizzleIntegration (2x, Var β=1.5)
**Making the mosaic:**
* StarAlign left Ha panel to right (Register/union mosaic mode) to make master mosaic
* StarAlign all panels from all filters to master mosaic (register/match mode)
* GradientMergeMosaic to combine aligned panels into single mosaic image per filter
**Linear:**
* DynamicCrop
* AutomaticBackgroundExtraction
* EZ Decon
* NoiseXTerminator
* STF applied via HistogramTransformation to bring each channel nonlinear
**Combining channels into color photo:**
* ChannelCombination combine monochrome Ha Oiii and Sii images into a color image with OSH palette
* PixelMath to make a second image using Jimmy's Royal Palette
> R = 0.3\*Oiii+0.7\*(Oiii\^~(0.7\*Ha+0.3\*Sii))\^1.2
> G = ((Oiii\*Ha)\^~(Oiii\*Ha))\*Ha + ~((Oiii\*Ha)\^~(Oiii\*Ha))\*Sii
> B = 0.9\*Sii+Ha-Oiii
* PixelMath to blend OSH and Jimmy pics together 60:40
**Nonlinear:**
* LRGBCombination with stretched Ha as luminance
* Stars extracted and saved separately using StarXTerminator
> From here I duplicated the pic and exported one as a 32-bit tiff. From here I brought it into Photoshop and converted it to a 16-bit tiff using the 'local adaptation' mode. For some reason I kinda like [the softer 'dreamy' look this gave it](i.imgur.com/8YHSuEv.png). Then I brought the photo back into PixInsight
* Both images had some curve and SCNR green adjustments done to them
* Separate stars image was also SCNR'd green, and added back to the images via PixelMath
* PixelMath to combine the two separate nonlinear pics into a single pic 50:50 (will be the only one used going forward)
* Extract L --> LRGBCombination for chrominance noise reduction
* NoiseXTerminator
* LocalHistogramEqualization
> Two rounds of this. one at size 16 for the finer 'feathery' details and one at size 500 for large scale structures
* Shitloads of CurveTransformations to adjust lightness, saturation, contrast, hues, etc.
* EZ HDR at like 5% blend or something
* DarkStructureEnhance
* Resample to 75%
* Annotation
So despite doing astrophotography for over 5 years I've never gotten an image of M31 that I liked until now. My [last real attempt at it](jubilee-live.flickr.com/65535/48726184573_0688ae42e9_o.png) was in 2019, and looking back has some obvious noise reduction and color gradient issues (tbf I shot it from downtown Athens, GA). I recently visited my future in laws, who happen to live in the middle of nowhere, so I brought along my telescope to take some deep space pics. I also incorporated some hydrogen-alpha data from a while ago to help boost the Hii regions (the red splotches) in the galaxies a bit. At first I wasn't sure about the addition of the Ha data, so I ended up processing this image twice from scratch, one with Ha and one without. There were parts of each that I liked and disliked, [so I blended the two finished pics together](i.imgur.com/PX9DMdZ.jpg), and was very pleased with the results, which is the final image you see above. [also here's a starless version for the hell of it](i.imgur.com/yzLnos0.jpg). Captured on November 17th, 2022, from a Bortle 4 zone (Ha data was captured in October 2020 from a Bortle 6 zone)
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**[Equipment:](i.imgur.com/ejpKkwU.jpg)**
* TPO 6" F/4 Imaging Newtonian
* Orion Sirius EQ-G
* ZWO ASI1600MM-Pro
* Skywatcher Quattro Coma Corrector
* ZWO EFW 8x1.25"/31mm
* Astronomik LRGB+CLS Filters- 31mm
* Astrodon 31mm Ha 5nm, Oiii 3nm, Sii 5nm
* Agena 50mm Deluxe Straight-Through Guide Scope
* ZWO ASI-290mc for guiding
* Moonlite Autofocuser
**Acquisition:** 11 hours 14 minutes (Camera at Unity Gain(Ha) and half unity (LRGB), -15°C)
* L- 46x120"
* R- 20x120"
* G- 18x120"
* B- 18x120"
* Ha -47x300" x 2 panels
* Darks- 30
* Flats- 30 per filter
**Capture Software:**
* Captured using [N.I.N.A.](nighttime-imaging.eu) and PHD2 for guiding and dithering.
**PixInsight Processing:**
* BatchPreProcessing
* SubframeSelector
* StarAlignment
* [Blink](youtu.be/sJeuWZNWImE?t=40)
* ImageIntegration
* DrizzleIntegration (2x, Var β=1.5)
**Linear:**
* DynamicCrop
* automaticBackgroundExtraction
* EZ Decon
* NoiseXTerminator
* ArcsinhStrecth + HistogramTransformation to bring nonlinear
**RGB Linear:**
* Channelcombination to combine monochrome images into RGB image
* PhotometricColorCalibration
* SCNR green
* HSV Repair
**Adding Ha:**
> I followed this tutorial which had great results on some [prior](www.reddit.com/r/astrophotography/comments/q8ogec/m33_the...) HaLRGB [galaxy pics](www.reddit.com/r/astrophotography/comments/ml2os3/m51_the...):
> www.arciereceleste.it/tutorial-pixinsight/cat-tutorial-en...
* PixelMath to make Clean Ha. This effectively [isolates just the Ha regions](i.imgur.com/Aob3UEO.png) from the red continuum spectrum
> Ha-Q * (Red-med (Red))
> Q=0.15
* PixelMath to combine Clean Ha
* PixelMath to add Ha to RGB image ($T)
> R= $T+B*(Ha_Clean - med(Ha_Clean))
> G= $T
> B= $T+B\*0.2*(Ha_Clean - med(Ha_Clean))
> B=1
**Nonlinear Processing:**
* [PixelMath to add original RGB image into the gaps from the old Ha data](i.imgur.com/M75ewuj.png)
* Slight SCNR
* ArcsinhStretch + HistogramTransformations to stretch nonlinear
> The RGB image **without** Ha was processed almost identically as above, minus the Ha addition steps. while nonlinear they were processed pretty similarly, so I'm just going to list out the general steps as they broadly apply to both images:
**Nonlinear:**
* LRGBCombination with stretched luminance
* Shitloads of CurveTransformations to adjust lightness, saturation, contrast, hues, etc.
* Extract L --> LRGBCombination for chrominance noise reduction
* color saturation to slightly desaturate the Ha regions
* More curves
* SCNR > Invert > SCNR > invert to remove some greens and magentas
* LocalHistogramEqualization
> Two rounds of this. one at [size 16 for the finer 'feathery' details](i.imgur.com/3LYsnqc.png) and one at size 500 for large scale structures
* even more curves
* NoiseXTerminator
* EZ Star Reduction
* noise generator to add noise back into star reduced areas
* [guess what baby more curves](i.imgur.com/b7bZkvT.png)
**[PixelMath to combine the two fully processed images 50:50](i.imgur.com/PX9DMdZ.jpg)**
* Another round of EZ star reduction, NoiseXTerminator, and LRGBCombination chrominance noise reduction
* *HEY DID YOU KNOW I LIKE USING THE CURVESTRANSFORMATION PROCESS?*
* Resample to 60%
* Annotation
NGC 7000 is an emission nebula about 2600 light years away in the constellation Cygnus. This is a false color image taken through [sulfur, hydrogen, and oxygen filters](i.imgur.com/bFv1VCg.png) that were then mapped to red green and blue channels respectively to make a color image. This is used to help highlight the different ionized gases, as in [true color photos](c1.staticflickr.com/5/4812/46335334442_bda5168027_o.png) the dominant hydrogen gas makes the whole nebula look red.
This is a [3 panel mosaic image](i.imgur.com/Hz2eMBX.png) I shot over the course of ~16 months. I had originally shot the [right panel](www.reddit.com/r/astrophotography/comments/gauicq/the_cyg...) back in April 2020, and the [top left panel](www.reddit.com/r/astrophotography/comments/pu62xw/north_a...) in August/September 2021. I saw they overlapped some so I got some data on the bottom left panel to make a more cohesive mosaic of the region. I didn't get around to processing it until now because ~~I'm lazy~~ pixinsight refuses to mosaic these images cleanly for some reason. Huge thanks to /u/EasyQuest for showing my your mosaic technique with ICE. Because I moved in 2020 to an area with less light pollution, there is some noticeable border with the signal to noise ratio between the panels. Due to the varying rotations i had to do a heavy crop on the image overall. I also [ran it through starnet to make a starless version for the hell of it](i.imgur.com/DQoHoRQ.jpg).
Captured over 16 nights from April 2020 through September 2021. Right panel from Bortle 7 light pollution (downtown Athens, GA) and the left two panels from Bortle 6 suburbs.
---
**[Equipment:](i.imgur.com/ejpKkwU.jpg)**
* TPO 6" F/4 Imaging Newtonian
* Orion Sirius EQ-G
* ZWO ASI1600MM-Pro
* Skywatcher Quattro Coma Corrector
* ZWO EFW 8x1.25"/31mm
* Astronomik LRGB+CLS Filters- 31mm
* Astrodon 31mm Ha 5nm, Oiii 3nm, Sii 5nm
* Agena 50mm Deluxe Straight-Through Guide Scope
* ZWO ASI-120mc for guiding
* Moonlite Autofocuser
**Acquisition:** 36 hours 12 minutes (Camera at Unity Gain, -15°C)
* **Right Panel**: 5h 30m
* Sii- 19x360
* Ha- 18x360"
* Oiii- 18x360"
* **Top Left:** 15h 12m
* Sii- 52x360
* Ha- 44x360"
* Oiii- 56x360"
* **Bottom Left:** 14h 36m
* Sii- 54x360
* Ha- 35x360"
* Oiii- 57x360"
* Darks- 30
* Flats- 30 per filter
**Capture Software:**
* Captured using [N.I.N.A.](nighttime-imaging.eu) and PHD2 for guiding and dithering.
**PixInsight Processing:**
* BatchPreProcessing
* SubframeSelector
* StarAlignment
* [Blink](youtu.be/sJeuWZNWImE?t=40)
* ImageIntegration
* DrizzleIntegration (2x, Var β=1.5)
**Creating the Mosaic:**
> For whatever reason mosaic by coordinates refused to work for me despite updating/reinstalling pixinsight, or even downloading the script directly from others.
* DynamicCrop to remove stacking artifacts
* Several rounds of automatic and dynamic background extractions to remove gradients
* LinearFit
* Exported photos as tiff, stitched in Microsoft ICE per filter
* CloneStamp to remove artifacts from the Sii mosaic
**Linear:**
* DynamicCrop
* EZ Decon/Denoise
* STF stretch via HistogramTransformation to bring each image nonlinear
**Nonlinear:**
* PixelMath to map SHO images to RGB
* Extract L > LRGBCombination for chrominance noise reduction
* Invert > SCNR > invert to remove magentas from stars and partially from the background
* Shitloads of CurveTransformations to adjust lightness, saturation, contrast, hues, etc.
* MultiscaleLinearTransform noise reduction
* EZ Star reduction
* NoiseGenerator to add noise into reduced star areas
* LocalHistogramEqualization
* HistogramTransformation for lightness adjustments
* ColorSaturation to further tweak star color (was still extremely red)
* CloneStamp to remove a few weird looking stars
* Content aware fill in Photoshop to fill in a small part of a corner that the mosaic didn't cover (I know, I sinned)
* Even more curves
* Integer Resample to 50%
* Annotation
Description: This is my image of Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) based on a total exposure time of about 2 hours. The green color is not an artifact. It is thought to be due to the photodissociation by solar radiation of dicarbon molecules present in the coma . The photodissociation mechanism is well-described in www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2113315118.
Date / Location: 3 February 2023 / Washington D.C.
Equipment:
Scope: WO Zenith Star 81mm f/6.9 with WO 6AIII Flattener/Focal Reducer x0.8
OSC Camera: ZWO ASI 2600 MC Pro at 100 Gain and 50 Offset
Mount: iOptron GEM28-EC
Guider: ZWO Off-Axis Guider
Guide Camera: ZWO ASI 174mm mini
Focuser: ZWO EAF
Light Pollution Filter: Chroma LoGlow Broadband
Processing Software: Pixinsight
Processing Steps:
Here, I used Pixinsight's Comet Alignment process as described in Warren A. Keller's "Inside Pixinsight" (Second Edition).
Star Alignment Step: First, I processed 68x120s subs (= 2.26 hours) in Pixinsight to get registered images using the following processes: Image Calibration > Cosmetic Correction > Subframe Selector > Debayer > Select Reference Star > Star Alignment.
First Comet Alignment Step: Next, to the registered images from the preceding Star Alignment step, I applied the Comet Alignment process in Pixinsight to generate comet aligned files.
First Integration Step: I then integrated the comet aligned files from the preceding step to produce a Comet Master file.
Second Comet Alignment Step involving subtraction: To the registered images from the Star Alignment step, I applied the Comet Alignment process in Pixinsight, with the stipulation that the Subtract Operand Field contain the Comet Master file, to generate subtraction files.
Second Integration Step: I then integrated the subtraction files from the preceding step to produce a Star Master file.
Pixel Math Step: Next, I blended the Comet Master file and the Star Master file using the expression 2*Comet Master file + Star master file in order to get a Final Merged file.
To the Final Merged file, I applied the following processes:
Linear Postprocessing: Rotation > Dynamic Crop > Dynamic Background Extractor (both subtraction to remove light pollution gradients and division for flat field corrections) > Background Neutralization > Color Calibration > Noise Xterminator.
Nonlinear Postprocessing: Histogram Transformation > Local Histogram Equalization > Curves Transformation.
Imaging with a combination of an OSC camera and a dualband pass LPF yields a result that is lacking in richness of color. In order to extract a color-rich image from the data, the integrated image was first separated into starless and stars only components, followed by splitting the starless image into its RGB components which were individually weighted and then recombined using LRGB Combination followed by further processing.
Scope: WO Zenith Star 81mm f/6.9 with WO 6AIII Flattener/Focal Reducer x0.8
OSC Camera: ZWO ASI 2600 MC Pro at 100 Gain
Mount: iOptron GEM28-EC
Guide Scope: ZWO ASI 30mm f/4
Guide Camera: ZWO ASI 120mm-mini
Light Pollution Filter: ZWO Duo-Band Light Pollution Filter
Date: 24-25, 29-30 April and 2, 4-5 May 2022
Location: Washington D.C.
Exposure: 261x300s subs (= 21.75 hours)
Software: Pixinsight
Processing Steps:
Preprocessing: FITS data > Image Calibration > Cosmetic Correction > Subframe Selector > Debayer > Select Reference Star and Star Align > Image Integration.
Linear Postprocessing: Integrated image > Dynamic Crop > Dynamic Background Extractor (subtraction to remove light pollution gradients and division for flat field corrections) > Background Neutralization > Color Calibration > Blur Xterminator > Noise Xterminator.
Nonlinear Postprocessing: Linear postprocessed image > Histogram Transformation > Star Xterminator to separate into Starless and Stars Only images.
Starless image > Noise Xterminator > Local Histogram Equalization > Split RGB Channels > Weight the original channels and using Pixel Match generate new modified RGB channels.
First LRGB Combination > Uncheck L channel, check modified RGB channels > New RGB image.
Apply the same HDR Multiscale Transform to the L channel (=R channel for dualband pass image) and New RGB image > Modified L channel and new RGB image.
Second LRGB Combination > Check the L channel, uncheck the RGB channels > Apply Instance to the new RGB image to generate a New Starless image.
New Starless image > Apply various color masks > Curves Transformation > Histogram Transformation (as needed) > Local Histogram Equalization (as needed) > Final processed Starless Image.
Stars Only Image > Morphological Transformation > New Stars Only image.
Pixel Math to rejoin the Final processed Starless Image and the new Stars Only image > Rejoined image.
Rejoined image > Dark Structure Enhancement > New rejoined image.
New rejoined image > Topaz AI > AI image.
Pixel Math to combine New rejoined image and AI image > Final result.
Description: This image of the Andromeda Galaxy M31 was developed from 184x300s subs or 15.3 hours of total exposure time. The nonlinear post processed image was first split into its RGB components, followed by the application of appropriate weighting factors to the green and red channels, further followed by LRGB Combination. The resulting image was post processed using Curves Transformation with various color masks.
Date / Location: 21-23 September and 8-10 October 2022 / Washington D.C.
Equipment:
Scope: WO Zenith Star 81mm f/6.9 with WO 6AIII Flattener/Focal Reducer x0.8
OSC Camera: ZWO ASI 2600 MC Pro at 100 Gain
Mount: iOptron GEM28-EC
Guide Scope: WO 50mm Uniguide Scope
Guide Camera: ZWO ASI 290mm
Focuser: ZWO EAF
Light Pollution Filter: Chroma LoGlow Broadband
Processing Software: Pixinsight
Processing Steps:
Preprocessing: I preprocessed 184x300s subs (= 15.3 hours) in Pixinsight to get an integrated image using the following steps: Image Calibration > Cosmetic Correction > Subframe Selector > Debayer > Select Reference Star and Star Align > Image Integration.
Linear Postprocessing:
Dynamic Background Extractor (doing subtraction to remove light pollution gradients and division for flat field correction) > Background Neutralization > Color Calibration > Blur Xterminator > Noise Xterminator.
Nonlinear Postprocessing and additional steps:
Histogram Transformation > Star Xterminator to create Starless and Stars Only Images.
Starless Image > Noise Xterminator > Local Histogram Equalization > Multiscale Median Transform > Split RGB channels > Create new green and blue channels > LRGB Combination > Curves Transformation using various color masks.
Stars Only Image > Morphological transformation.
Pixel Math to combine the Starless Image with the Stars Only Image to get a Reinstated Image.
Reinstated Image > Dark Structure Enhancement > Topaz AI.
Pixel Math to combine the (non-AI) Reinstated Image with the Topaz AI Image to get a final image.
Integration: 35 hrs
Telescope: Esprit 100
Camera: ASI183MM
Mount: CEM60
Filters: Astrodon 3nm Ha & OIII
Subs: Ha 107x600", OIII 103x600"
Gain/Temp: 111/-15
Pixel Scale: 0.89 arcsec/pixel
Preprocessing: Master dark-flat to calibrate the flats. Master dark and master flat to calibrate the lights. CosmeticCorrection. Nearest Neighbor star alignment was used because MUREDenoise would be applied after integration. ESD integration.
Postprocessing:
- MUREDenoise
- STF to HT nonlinear stretch
- Starnet++ (and CloneStamp to fix artifacts left over from the largest stars)
- Local Histogram Equalization on starless and pre-Starnet versions
- Curves Transformation on OIII (starless and pre-Starnet versions) to match OIII's dark nebula to HA and raise OIII midtones
- PixelMath color combination of the starless versions
Red: HA
Green: OIII*.4 + HA*.6
Blue: OIII
- PixelMath luminance combination using the pre-Starnet versions
max(HA * 1), (OIII * .25)
- LRGBCombination
- CurvesTransformation to raise the midtones (star mask for the largest stars)
- DarkStructureEnhance
- LocalHistogramEqualization (star mask for the largest stars)
Moscú - Moscow - Москва
Happening (de la palabra inglesa que significa acontecimiento, ocurrencia, suceso) es toda experiencia que parte de la secuencia provocación-participación-improvisación. Tiene su origen en la década de 1950 y se considera una manifestación artística multidisciplinaria. Aunque se han relacionado con el pop-art y el movimiento hippie, los happenings se integran dentro del conjunto del llamado performance art.
En un principio, el happening artístico fue una tentativa de producir una obra de arte que naciese del acto a organizar y con la participación de los "espectadores" (que abandonasen así su posición de sujetos pasivos y se liberasen a través de la expresión emotiva y la representación colectiva). Aunque es común confundir el happening con la llamada acción artística el primero difiere de la segunda en la improvisación.
El happening, como manifestación artística múltiple que pretende la participación espontánea del público, suele ser efímero. Por este motivo los happenings suelen presentarse en lugares públicos, irrumpiendo en la cotidianeidad.
es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happening
A happening is a performance, event, or situation meant to be considered art, usually as performance art. The term was first used by Allan Kaprow during the 1950s to describe a range of art-related event or multiple events.
Happenings occur anywhere and are often multi-disciplinary, with a nonlinear narrative and the active participation of the audience. Key elements of happenings are planned but artists sometimes retain room for improvisation. This new media art aspect to happenings eliminates the boundary between the artwork and its viewer.
In the late 1960s, perhaps due to the depiction in films of hippie culture, the term was used much less specifically to mean any gathering of interest from a pool hall meetup or a jamming of a few young people to a beer blast or fancy formal party.
This nebula is also known as NGC 2264 I'm fairly certain the [christmas tree](i.imgur.com/vK4WITC.png) is the entire nebula when the photo is inverted, and not just the cone nebula at the very end of it. Captured on November 17th, 2022, from a Bortle 4 zone.
---
**[Equipment:](i.imgur.com/ejpKkwU.jpg)**
* TPO 6" F/4 Imaging Newtonian
* Orion Sirius EQ-G
* ZWO ASI1600MM-Pro
* Skywatcher Quattro Coma Corrector
* ZWO EFW 8x1.25"/31mm
* Astronomik LRGB+CLS Filters- 31mm
* Astrodon 31mm Ha 5nm, Oiii 3nm, Sii 5nm
* Agena 50mm Deluxe Straight-Through Guide Scope
* ZWO ASI-290mc for guiding
* Moonlite Autofocuser
**Acquisition:** 4 hours 2 minutes (Camera at half unity gain, -15°C)
* L- 62x120"
* R- 20x120"
* G- 20x120"
* B- 19x120"
* Ha -47x300" x 2 panels
* Darks- 30
* Flats- 30 per filter
**Capture Software:**
* Captured using [N.I.N.A.](nighttime-imaging.eu) and PHD2 for guiding and dithering.
**PixInsight Processing:**
* BatchPreProcessing
* SubframeSelector
* StarAlignment
* [Blink](youtu.be/sJeuWZNWImE?t=40)
* ImageIntegration
* DrizzleIntegration (2x, Var β=1.5)
**Linear:**
* DynamicCrop
* automaticBackgroundExtraction
* EZ Decon
* NoiseXTerminator
**Stretching Luminance:**
* MaskedStretch to 0.1 background
* Starnet++ starmask made, subtracted from 0.3 Gray image and colvolved
* Previous image used as a mask to stretch nebulosity without stretching stars
* Normal HistogramTransformation
**RGB Linear:**
* Channelcombination to combine monochrome images into RGB image
* SpectroPhotometricColorCalibration
* SCNR green
* HSV Repair
* ArcsinhStretch + HT to bring nonlinear
**Nonlinear:**
* LRGBCombination with stretched luminance
* Shitloads of CurveTransformations to adjust lightness, saturation, contrast, hues, etc.
* Extract L --> LRGBCombination for chrominance noise reduction
* More curves
* SCNR to remove some background greens
* LocalHistogramEqualization
> Two rounds of this. one at size 16 for the finer 'feathery' details and one at size 500 for large scale structures
* ColorSaturation
* even more curves
* NoiseXTerminator
* EZ Star Reduction
* noise generator to add noise back into star reduced areas
* MLT for chrominance noise reduction
* Resample to 60%
* Annotation
Shot and mostly processed this back in April, and then kinda forgot it was sitting on my hard drive until recently. Overall I'd consider this an improvement from my last attempt at M104 three years ago. Captured on April 22nd and 23rd, 2022 from a Bortle 6 zone
---
**[Equipment:](i.imgur.com/ejpKkwU.jpg)**
* TPO 6" F/4 Imaging Newtonian
* Orion Sirius EQ-G
* ZWO ASI1600MM-Pro
* Skywatcher Quattro Coma Corrector
* ZWO EFW 8x1.25"/31mm
* Astronomik LRGB+CLS Filters- 31mm
* Astrodon 31mm Ha 5nm, Oiii 3nm, Sii 5nm
* Agena 50mm Deluxe Straight-Through Guide Scope
* ZWO ASI-290mc for guiding
* Moonlite Autofocuser
**Acquisition:** 4 hours 23 minutes (Camera at Unity Gain, -20°C)
* L- 90x90"
* R- 29x90"
* G- 28x90"
* B- 28x90"
* Darks- 30
* Flats- 30 per filter
**Capture Software:**
* Captured using [N.I.N.A.](nighttime-imaging.eu) and PHD2 for guiding and dithering.
**PixInsight Processing:**
* BatchPreProcessing
* SubframeSelector
* StarAlignment
* [Blink](youtu.be/sJeuWZNWImE?t=40)
* ImageIntegration
* DrizzleIntegration (2x, Var β=1.5)
**Linear:**
* DynamicCrop
* DynamicBackgroundExtraction
* EZ Decon/Denoise (lum only)
* ArcsinhStretch + HistogramTransformation to stretch nonlinear
**RGB:**
* Channelcombination to combine monochrome images into RGB image
* PhotometricColorCalibration
* Slight SCNR Green
* HSV repair
* ArcsinhStretch + HistogramTransformation to stretch nonlinear
**Nonlinear:**
* LRGBCombination with luminance
* LRGBCombination with luminance again, inverted background mask used to protect galaxy from chronicance noise reduction
* Shitloads of CurveTransformations to adjust lightness, saturation, contrast, hues, etc.
* MLT noise reduction
* LocalHistogramEqualization
* Little bit of NoiseXTerminator
* More curves
* Resample to 60%
* DynamicCrop
* annotation
M78 is located about [here in the constellation orion](i.imgur.com/6Otgx17.jpg). Up until now my best photo of it was [this widefield photo](live.staticflickr.com/7813/46683574912_239ca671cc_o.png) from three years ago. Because it's mostly reflection and dark nebula, it's difficult to capture from my light polluted driveway. I planned on going out to a dark site in January 2020 to shoot it with my newtonian, but the perfect combination of no clouds, new moon, and no work the next day didn't happen until now. Captured on January 3rd, 2022 from a Bortle 4 zone.
---
**[Equipment:](i.imgur.com/6T8QNsv.jpg)**
* TPO 6" F/4 Imaging Newtonian
* Orion Sirius EQ-G
* ZWO ASI1600MM-Pro
* Skywatcher Quattro Coma Corrector
* ZWO EFW 8x1.25"/31mm
* Astronomik LRGB+CLS Filters- 31mm
* Astrodon 31mm Ha 5nm, Oiii 3nm, Sii 5nm
* Agena 50mm Deluxe Straight-Through Guide Scope
* ZWO ASI-120mc for guiding
* Moonlite Autofocuser
**Acquisition:** 6 hours 30 minutes (Camera at Unity Gain, -20°C)
* Lum- 68x180"
* Red- 20x180"
* Green- 21x180"
* Blue- 21x180"
* Darks- 30
* Flats- 30 per filter
**Capture Software:**
* Captured using [N.I.N.A.](nighttime-imaging.eu) and PHD2 for guiding and dithering.
**PixInsight Processing:**
* BatchPreProcessing
* SubframeSelector
* StarAlignment
* [Blink](youtu.be/sJeuWZNWImE?t=40)
* ImageIntegration
* DrizzleIntegration (2x, Var β=1.5)
* DynamicCrop
* AutomaticBackgroundExtraction
* DynamicBackgroundExtraction
**Luminance:**
* AtrousWaveletTransform for noise reduction
* STF applied via HistogramTransformation to bring nonlinear
**RGB**
* Channelcombination to combine monochrome images into RGB image
* PhotometricColorCalibration
* HSV repair
* ArcsinhStretch + HistogramTransformation to bring nonlinear
**Nonlinear:**
* LRGBCombination to add stretched L as luminance to stretched RGB
* Shitloads of CurveTransformations to adjust lightness, saturation, contrast, hues, etc.
* SCNR
* Extract L --> LRGBCombination again for large scale chrominance noise reduction
* DarkStructureEnhance
* MLT noise reduction
* LocalHistogramTransformation
> 2 rounds of this, one at kernel size 16 for small details, and one at 200 for larger scale structures
* EZ Star Reduction
* NoiseGenerator to add noise back into star reduced areas
* MMT de-blotching
* Resample to 60%
* Annotation
This last month has been stupid clear, so I've dumped a ton of exposure time into this nebula while waiting for other targets to come up. The spikes are not really part of the nebula, they are artifacts from the light from the bright core diffracting around the spider vanes in my telescope. It is possible to do some [HDR imaging ](www.reddit.com/r/astrophotography/comments/c04o5j/ngc_654... )and bring out details in the core region, but I kinda like how it looks blown out, at least compared to my older pic (also decided not to incorporate the older data into this one and just start fresh).
Also for those who don't see the cat's eye, it's inside of the [blown out core region in the middle](i.imgur.com/nxoXcgT.png) (photo from Hubble)
Captured over 11 nights in October, 2022 from a Bortle 8 zone
---
**[Equipment:](i.imgur.com/ejpKkwU.jpg)**
* TPO 6" F/4 Imaging Newtonian
* Orion Sirius EQ-G
* ZWO ASI1600MM-Pro
* Skywatcher Quattro Coma Corrector
* ZWO EFW 8x1.25"/31mm
* Astronomik LRGB+CLS Filters- 31mm
* Astrodon 31mm Ha 5nm, Oiii 3nm, Sii 5nm
* Agena 50mm Deluxe Straight-Through Guide Scope
* ZWO ASI-120mc for guiding
* Moonlite Autofocuser
**Acquisition:** 44 hours 18 minutes (Camera at Unity Gain, -15°C)
* Ha - 228x360"
* Oiii - 215x360"
* Darks- 30
* Flats- 30 per filter
**Capture Software:**
* Captured using [N.I.N.A.](nighttime-imaging.eu) and PHD2 for guiding and dithering.
**PixInsight Processing:**
* BatchPreProcessing
* SubframeSelector
* StarAlignment
* [Blink](youtu.be/sJeuWZNWImE?t=40)
* ImageIntegration
* DrizzleIntegration (2x, Var β=1.5)
* DynamicCrop
* DynamicBackgroundExtraction
* NoiseXTerminator per stack
* STF applied via HT to bring each image nonlinear
**Combining Channels:**
* Pixelmath to make RGB image using [ForaxX's HOO palette](thecoldestnights.com/2020/06/pixinsight-dynamic-narrowban...):
>R= Ha
>G= ((Oiii\*Ha)\^~(Oiii\*Ha))\*Ha + ~((Oiii\*Ha)\^~(Oiii\*Ha))\*Oiii
>B= Oiii
**Nonlinear:**
* LRGBCombination with extracted L as luminance, used for small scale chrominance noise reduction
* MultiscaleLinearTransform for large scale chrominance noise reduction
* Shitloads of CurveTransformations to adjust lightness, saturation, contrast, hues, etc. with various masks
* NoiseXTerminator
* LocalHistogramEqualization
* More Curves
* EZ star reduction
* NoiseGenerator to add noise into reduced star areas
* Even more curves
* ColorSaturation to desaturate some unnaturally red stars
* Resample to 60%
* Annotation
Scope: WO Zenith Star 81mm f/6.9 with WO 6AIII Flattener/Focal Reducer x0.8
OSC Camera: ZWO ASI 2600 MC Pro at 100 Gain and 50 Offset
Mount: iOptron GEM28-EC
Guider: ZWO Off-Axis Guider
Guide Camera: ZWO ASI 174mm mini
Light Pollution Filter: Optolong L-eXtreme Dual Bandpass
Date: 26-28 January 2023
Location: Washington D.C.
Exposure: 110x300s subs (= 9.17 hours)
Software: Pixinsight
Processing Steps:
Preprocessing: FITS data > Image Calibration > Cosmetic Correction > Subframe Selector > Debayer > Select Reference Star and Star Align > Image Integration.
Linear Postprocessing: Integrated image > Rotation > Dynamic Background Extractor (subtraction to remove light pollution gradients and division for flat field corrections) > Background Neutralization > Color Calibration > Blur Xterminator > Noise Xterminator.
Nonlinear Postprocessing: Linear postprocessed image > Histogram Transformation > Star Xterminator to decompose into Starless and Stars Only images.
Starless image > Histogram Transformation > Noise Xterminator > Local Histogram Equalization > Curves Transformation to boost the blue and green colors for the O(III) signal > Split RGB Channels > Adjust the weights of the RGB channels and use Pixel Math to generate new modified RGB channels > Apply LRGB Combination with the L channel unchecked and the RGB channels checked with the new modified B and G being the sources of the G and B channels, respectively, to get a new RGB color image.
Apply HDR multiscale transform to both the L channel image (= the R channel image for an OSC camera) and the new RGB color image.
Reapply LRGB combination specifically to the new RGB color image this time with the L channel checked and the RGB channels unchecked to get a new Starless image.
Process the new Starless image with Curves Transformation using color masks.
Use Pixel Math to rejoin the processed new Starless image with the Stars Only image to get a rejoined image.
Rejoined image > Topaz Labs > DeNoise AI > Gigapixel AI.
Use Pixel Math to combine 25% x Rejoined image + 75% x AI image = Final Result.
The spaghetti nebula (Sh2-240) is a supernova remnant in the constellation Taurus. This nebula is [fairly large in terms of angular size](i.imgur.com/NwRs5Zz.jpg) in the sky, coming in at around 4 degrees long at its widest point. I opted to only do a 2 panel mosaic of it because larger mosaics are a pain to process right. I decided to keep this one dim-looking overall to better reflect how faint this nebula actually is. For those curious [this inverted Ha pic](i.imgur.com/89eBgJk.jpg) (downsampled) helps show the fainter parts of the structure. Captured over 6 nights from November 12th through December 12, 2021 from a Bortle 6 zone.
---
**[Equipment:](i.imgur.com/6T8QNsv.jpg)**
* TPO 6" F/4 Imaging Newtonian
* Orion Sirius EQ-G
* ZWO ASI1600MM-Pro
* Skywatcher Quattro Coma Corrector
* ZWO EFW 8x1.25"/31mm
* Astronomik LRGB+CLS Filters- 31mm
* Astrodon 31mm Ha 5nm, Oiii 3nm, Sii 5nm
* Agena 50mm Deluxe Straight-Through Guide Scope
* ZWO ASI-120mc for guiding
* Moonlite Autofocuser
**Acquisition:** 28 hours 0 minutes (Camera at Unity Gain, -15°C)
Panel 1:
* Ha- 58x600"
* Oiii- 28x600"
Panel 2:
* Ha- 57x600"
* Oiii- 25x600"
* Darks- 30
* Flats- 30 per filter
**Capture Software:**
* Captured using [N.I.N.A.](nighttime-imaging.eu) and PHD2 for guiding and dithering.
**PixInsight Processing:**
* BatchPreProcessing
* SubframeSelector
* StarAlignment
* [Blink](youtu.be/sJeuWZNWImE?t=40)
* ImageIntegration
* DrizzleIntegration (2x, Var β=1.5)
* several rounds of DynamicBackgroundExtraction to remove as many gradients as possible before combining the mosaic
**Making the mosaic:**
* StarAlign left Ha panel to right (Register/union mosaic mode) to make master mosaic
* StarAlign all panels from all filters to master mosaic (register/match mode)
* GradientMergeMosaic to combine aligned panels into single mosaic image per filter
**Linear:**
* DynamicCrop
* AutomaticBackgroundExtraction
* EZ Denoise per channel
* MaskedStretch+HistogramTransformation to stretch each channel nonlinear
* Slight curve adjustment on the Oiii channel to better match the background brightness of the Ha
**Combining Channels:**
* Monochrome Ha and Oiii images combined into a color image using [ForaxX's HOO palette](thecoldestnights.com/2020/06/pixinsight-dynamic-narrowban...):
>R= Ha
>G= ((Oiii\*Ha)\^~(Oiii\*Ha))\*Ha + ~((Oiii\*Ha)\^~(Oiii\*Ha))\*Oiii
>B= Oiii
**Nonlinear:**
* Extract Synthetic Luminance
* LRGBCombination using synthetic luminance for chrominance noise reduction
* Shitloads of CurveTransformations to adjust lightness, saturation, contrast, hues, etc.
* MLT noise reduction
* HistogramTransformation
* EZ Star reduction
* NoiseGenerator to add noise back into star reduced areas
* LocalHistogramEqualization
* more curves
* SCNR
* MMT do de-splotch the background
* even more curves
* IntegerResample to 50%
* Annotation
First light for my new lens
1 stack of 19 images, Canon 800D at ISO 800, Takumar 135mm f2.5 lens at f4, 30s exposures, Omegon Lx2 tracking mount. 45 darks, 120 biases. Processed in PixInsight as below
***** Integration
lightvortexastronomy tutorial (www.lightvortexastronomy.com/tutorial-pre-processing-cali...)
* CC defect list + master dark
* weighing: (15*(1-(FWHM-FWHMMin)/(FWHMMax-FWHMMin)) + 15*(1-(Eccentricity-EccentricityMin)/(EccentricityMax-EccentricityMin)) + 20*(SNRWeight-SNRWeightMin)/(SNRWeightMax-SNRWeightMin))+50
* img 1135 reference
* star align - distortion relaxed to 0.3
* integration - winsorized sigma clipping
***** Linear processing
*** Crop
*** DBE, 0.5 tolerance
*** Color calibration
* SNCR 0.5
* Background neutralization (using small area under middle star as sample background - hard to find true neutrality in Orion flickr.com/photos/deepskycolors/16774216742/in/faves-1833...)
* Color calibration w/background and structure detection
*** Deconvolution
* Created star_mask_large - large scale structure 2, small scale 1, noise threshold 0.1, scale 8
* Created range mask - extracted luma, applied standard STF, then histogram shadow = 0.25 mids = 0.3 high = 1
* Deconvolve with range mask on, 100 interations, custom PSF, dark 0.01 bright 0.004, local deringing with star mask, wavelet regularization
*** Star reduction
Small star mask - noise 0.15, scale 4, small scale 3 comp 1, smoothness 8, binarize, midtones = 0.02
Range mask from that, 0.05-1
Apply, erosion operator 2 iterations 0.6 with shape oval
*** Linear noise reduction
jonrista.com/the-astrophotographers-guide/pixinsights/eff...
*TGV - small noise
Created TGV masks - extracted luminosity, standard stretch (luminance_mask), curved it with black point at ~0.2 and white at ~0.5, moved histogram point to middle (tgv_mask)
apply tgv mask inverted to the image, give luma mask as local support
TGV chroma str 7 edge protection 2E-4 smoothness 2 iterations 500
TGV luma str 5 edge protection 1E-5 smoothness 2 iterations 500
*MMT - larger noise and TGV artifacts
Created MMT mask - extract luminosity, standard stretch, move histogram point to 75%, apply low range -0.5. Apply inverted
MMT mask - 8 layers, threshold 10 10 7 5 5 2.5 2 2 on rgb
*****Nonlinear
***Initial stretch
*Autostretch, apply to hist
*Create full star mask, max(star_mask_large, star_mask_small)
* HDR transform, 8 layers, B3 spline, star mask applied inverted, preserve hue, lightness mask
***MLT stretch
www.stelleelettroniche.it/en/2014/09/astrophoto/m42-ngc19...
**Initial
* created a new multiscale linear transform, kept 4 layers using linear interpolation
* diffed from original image to create a "blurred" version of original image
* extracted luminance from original, used as mask on blurred version
* used curves to create s shape in luminance, inflection 3/4 up, and pump up saturation a lot
* pixelmath sum the 3, rescaled, back to original image
**Second
* new multiscale linear transform, keep 5 layers
* diff from original
* extract luminance from blurred image, to use as a mask
* masked blurred image with its own luminance, gave it s-shaped RGB curve, big boost in saturation
* pixelmath sum the 3, rescaled, back to original image
***Star and nebula mask:
Range select to catch nebulas, blur with 3 a troux wavelet iterations (removing first 5 layers), add to star mask to obtain star and nebula mask
***Local histogram equalization
kernel 32 contrast 1.5 amount 0.35, with star and nebula mask on
***Nonlinear NR
*Luminance mask, clipped shadows
*ACDNR stdev 4 chroma 2 luma, amount 0.9 chroma 0.7 luma
***Dark structure enhance
* 5x5, 3 iterations, amount 0.25
*** Sharpen
* Sharpen with multiscale linear transform, bias layers 2-6 (0.05, 0.05, 0.025, 0.012, 0.006)
For those curious, the circle near the top middle is Abell 71, once thought to be a planetary nebula, but now we think it's just a HII region in the foreground of the rest of the structures in the image. Also made a [starless version](i.imgur.com/FJpmsQ8.jpg) to better show off the fainter nebulosity. Captured over 5 nights from October 22 to November 1st, 2021 from a Bortle 6 zone.
---
**[Equipment:](i.imgur.com/6T8QNsv.jpg)**
* TPO 6" F/4 Imaging Newtonian
* Orion Sirius EQ-G
* ZWO ASI1600MM-Pro
* Skywatcher Quattro Coma Corrector
* ZWO EFW 8x1.25"/31mm
* Astronomik LRGB+CLS Filters- 31mm
* Astrodon 31mm Ha 5nm, Oiii 3nm, Sii 5nm
* Agena 50mm Deluxe Straight-Through Guide Scope
* ZWO ASI-290mc for guiding
* Moonlite Autofocuser
**Acquisition:** 14 hours 36 minutes (Camera at Unity Gain, -15°C)
* Ha- 54x360"
* Oiii- 47x360"
* Sii- 45x360"
* Darks- 30
* Flats- 30 per filter
**Capture Software:**
* Captured using [N.I.N.A.](nighttime-imaging.eu) and PHD2 for guiding and dithering.
**[PixInsight Processing:](www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7FuApFSGuA)**
* BatchPreProcessing
* StarAlignment
* [Blink](youtu.be/sJeuWZNWImE?t=40)
* ImageIntegration
* DrizzleIntegration
**Linear:**
* DynamicCrop
* DynamicBackgroundExtraction
* EZ Decon + Denoise (Ha only)
* STF applied via HistogramTransformaion to bring each channel nonlinear
**Combining Channels:**
* PixelMath to make classic SHO to RGB image
* SCNR > Invert > SCNR > Invert to partially remove excess greens and magentas
* Pixelmath to make RGB image using [ForaxX's palette](thecoldestnights.com/2020/06/pixinsight-dynamic-narrowban...)
>R= (Oiii\^~Oiii)\*Sii + ~(Oiii\^~Oiii)*Ha
>G= ((Oiii\*Ha)\^~(Oiii\*Ha))\*Ha + ~((Oiii\*Ha)\^~(Oiii\*Ha))\*Oiii
>B= Oiii
* Pixelmath to blend classic SHO and ForaxX SHO images 40:60
**Nonlinear:**
* LRGBCombination with Ha as luminance
* Shitloads of CurveTransformations to adjust lightness, contrast, saturation, hues, etc.
* LocalHistogramEqualization
* SCNR Green
* More curves
* EZ Star reduction
* NoiseGenerator to add noise back into reduced stars
* DarkStructureEnhancement
* Extract L channel > LRGBC again for chrominance noise reduction
* Another round of EZ Star reduction + noise generation
* Resample to 60%
* Annotation
M101 is a face-on spiral galaxy in Ursa Major. It is a "grand design" spiral galaxy meaning that it has a prominent central bulge and well-defined spiral arms.
Dates of observation: 9, 18, 19, 23, 24, 31 May and 1-3 June 2025
Location: Washington D.C.
Equipment:
ASI 2600MM Pro (monochrome) camera
Chroma 36mm LRGB Filter Set
WO Fluorostar 91mm f/5.9 triplet APO refractor with Adjustable Field Flattener 68III
iOptron GEM28-EC mount
Data and exposure times:
Data was acquired as LRGB images with the following exposure times:
18.5 hours (317x210s subs) with Luminance filter (L).
4.7 hours (80x210s subs) with Red filter (R).
3.2 hours (54x210s subs) with Green filter (G).
4.8 hours (82x210s subs) with Blue filter (B).
Fully processed in PixInsight.
Preprocessing notes:
Created L, R, G and B "masters" by Calibration, Cosmetic Correction, Weighted Subframes, Star Alignment, and Integration.
Postprocessing notes:
a. For the L master: Applied Dynamic Background Extractor, BlurXT and NoiseXT. Lastly, applied a Histogram Transformation to generate a nonlinear image which was saved as a postprocessed L image.
b. "Built" a color image from the R, G and B masters and applied a DBE to it using the same DBE settings as used for the L master. Since a color image is involved, this necessitated the application of Background Neutralization and Color Calibration to the resulting image. Continued with an application of BlurXT, NoiseXT and a Histogram Transformation. Saved the nonlinear result as a postprocessed RGB image.
c. Applied an instance from the postprocessed L image to the postprocessed RGB image.
d. Applied StarXterminator to create starless (i.e. containing the target image) and stars-only images.
e. Processed the starless image, after applying a range selection mask to protect the background, using Local Histogram Equalization, Curves Transformation and Color Saturation. Removed the mask and used an expression in Pixel Math to combine the result from this step with the stars-only image from the previous step.
f. After protecting the target image with a range selection mask, applied a Morphological Transformation to reduce the size and presence of background stars followed by an application of a Histogram Transformation.
On a beach on Hornby Island, BC, Canada.
One suspects, looking at this, that the larger cells at the top are older and that the pattern coarsens with time by progressively losing the separators. Something like a coarsening foam. But maybe not.
This formation is called "tafoni" or "honeycomb weathering".
Week 4
I was introduced to Chaos Theory and the Butterfly Effect in high school and have been fascinated ever since. I think in another life, I would love to spend a lifetime studying it.
In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions in which a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state. The name of the effect, coined by Edward Lorenz, is derived from the metaphorical example of the details of a hurricane (exact time of formation, exact path taken) being influenced by minor perturbations such as the flapping of the wings of a distant butterfly several weeks earlier.
Excerpt from brainproject.ca:
Memory
This sculpture explores photographic memory by creating an arrangement of ideas from the past that come together in the form of daffodil flowers – reflecting the uncertainty of the future, the return to affection and the desire for a new beginning.
Brain Code
This is Brain Code.
Trainwreck
Artist Jessica Gorlicky is sending a message of positive mental health and awareness through this sculpture – in a fun but chaotic manner… how we process thoughts and feelings; how many what-ifs and choices. It’s never ending. Keeping a positive frame of mind and a healthy attitude can be daunting and it all stems from our thought processing; mentally/physically/emotionally, our surroundings somewhat define and influence is. How do you keep a healthy positive mental attitude? Gorlicky’s response: “I dance! I paint! I laugh!”
Untitled
Greg Haberny’s artistic practice is generally quite personalized. He wanted to create a raw sculpture that more or less captures the nonlinear way his own mind works. All human beings have the same visual of what a brain looks like, but he wanted to go beyond that and metaphorically speaking show the energy and complexity of that magical light of inter-dimension consciousness that makes each of us an individual and highly unique.
Red Head
Canadian artist Anitra Hamilton used chicken eggshells, glue, acrylic paint and varnish in creating her piece Red Head for the Brain Project.
Hamilton’s work appears in the permanent collections of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo and the Art Gallery of Ontario, as well as corporate and private collections.
Razzle Dazzle
Artist Julie Moon’s contribution to The Brain Project is a highly decorative piece which has an underlying theme relating to the movement and repetition of thought. Motifs and patterns draw from earlier art movements that attempted to visualize aspects of culture and technology.
Our Toronto
Essentially, the brain is divided into five sections: the frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital lobes and the cerebral cortex. In this piece, the frontal lobe represents movement within Toronto, which was captured through the TTC subway line. The parietal lobe shows communities. The temporal lobe represents memories that are created through city attractions. The occipital lobe represents multiculturalism. The cerebral cortex represents consciousness which is depicted through different mental health disorders. The goal was to show awareness of what is truly within Toronto.
Unknown
No plaque on the display case, and no description on the web site.
This target is also called the Skull Nebula, which is viewable if you rotate the image 90 degrees clockwise. It's also featured on the album cover for A7X's 'The Stage'
This was [one of the first targets I shot with my mono camera](www.reddit.com/r/astrophotography/comments/ak9zep/the_ros...) three years ago, and I decided to revisit it now that I have more experience with the gear (and Oiii+Sii filters). Surprisingly I've only spent 2 nights photographing this, which feels like nothing compared to my other ongoing projects (The SNR gains [bottomed out fast](i.imgur.com/IGlgad8.png)). I've also made a [starless version courtesy of the new Starnet v2](i.imgur.com/GElOvpj.jpg) which I think looks pretty neat. Captured on February 5th and 6th, 2022 from a Bortle 6 zone.
---
**[Equipment:](i.imgur.com/ejpKkwU.jpg)**
* TPO 6" F/4 Imaging Newtonian
* Orion Sirius EQ-G
* ZWO ASI1600MM-Pro
* Skywatcher Quattro Coma Corrector
* ZWO EFW 8x1.25"/31mm
* Astronomik LRGB+CLS Filters- 31mm
* Astrodon 31mm Ha 5nm, Oiii 3nm, Sii 5nm
* Agena 50mm Deluxe Straight-Through Guide Scope
* ZWO ASI-290mc for guiding
* Moonlite Autofocuser
**Acquisition:** 7 hours 40 minutes (Camera at Unity Gain, -20°C)
* Ha- 28x360"
* Oiii- 27x360"
* Sii- 21x360"
* Darks- 30
* Flats- 30 per filter
**Capture Software:**
* Captured using [N.I.N.A.](nighttime-imaging.eu) and PHD2 for guiding and dithering.
**[PixInsight Processing:](www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7FuApFSGuA)**
> I was inspired a bit by /u/kballzz's workflow on [his rosette nebula](www.reddit.com/r/astrophotography/comments/fd3jlm/the_ros...)
* BatchPreProcessing
* SubframeSelector
* StarAlignment
* [Blink](youtu.be/sJeuWZNWImE?t=40)
* ImageIntegration
* DrizzleIntegration (2x, Var β=1.5)
**Linear:**
* DynamicCrop
* AutomaticBackgroundExtraction
* DynamicBackgroundExtraction
* EZ Decon/Denoise (Ha only)
* STF applied via HistogramTransformaion to bring each channel nonlinear
**Combining Channels:**
* PixelMath to make classic SHO to RGB image
**Nonlinear:**
* HistogramTransformation to pull back the green channel and slightly boost red
* Invert > SCNR > Invert > to remove some background magenentas
* LRGBCombination with Ha as luminance
* Shitloads of CurveTransformations to adjust lightness, contrast, saturation, hues, etc.
* LocalHistogramEqualization
> two rounds of this, one at size 16 kernel for the finer 'feathery' details, and one at 250 for larger structures
* ColorSaturation to boost the red Sii areas
* MLT Noise Reduction
* ColorSaturation to desaturate overly red stars
* EZ Star reduction
* NoiseGenerator to add noise back into star reduced areas
* DarkStructureEnhance
* More Curves
* Resample to 60%
* Annotation
The theory of relativity states that the perceived speed of an object is relative to other speeds of other objects--there is no absolute speed per se.
In this case, even though the carousel is going at a nice slow speed for the kids, we can make it seem like a hellish tornado of movement by just making the camera go slower through a long exposure.
By NOT using a tripod, the nonlinearities in my muscular control lead to chaotic-like variations in the circles, which add to the organic and emergent nature of the image...
Plus, orange light is cool.
Decided to only capture half of this nebula because I'm too lazy to rotate my camera sensor and I don't like dealing with mosaics. I did photograph the entirety of the soul nebula back in 2018 (that version is true color). Captured on January 22, 23, and February 3rd, 2021 from a Bortle 6 zone
**[Equipment:](i.imgur.com/6T8QNsv.jpg)**
* TPO 6" F/4 Imaging Newtonian
* Orion Sirius EQ-G
* ZWO ASI1600MM-Pro
* Skywatcher Quattro Coma Corrector
* ZWO EFW 8x1.25"/31mm
* Astronomik LRGB+CLS Filters- 31mm
* Astrodon 31mm Ha 5nm, Oiii 3nm, Sii 5nm
* Agena 50mm Deluxe Straight-Through Guide Scope
* ZWO ASI-120MC for guiding
* Moonlite Autofocuser
**Acquisition:** 12 hours 54 minutes (Camera at Unity Gain, -20°C)
* Ha- 48x360"
* Oiii- 39x360
* Sii- 42x360"
* Darks- 30
* Flats- 30 per filter
**Capture Software:**
* Captured using [N.I.N.A.](nighttime-imaging.eu/) and PHD2 for guiding and dithering.
**PixInsight Processing:**
* BatchPreProcessing
* StarAlignment
* [Blink](youtu.be/sJeuWZNWImE?t=40)
* ImageIntegration
* DrizzleIntegration (2x, Var β=1.5) (Ha only)
* StarAlign Oiii and Sii to Ha
**Linear:**
* DynamicCrop
* DynamicBackgroundExtraction
* EZ Decon + Denoise (Ha only)
* STF applied via HistogramTransformation to bring each channel nonlinear
**Combining Channels:**
* PixelMath to make classic SHO to RGB image
* Pixelmath to make RGB image using [ForaxX's palette](thecoldestnights.com/2020/06/pixinsight-dynamic-narrowban...)
R= (Oiii^~Oiii)*Sii + ~(Oiii^~Oiii)*Ha
G= ((Oiii*Ha)^~(Oiii*Ha))*Ha + ~((Oiii*Ha)^~(Oiii*Ha))*Oiii
B= Oiii
* Pixelmath to blend classic SHO and ForaxX SHO images 50:50
**Nonlinear:**
* LRGBCombination with Ha as luminance
* Invert > SCNR > Invert to partially remove magentas from background
* Shitloads of [Curve](i.imgur.com/SQ7gMIS.jpg)Transformations to adjust lightness, saturation, contrast, hues, etc.
* HistogramTransformation to reduce black point
* ACDNR
* LocalHistogramEqualization
* DarkStructureEnhance
* CloneStamp to remove three highly saturated purple stars
* EZ Star Reduction
* More Curves to adjust star color
* Resample to 60%
* Annotation
Celestron C8 SCT with Starizona SCT Corrector ASI294MC Pro
4 hours and 6 minutes total integration time
82 x 180 sec subframes
Gain 120
preprocessed in SIRIL
linear and nonlinear processing in PI
final tweaks in Photoshop
Check out the amazing new image of this galaxy with the ESA Euclid telescope www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Euclid/Eucl...
First light for my Takumar 135mm f2.5 - heavy crop, but there wasn't anything else interesting in the field anyway :)
1 stack of 15 images, Canon 800D at ISO 800, Takumar 135mm f2.5 lens at f4, 30s exposures, Omegon Lx2 tracking mount. 45 darks, 120 biases. Processed in PixInsight as below
***** Integration
lightvortexastronomy tutorial (www.lightvortexastronomy.com/tutorial-pre-processing-cali...)
* CC defect list + master dark
* weighing: (15*(1-(FWHM-FWHMMin)/(FWHMMax-FWHMMin)) + 15*(1-(Eccentricity-EccentricityMin)/(EccentricityMax-EccentricityMin)) + 20*(SNRWeight-SNRWeightMin)/(SNRWeightMax-SNRWeightMin))+50
* img 1176 reference
* star align - distortion relaxed to 0.3
* integration - winsorized sigma clipping
***** Linear processing
*** Crop
*** DBE, 0.5 tolerance
*** Color calibration
* SNCR 0.5
* Background neutralization (full background)
* Color calibration w/structure detection
*** Deconvolution
* Created star_mask_large - large scale structure 2, small scale 1, noise threshold 0.1, scale 8
* Created range mask - extracted luma, applied standard STF, then histogram shadow = 0.25 mids = 0.3 high = 1
* Deconvolve with range mask on, 100 iterations, custom PSF, dark 0.01 bright 0.004, local deringing with star mask, wavelet regularization
*** Linear noise reduction
jonrista.com/the-astrophotographers-guide/pixinsights/eff...
*TGV - small noise
Created TGV masks - extracted luminosity, standard stretch (luminance_mask), curved it with black point at ~0.2 and white at ~0.5, moved histogram point to middle (tgv_mask)
apply tgv mask inverted to the image, give luma mask as local support
TGV chroma str 7 edge protection 2E-4 smoothness 2 iterations 500
TGV luma str 5 edge protection 1E-5 smoothness 2 iterations 500
***** Nonlinear
* Autostretch STF/histo
* HDR multiscale transform, with large star mask on, preserve hue,
* Canon banding correction
***MLT stretch
www.stelleelettroniche.it/en/2014/09/astrophoto/m42-ngc19...
**Initial
* created a new multiscale linear transform, kept 4 layers using linear interpolation
* diffed from original image to create a "blurred" version of original image
* extracted luminance from original, used as mask on blurred version
* used curves to create s shape in luminance, inflection 3/4 up, and pump up saturation a lot
* pixelmath sum the 3, rescaled, back to original image
**Second
* new multiscale linear transform, keep 5 layers
* diff from original
* extract luminance from blurred image, to use as a mask
* masked blurred image with its own luminance, gave it s-shaped RGB curve, big boost in saturation
* pixelmath sum the 3, rescaled, back to original image
***Dark structure enhance
* 5x5, 3 iterations, amount 0.25
*** Sharpen
* Sharpen with multiscale linear transform, bias layers 2-6 (0.05, 0.05, 0.025, 0.012, 0.006)
This is my third time shooting the Crescent Nebula! I had first shot it [back in 2017](www.reddit.com/r/astrophotography/comments/7es9n1/c27_the...) when I still used a DSLR for astrophotography. I still use the same scope, but eventually upgraded to a monochrome astro cam, and this was my first target using Hydrogen alpha + Oxygen-iii narrowband filters [in 2019](www.reddit.com/r/astrophotography/comments/bumgk9/the_cre...). This year I decided to shoot it again, although I combined this years data with the data from 2019 since my setup then was identical to how it is now. I did have to heavily crop in on this image due to differing camera rotations, but I ended up with a higher signal to noise ratio overall by combining the data. I also [made a starless version of this pic](i.imgur.com/XzCdtah.jpg) which better shows off the faint nebulosity, including the Soap Bubble Nebula in the bottom left.
Captured over 5 nights in May 2019 (Bortle 7) and 4 nights in May 2022 (Bortle 6)
---
**[Equipment:](i.imgur.com/ejpKkwU.jpg)**
* TPO 6" F/4 Imaging Newtonian
* Orion Sirius EQ-G
* ZWO ASI1600MM-Pro
* Skywatcher Quattro Coma Corrector
* ZWO EFW 8x1.25"/31mm
* Astronomik LRGB+CLS Filters- 31mm
* Astrodon 31mm Ha 5nm, Oiii 3nm, Sii 5nm
* Agena 50mm Deluxe Straight-Through Guide Scope
* ZWO ASI-120mc for guiding
* Moonlite Autofocuser
**Acquisition:** 26 hours 5 minutes (Camera at Unity Gain, -15°C)
* Ha - 61x360" + 88x300"
* Oiii - 54x360" + 87x300"
* Darks- 30
* Flats- 30 per filter
**Capture Software:**
* Captured using [N.I.N.A.](nighttime-imaging.eu) and PHD2 for guiding and dithering.
**PixInsight Processing:**
* BatchPreProcessing
* SubframeSelector
* StarAlignment
* [Blink](youtu.be/sJeuWZNWImE?t=40)
* ImageIntegration
* DrizzleIntegration (2x, Var β=1.5)
* DynamicCrop
* DynamicBackgroundExtraction
* EZ Decon
* NoiseXTerminator
* STF applied via HT to bring each image nonlinear
**Combining Channels:**
> really like how the colors turned out on this, especially the slight gold/yellow in the nebula compared to the red in the background
* Pixelmath to make RGB image using [ForaxX's HOO palette](thecoldestnights.com/2020/06/pixinsight-dynamic-narrowban...):
>R= Ha
>G= ((Oiii\*Ha)\^~(Oiii\*Ha))\*Ha + ~((Oiii\*Ha)\^~(Oiii\*Ha))\*Oiii
>B= Oiii
**Nonlinear:**
* LRGBCombination with extracted L as luminance, used for chrominance noise reduction
* Shitloads of CurveTransformations to adjust lightness, saturation, contrast, hues, etc. with various masks
* NoiseXTerminator
* More Curves
* EZ star reduction
* NoiseGenerator to add noise into reduced star areas
* Even more curves
* ColorSaturation to better bring out the Oiii regions
* More NoiseX
* Resample to 80%
* Annotation
Description: This image of spiral galaxy M33 (or NGC 598), the Triangulum Galaxy, was developed from 124x300s subs or about 10 hours of total exposure time. Of interest is the presence of the irregular-shaped nebula NGC 604, an HII region, in one of the spiral arms. Initially, I found it difficult to locate NGC 604, but once I did, I decided for future reference to identify it with a magnification inset as shown in the image.
Date / Location: 1-5 December 2022 / Washington D.C.
Equipment:
Scope: WO Zenith Star 81mm f/6.9 with WO 6AIII Flattener/Focal Reducer x0.8
OSC Camera: ZWO ASI 2600 MC Pro at 100 Gain and 50 Offset
Mount: iOptron GEM28-EC
Guider: ZWO Off-Axis Guider
Guide Camera: ZWO ASI 174mm mini
Focuser: ZWO EAF
Light Pollution Filter: Chroma LoGlow Broadband
Processing Software: Pixinsight
Processing Steps:
Preprocessing: I preprocessed 124x300s subs (= 10.3 hours) in Pixinsight to get an integrated image using the following process steps: Image Calibration > Cosmetic Correction > Subframe Selector > Debayer > Select Reference Star and Star Align > Image Integration.
Linear Postprocessing: Rotation > Dynamic Crop > Dynamic Background Extractor (both subtraction to remove light pollution gradients and division for flat field corrections) > Background Neutralization > Color Calibration > Noise Xterminator.
Nonlinear Postprocessing and additional steps: Histogram Transformation > Local Histogram Equalization (2 cycles) > Curves Transformation (2 cycles) > SCNR Noise Reduction (2 cycles).
An active galaxy, as evidenced in the strong Ha signal in the image, m106 is a Seyfert galaxy with a very bright core and seems to cover the EM spectrum with massive radio radiation and a microwave 22 GHz water maser from the purple outer dense clouds. It is 22-25 lyr distant in Canes Venatici. It is similar in size and luminosity to the Andromeda Galaxy, but has a supermassive black hole at its center.
This is a 14.9 hr HaLRGB image which is a revisit to a previous 13.5 hr composite LRGB version from April 2019. The new HaLRGB version now adds 1.33 hrs of Ha collected recently on 5/24/2020 with my newest FLI ML16200 camera. The older data is 6.2 hrs of RGB data from 2014, collected with an FLI ML8300 camera, and 7.1 hrs of RGB from 2012, collected with an SBIG ST-2000M. The scope in all cases was an APM LZOS 130/780 f/6 LW CNC II 130mm APO on a Takahashi EM-200 Temma2 mount. All data were taken from D.A.R.C. Observatory, Mercey Hot Springs, CA. North is to the right.
I originally planned to use the "Pure Ha" technique (Vicent Peris and others) for adding the Ha data but that turned out to be rather complicated with three different cameras and datasets from three different years. I ended up using the Tony Hallas technique but did use a "clean Ha" signal (continuum removed/reduced from the Ha) but performed that at the nonlinear, rather than linear, stage.
m106HaLRGB8 12/31/21
m106HaLRGB8-2022 7/27/22
© All Rights Reserved. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my prior permission.
1 stack of 50 images, Canon 800D at ISO 800, Asahi Takumar 135mm f2.5 lens at f4.0, 1m exposures, Omegon Lx2 tracking mount. 45 darks, 120 biases. Processed in PixInsight as below
***** Integration
lightvortexastronomy tutorial (www.lightvortexastronomy.com/tutorial-pre-processing-cali...)
* CC defect list + master dark
* weighing: (15*(1-(FWHM-FWHMMin)/(FWHMMax-FWHMMin)) + 15*(1-(Eccentricity-EccentricityMin)/(EccentricityMax-EccentricityMin)) + 20*(SNRWeight-SNRWeightMin)/(SNRWeightMax-SNRWeightMin))+50
* img 1507 ref
*****Linear processing
*** Crop
*** DBE, 1.5 tolerance
*** Star mask creation
* star_mask_large: large scale structure 2, small scale 1, noise threshold 0.1, scale 6, binarize
* star_mask_small: noise 0.15, scale 4, small scale 3 comp 1, smoothness 8, binarize, midtones = 0.02
* star_mask_all - sum of star masks
*** Color calibration
* SNCR 0.5 on green, preserve lightness
* apply a trous wavelet transform to star mask all, keep residual of 4 (blurred_star_mask)
* invert image
* apply SNCR 0.9 on green, preserve lightness
* remove mask
* invert image again
* Background neutralization
* Color calibration w/background and structure detection
*** Deconvolution
* Created range mask - extracted luma, applied standard STF, then histogram shadow = 0.2 mids = 0.25 high = 1 and a trous wavelet transform keeping residual of 4
* Deconvolve with range mask on, 100 interations, luminance, custom PSF, dark 0.025 bright 0.004, local deringing with star_mask_large, wavelet regularization
*** Star reduction
* Apply, erosion operator w/star mask small, 4 iterations 0.15
*** Linear noise reduction
jonrista.com/the-astrophotographers-guide/pixinsights/eff...
*TGV - small noise
Created TGV masks - extracted luminosity, standard stretch (tgv_luma_mask), curved it with black point at ~0.2 and white at ~0.5, moved histogram point to middle (tgv_mask)
apply tgv mask inverted to the image, give luma mask as local support
TGV chroma str 7 edge protection 2E-4 smoothness 2 iterations 500
TGV luma str 5 edge protection 1E-5 smoothness 2 iterations 500
*MMT - larger noise and TGV artifacts
Created MMT mask - extract luminosity, standard stretch, move histogram point to 75%, apply low range -0.5. Apply inverted
MMT mask - 8 layers, threshold 10 10 7 5 5 2.5 2 2 on rgb
*****Nonlinear
***Initial stretch
* extract luminance, autostretch, apply to hist - luminance channel
* Apply masked stretch to main image, 100 iterations, HSV Value, background reference
* Extract a and b channels from masked stretch image
* Combine
***Gradient HDR compression, default settings
***Denoise
* Using luma mask, apply MLT with 4 layers, amount 0.5, 2 iterations first 2 layers and 1 iteration layers 3 and 4, thresholds 3 2 1 0.5
*** Clean up background
*Range mask 0.35-1, smoothness 2
*Add star_mask all for star_galaxy_mask. Apply inverted
*MLT on 8 layers on chroma, bias layers 5-8 -1
*histogram transformation, mids 0.6
***MLT stretch
www.stelleelettroniche.it/en/2014/09/astrophoto/m42-ngc19...
**Initial (fine details)
* created a new multiscale linear transform, kept 4 layers using linear interpolation
* diffed from original image to create a "blurred" version of original image
* extracted luminance from original, used as mask on blurred version
* used curves to create s shape in luminance and pump up saturation a lot
* pixelmath sum the 3, rescaled, back to original image
**Second (galactic colors)
* new multiscale linear transform, keep 5 layers
* diff from original
* extract luminance from blurred image, to use as a mask
* masked blurred image with its own luminance, gave it s-shaped RGB curve, big boost in saturation. Shift pinks to blues with H curve
* pixelmath sum the 3, rescaled, back to original image
**Third (galaxy arms shape)
* new multiscale linear transform, keep layers 6, 7, 8
* diff from original
** extract M31 structure only
* extract luminance from blurred image
* iif(inellipse(2400, 2200, 1250, 400), multi678_L, 0)
* clone out stars and M110
* histogram midtones to 0.2 - m31_mask
*masked blurred image with own luminance, gave big boost in RGB/K, some boost in saturation
* pixelmath sum the 3, rescaled, back to original image
***Local histogram equalization - kernel 192, contrast 1.5, blend 0.5
***Further galaxy adjustments (from www.lightvortexastronomy.com/tutorial-example-m31-androme...)
* Create galaxy_mask: Range mask 0.35-1, smoothness 2, iif(inellipse(2400, 2200, 1300, 450), galaxy_mask, 0), substract star_mask_all, clean edges with clone tool
* Apply
* MLT 8 layers chrominance, pump up bias on 5-8 0.025 0.025 0.05 0.05
* Color saturation raised blues a bit (widely) and reds quite a bit more (more narrowly)
* Remove mask
*** Darken
* DarkStructureEnhancer, 8 layers, 0.7, 3x3
* DarkStructureEnhancer, 8 layers, 0.7, 5x5
* Very slight s-shape on all image luminance
*** Sharpen
* Sharpen with multiscale linear transform, bias layers 2-6 (0.05, 0.05, 0.025, 0.012, 0.006)
Abell 33 is a planetary nebula around 2700 light years away. It's caused by the ejection of gas from a red giant star at the end of its life (a bit less 'exciting' than a supernova). Eventually our sun will do this and form a planetary nebula of its own. The bright star HD 83535 lies in the foreground of the nebula, and gives it the 'diamond ring' effect. Captured over 8 nights in January and February, 2021 from a Bortle 6 zone.
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**[Equipment:](i.imgur.com/6T8QNsv.jpg)**
* TPO 6" F/4 Imaging Newtonian
* Orion Sirius EQ-G
* ZWO ASI1600MM-Pro
* Skywatcher Quattro Coma Corrector
* ZWO EFW 8x1.25"/31mm
* Astronomik LRGB+CLS Filters- 31mm
* Astrodon 31mm Ha 5nm, Oiii 3nm, Sii 5nm
* Agena 50mm Deluxe Straight-Through Guide Scope
* ZWO ASI-120MC for guiding
* Moonlite Autofocuser
**Acquisition:** 16 hours 5 minutes (Camera at Unity Gain, -20°C)
* Ha- 30x600"
* Oiii- 69x600" (nice)
* Darks- 30
* Flats- 30 per filter
**Capture Software:**
* Captured using [N.I.N.A.](nighttime-imaging.eu) and PHD2 for guiding and dithering.
**PixInsight Processing:**
* BatchPreProcessing
* StarAlignment
* [Blink](youtu.be/sJeuWZNWImE?t=40)
* ImageIntegration
* DrizzleIntegration (2x, Var β=1.5)
**Linear:**
* DynamicCrop
* DynamicBackgroundExtraction
* EZ Denoise (Oiii only)
* ArcsinhStretch
* MaskedStretch
**Combining Channels:**
* Pixelmath to make HOO image using [ForaxX's palette](thecoldestnights.com/2020/06/pixinsight-dynamic-narrowban...)
>R= Ha
>G= ((Oiii\*Ha)\^~(Oiii\*Ha))\*Ha + ~((Oiii\*Ha)\^~(Oiii\*Ha))\*Oiii
>B= Oiii
* Pixelmath to make superluminance image (this was to preserve diffraction spikes in the Ha channel when LRGB combining, versus using only Oiii as luminance)
> Max(Oiii, Ha)
**Nonlinear:**
* LRGBCombination with superlum as luminance
* [Curve](i.imgur.com/6QvXY5t.png)Transformations to adjust lightness, saturation, contrast, hues, etc.
* ACDNR
* EZ Star Reduction
* HistogramTransformation to reduce black point
* more curves
* Resample to 80%
* Annotation
In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions, where a small change at one place in a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences to a later state. The name of the effect, coined by Edward Lorenz, is derived from the theoretical example of a hurricane's formation being contingent on whether or not a distant butterfly had flapped its wings several weeks before.
Although the butterfly effect may appear to be an esoteric and unlikely behavior, it is exhibited by very simple systems: for example, a ball placed at the crest of a hill may roll into any of several valleys depending on, among other things, slight differences in initial position.
The butterfly effect is a common trope in fiction when presenting scenarios involving time travel and with hypotheses where one storyline diverges at the moment of a seemingly minor event resulting in two significantly different outcomes.