View allAll Photos Tagged SharpCap
Moon mosaic taken with SkyWatcher Esprit 100ED, ZWO ASI224MC, Sharpcap, PIPP, Autostakkert and Microsoft ICE.
My first ever photo of Uranus, captured last night (2024-01-26)
This was captured using my newly purchased ZWO 715MC. This camera has amazingly small pixels that allows a telescope often used for deep sky to overcome its small focal length with densely packed small 1.45 micron pixels.
This is a perfect match for my 8" newtonian which has a native focal length of 1000mm. Typically you'd need an SCT or a big dobsonian with a camera with larger pixels. Up until now, basically all planetary cameras have had a pixel size of 2.9 microns.
This photo shows 4 of Uranus' moons. They're incredibly faint even on a relatively fast aperture setup for planetary. At magnitude 15, they're as faint as many deep sky targets requiring long exposures to reveal them. Long exposures and planetary are not something you hear very often.
The setup:
- ZWO ASI 715MC
- ZWO ADC
- ZWO EAF
- Skywatcher 200P (modified)
- Skywatcher EQ6R
- SharpCap
- AutoStakkert
- Registax
- Photoshop
10,000 frames captured at 112FPS, Moons 5s x 20 (max gain of 600)
Sadr region bicolor
Canon 200mm f/2.8 @ f/2.8
ASI 1600MM-C -20C gain 139
ZWO filters
2 minutes
14x Ha
14x Oxygen
Sharpcap
Sequence Generator Pro
Cartes Du Ciel
Pixinsight 1.8
The giant gas planet Saturn, located to the East of Jupiter, low in the late August sky.
Saturn last night. Celestron 8SE, Alt/Az mount, and TeleVue 3x Barlow. Using a ZWO ASI120MC camera ('Best' of 1K frames), SER movie file captured with SharpCap.
Images processed with PIPP then stacked with AS!2 / Registax-6 finally tweaked in PS.
Equipment
Imaging Telescopes Or Lenses
Coronado PST
Imaging Cameras
Point Grey Grasshopper3 GS3-U3-23S6M-C
Mounts
Celestron Omni CG-4
Accessories
OnStep Telescope Mount Goto Controller
Software
Adobe Photoshop · AstroSharp Ltd SharpCap · Emil Kraaikamp AutoStakkert!
Acquisition details
Date: Oct. 11, 2022
Frames: 200
FPS: 15
Focal length: 700
Resolution: 2011x1510
File size: 2.5 MB
Data source: Backyard
Reprocessed data using new tricks in PixInsight!
The Leo Triplet (also known as the M66 Group) is a small group of galaxies about 35 million light-years away in the constellation Leo. This galaxy group consists of the spiral galaxies M65, M66, and NGC 3628.
Image Details:
- Imaging Scope: Astrotelescopes ED 80mm Refractor
- Imaging Camera: ZWO ASI183MC Color with UV/IR Blocking filter
- Guiding Scope: William Optics 66mm Petzval
- Guiding Camera: Orion Starshoot Auto Guider
- Acquisition Software: Sharpcap
- Guiding Software: PHD2
- Light Frames: 12*3 mins @ 50 Gain, Temp -16C
- Stacked in Deep Sky Stacker
- Processed in PixInsight and Adobe Lightroom
Mono - processed with ImPPG and Photoshop CC 2017
Captured with:
Altair StarWave 102ED f/7
Altair Hypercam IMX174 mono
Daystar Quark Chromosphere Ha filter
Sharpcap 3.0
8.05.2019 : Messier 51 The Whirlpool Galaxy (NGC5194)
A spiral galaxy which lies in the constellation of Canes Venatici (latin for hunting dogs).
Its distance is estimated to be between 15 and 35 million light-years.
Telescope: Altair Astro StarWave 102ED f/7 x1.0 flattener
Camera: AA IMX183C PROTEC Hypercam
Mount: SkyWatcher AZ-EQ6-GT
Guidescope: AA 60mm Guider
Guidecam: AA GPCAM120M
Filter: SkyTech LPRO-MAX
40x 180sec Lights, 45x Dark, 50x Flat.
(Gain= 400 BL= 20 TEC= -15C)
Captured with SharpCap Pro 3.2
Integration with Astro Pixel Processor
Post processing with Pixinsight 1.8.6 and Photoshop CC2019
6 images - de-rotated
Seeing 2.5/5
Transparency 3/5
Collimation slightly off.
C9.25 EDGEHD
ZWO120MC
SharpCap
Winjupos
AutoStakkert
PixInsight
Jupiter Europa, early in the morning August 06, 2022
C-9.25XLT and ASI224mc camera. above Average seeing for my location. Best 25% frames stacked out of 18381.
SharpCap Settings
-------------------------------
Observer=Pascal De Sanctis
Location=Coteau du lac,qc
Scope=C9.25 XLT
Camera=ZWO ASI224MC
Profile=Jupiter
Diameter=45.75"
Magnitude=-2.71
CMI=29.6° CMII=36.8° CMIII=313.7° (during mid of capture)
FocalLength=5300mm (F/22)
Resolution=0.15"
Filename=2022-08-06-0818_5-U-G-Jup.ser
Date=060822
Altitude=46.12°
FocalLength=5300mm (F/22)
Frames captured=17116
Duration=180.006s
FPS (avg.)=95
Bit depth=8bit
ROI=640x480
ROI(Offset)=0x0
Shutter=10.50ms
Gain=250 (41%)
AutoExposure=off
AutoGain=off
Brightness=20
Gamma=41
On the morning of Friday 13th May my friend Stuart tipped me off that there was a huge looping prominence visible on the Sun. It was cloudy at the time but I could see a few gaps possibly heading my way so I set up the solar telescope just in case. What followed was a hugely frustrating imaging session, with strong gusts of wind and lots of cloud scudding past the Sun every time I started to capture video. My laptop screen also hadn't been fixed yet so it was incredibly difficult to get focus and exposure right. By the time I got a clear look at the Sun the large prominence in question had lifted off and vanished! However, I manage to get some ok shots out of the imaging session.
Coronado PST and ASI120MC fitted with a 2 x Barlow. I shot either 500 or 1000 frame videos with SharpCap and stacked the best 50% of the frames using Autostakkert! 3. Processing was done in Lightroom, Photoshop CS2 and Fast Stone Image Viewer.
Altair 102ED-R, SkyWatcher EQ6-R Pro, Altair Hypercam 183C, Captured with SharpCap Pro. Only 5 x 2Min Subs. Test shot. Processed in APP and Adobe CC.
Using Live Stack mode in SharpCap. 384 * 6 sec frames.
so around 40 mins. Unguided, rough polar alignment and Bortle 7
empilement d'images de 0.3 ms issues d'un fichier avi
Télescope Newton Perl Bellatrix 200/1000
monture NEQ5 motorisée
camera ZWO ASI120
Filtre polarisant Baader
logiciel de capture Sharpcap
traitement as3, registax et Lightroom
Lieu d'observation : Yssandon (19) France
3-minute series completed 10:33 pm EDT on 3 Oct 2020
Celestron C8 with 2X barlow
ZWO ASI224MC camera
SharpCap, PIPP, Autostakkert, RegiStax
Northern Nassau County, NY
Maybe..just maybe the dust is settling down a bit(?)
Transparency (3/5)
Seeing (2/5)
C9.25 EDGEHD (F=2350mm)
ZWO120MC
SharpCap
Winjupos
AutoStakkert
PixInsight
False colour - processed with ImPPG and Photoshop CC 2017
Captured with:
Altair StarWave 102ED f/7
Altair Hypercam IMX174 mono
Daystar Quark Chromosphere Ha filter
Sharpcap 3.0
M: iOptron EQ45-Pro
T: WO GTF81
C: ZWO ASI1600MC
Gain: 300; RGB24; FITs
Frames: 10 Lights; 5 Darks; 2 flats
Exp: 31s
Cropped,
Capture: Sharpcap
Processed: DSS; PS
Not the best of seeing condition this morning. Facing towards Valles Marineris area.
Seeing 2.5/5
Transparency 3/5.
10 images derotated. 1.5X drizzle
C9.25 EDGEHD (F=2350mm)
ZWO120MC
SharpCap
Winjupos
AutoStakkert
PixInsight
This lovely sunspot has just rotated into view and is currently nestled in amongst a group of faculae. There was a lovely prominence on the limb above the sunspot and there are lots of spicules visible along the limb.
Taken from Oxfordshire with a Coronado PST and ASI120MC + Celestron 3x Barlow. The telescope was on an EQ5 Pro mount tracking at solar speed. A 2,000 frame video was captured using SharpCap, then the best 50% of the frames were stacked in Autostakkert! 3. Stacked image was processed in Lightroom and Fast Stone Image Viewer. The colour was removed before processing then false colour added back in using Photoshop CS2 once the image had been processed.
Deuxième session planétaire à la sueur de mon front ! Et oui, je n'avais aucun moteur sur ma monture et c'était une vraie galère de garder la belle aux anneaux centrée dans l'œil de ma webcam.
Fichier vidéo de 22 secondes à 60 images par secondes
Capture SharpCap
Empilement Autostakkert
Traitement Registax
Webcam spc900nc + Barlow x2
Skywatcher 130/900 sur eq2 non motorisée
IC 2177 - The Seagull Nebula in SHO
-
IC 2177 is a region of nebulosity that lies along the border between the constellations Monoceros and Canis Major. It is a roughly circular H II region centered on the Be star HD 53367.[5] This nebula was discovered by Welsh amateur astronomer Isaac Roberts and was described by him as "pretty bright, extremely large, irregularly round, very diffuse." - Wikipedia
-
Astrobin: www.astrobin.com/yqvsfd/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/colorado_astro/
-
Gear:
Camera: ASI294MM-Pro w/ EAF, EFW
Filters: Astrodon 5nm Ha,OIII,SII
Scope: Meade 70mm Quad APO
Guidescope: Williams Optics 30mm Uniguide
Guidecam: ASI120MM mini
Mount: SW EQ6R Pro
Pegasus Astro Pocket Power Box
Astro-Zap dew heaters
-
Image details:
87x300s HA, Gain 120, -10c, bin 2x2
74x300s OIII, Gain 120, -10c, bin 2x2
65x300s OIII, Gain 120, -10c, bin 2x2
25 darks, flats, darkflats
18.8 hrs total
Bortle 5/6 sky
-
Acquisition/Edits:
SharpCap, NINA, PHD2, Stellarium, Pixinsight, Photoshop
Small write up on this work at my blog: astroimaging.ca/2019/10/10/rho-ophiuchi-with-rokinon-135mm/
Rokinon 135mm f2
D5300 Ha modded
AVX mount
ST80/QHY5L-II quiding
Sharpcap alignment
23 subs × 180s (dithered) at f2.8
50 flats and 50 bias
Stacked in DSS, processing in Pixinsight
Dynamic crop
DBE
Background Neutralization
Color Calibration
Histogram Transformation
Local Histogram Equalization
Multiscale Linear Transform
Curves
SCNR Green
Dark structure enhance
Morphological transformation for star reduction
The planet Jupiter, October 2011
taken with LX10 8" SCT, TeleVue 2.5x Barlow, ToUcam, SharpCap.
capture rate 5fps, 400 of 900 frames, Registax.
Celestron NexStar 6SE, ZWO asi224mc with IR cut filter, 2.5x TeleVue Powermate and ZWO ADC. Captured in SharpCap, processed in PIPP, AutoStakkert, RegiStax Wavelets then Lightroom.
Comet 46P/Wirtanen.
Very hazy skies and high clouds, it hadn't quite cleared and its come out in the processing. Found it tricky to balance the colours but think i've got it about as well as I can.
20x 60sec exposures stacked with DSS, 2 methods tried, stacked on comet and stars gave the more pleasing result.
Altair Astro 72EDF
AA183C PROTEC Hypercam
iOptron CEM25P
SharpCap 3.2 Pro
Post processing with DeepSkyStacker, PixInsight and Photoshop CC2019
Still a very dusty looking Mars!
Transparency (4/5)
Seeing (2.5/5)
C9.25 EDGEHD (F=2350mm)
ZWO120MC
SharpCap
Winjupos
AutoStakkert
PixInsight
Taken on 28 May 2017 with ZWO ASI224 MC Camera, connected to Celestron NexStar 6 SE Telescope. Video was captured in SharpCap, processed in Registax 6 and touched-up in PhotoShop.
It is a planetary nebula found in northern constellation of Lyra. Such objects are formed when a shell of ionised gas is expelled into the surrounding interstellar medium by a red giant star, which was passing through the last stage in its evolution before becoming a white dwarf.
It has a distance of 2,300 light-years from Earth.
Tránsito de Mercurio
Telescopio: Skywatcher Refractor AP 120/900 f7.5 EvoStar ED
Cámara: ZWO ASI178MM
Montura: iOptron CEM40
Filtros: - Baader Neutral Density Filter 1¼" (ND 0.9, T=12.5%)
- Baader Solar Continuum Filter 1¼" (540nm)
Accesorio: Baader 2" Cool-Ceramic Safety Herschel Prism
Software: SharpCap, AutoStakkert, Registax y Photoshop
Fecha: 2019-11-11
Hora: 12:41 T.U. (Tiempo universal)
Lugar: 42.615 N -6.417 W (Bembibre Spain)
Vídeo: 30 segundos
Resolución: 800 x 600
Gain: 72
Exposure: 0,000032
Frames: 3052
Frames apilados: 16%
FPS: 101.68
M31 Andromeda Galaxy captured from my garden in Stockport (10.10.2018)
Altair Astro #72EDF refractor with x0.8 reducer fitted.
AA183CPROTEC #altairastro #183Chypercam
iOptron CEM25P mount
AA 50mm Guiderscope
ALTAIRGP130M #gpcam guide cam
PHD2
30x 3min exposures, 10x Darks, 15x Flats
Gain = 300
TEC cooled set at -10C
Captured with #SharpCap Pro 3.2
Stacked with DSS
Processed with PixInsight
Final tweeks with Adobe Photoshop CC2018
NGC 2903 is a field barred spiral galaxy about 30 million light-years away in the constellation Leo.
Completely new to DSO imaging with the IMX178 colour Hypercam, so I am not quite up to speed with the settings, exposure/gain etc But for such a distant target its not come out as bad as I thought it might.
Imaged with Sharpcap 3.1beta
60sec exposures - Gain @ 800
40x Lights
20x Dark
20x Bias
20x Flats
Altair Astro StarWave 102ED f/7 + x0.8 reducer/flattener
Altair Hypercam IMX178 colour
IDAS D1-2 LPS filter.
SkyWatcher AZ-EQ6 mount
Altair 60mm finder/guider - V1 GPCAM mono guide cam.
PHD2 2.6.4
Debayered, stacked and pre-processed with PixInsight
Final tweaks in Photoshop CC 2018
Messier 35 (M35) is a large open star cluster located in the northern constellation Gemini. The cluster consists of several hundred stars, of which 120 are brighter than magnitude 13. The central region has a density of 6.21 stars per cubic parsec. The cluster has an apparent magnitude of 5.3 and lies at an approximate distance of 2,800 light years from Earth.
The smaller cluster at lower right is NGC 2158, which is an open cluster in the constellation of Gemini. It is, in angle, immediately southwest of open cluster Messier 35, and is believed to be about 2 billion years old. The two clusters are unrelated, as the subject is around 9,000 light years further away.
Image Details:
- Imaging Scope: William Optics 61mm Zenithstar II Doublet
- Imaging Camera: ZWO ASI183MC Color with IR Cut filter
- Guiding Systeme: Celestron StarSense Autoguider
- Guiding Camera: Orion Starshoot Auutoguider
- Acquisition Software: Sharpcap
- Capture Software: SharpCap Pro
- Light Frames: 20*2 mins @ 100 Gain, Temp -20C
- Dark Frames: 10*2 mins
- Stacked in Deep Sky Stacker
- Processed in PixInsight, Adobe Lightroom and Topaz Denoise AI
Bode’s (M81) and Cigar (M82) Galaxies
This pair of galaxies are found in the constellation of Ursa Major and are approximately 12 million light-years distant. In the core of the Cigar, intense starburst activity (rapid star formation) leads to a band of glowing hydrogen blasting out of its central regions seen pictured here. The diameter of this starburst activity is about 1600 light-years, that’s the over 100 million times the distance between the Earth and the Sun.
Equipment:
- Skywatcher HEQ5-pro (Rowan Belt Mod)
- Canon 800d (modded)
- Explore Scientific ED APO 102mm F7 FCD-100 Triplet Carbon Fibre
- Hotech SCA 1x field flattener
- ZWO ASI-120MM-mini guide camera
- Skywatcher Evoguide 50ED guidescope
- 2 inch mounted Optolong L-Pro
Acquisition:
- Sharpcap polar alignment, ASCOM guiding/dithering with PHD2
- APT image acquisition
- Lights - 77 x 180s ISO200, 12 x 180s ISO400, 20 x 30s ISO1600, 8 x 120s ISO1600, 15 x 240s (total integration 353 minutes)
C/2022 E3 in Corona Borealis
70 x 1minute exposures stacked in APP and processed in Pixinsight.
This was hard to process due to lots of high cloud messing with the seeing. I actually shot 3h of data, had to abandon 70m to cloud, and another 40m to low star counts.
Hypercam 183C, RC8, Sharpcap, APP, Pixinsight.
Taken with a Celestron C6 SCT, Celestron AVX mount, 2x Barlow, and ASI120MC. Captured with SharpCap, stacked with AutoStakkert, and processed with Astra Image Pro and Photoshop.
Target: IC 5070 - The Pelican Nebula
Gear:
Camera: ASI1600MM w/ EAF, EFW
Filters: Astrodon 5nm Ha, 3nm SII, OIII
Scope: Orion 8" f5 Newt at 1000mm
Guidescope: Williams Optics 50mm
Guidecam: ASI120MM mini
Mount: SW EQ6R Pro
Pegasus Astro Pocket Power Box
Astro-Zap dew heaters
Image details:
40x300s HA, Gain 139, -15c
39x300s OIII, Gain 139, -15c
39x300s SII, Gain 139, -15c
25 darks, flats, darkflats
9.8 hrs total
Bortle 5/6 sky
Acquisition/Edits:
SharpCap, NINA, PHD2, Stellarium, Pixinsight, Photoshop, Topaz Denoise AI
For more of my images, check out my Instagram here:
Tránsito de Mercurio
Telescopio: Skywatcher Refractor AP 120/900 f7.5 EvoStar ED
Cámara: ZWO ASI178MM
Montura: iOptron CEM40
Filtros: - Baader Neutral Density Filter 1¼" (ND 0.9, T=12.5%)
- Baader Solar Continuum Filter 1¼" (540nm)
Accesorio: Baader 2" Cool-Ceramic Safety Herschel Prism
Software: SharpCap, AutoStakkert, Registax y Photoshop
Fecha: 2019-11-11
Hora: 12:39 T.U. (Tiempo universal)
Lugar: 42.615 N -6.417 W (Bembibre Spain)
Vídeo: 30 segundos
Resolución: 1600 x 1200
Gain: 72
Exposure: 0,000032
Frames: 1543
Frames apilados: 18%
FPS: 51.05
Jupiter.
Celestron NexStar 6SE,
ZWO asi224mc with IR cut filter,
TeleVue 2.5x Powermate,
2.5 minute capture in SharpCap run through PIPP saving the best 1200 to run through AutoStakkert!2 and stacking the best 20%, sharpened in RegiStax and finished in Lightroom.
AUTORE: Aldo Rocco Vitale (Gruppo Astrofili Catanesi “Guido Ruggieri”)
DATA: 6 gennaio 2018
ORA: 04:45
LOCALITA’: S. Agata Li Battiati (CT) 250 m. s.l.m.
TEMPERATURA: 8°
UMIDITA’: 85%
SEEING: 4
TRASPARENZA: 3
FASE: 54%
DISTANZA: n/d
OBIETTIVO: Celestron Nexstar C11; D=280 mm; F=5600 mm; f/20
CAMERA DI RIPRESA: ZWO ASI 120MC
SOFTWARE DI ELABORAZIONE: Sharpcap + Avistack2 + Pixinsight + Astroart
May 27, 2024 sun
Esprit 80
Daystar Quark Hydrogen filter
QHY174, SharpCap, 66fps
80/250 frames stacked. IMPPG, PixInsight, Lightroom
Object Details: After imaging the Sun one afternoon a few weeks ago I was able to catch the Lunar 'X' & Lunar 'V' (shown at the link attached here:
www.flickr.com/photos/homcavobservatory/51212338570/ ).
Having a few extra minutes that evening I decided to shoot a couple of short video clips along the rest of the lunar terminator. Since I tend to image with multiple cameras simultaneously, as can be seen in the attached composite, I also took a few quick stills using a 'wider-field' scope simply as a reference as to overall location.
Image Details: Taken by Jay Edwards at the HomCav Observatory on the evening of May 18th, 2021; the top shows a three panel mosaic of the terminator along a 6 day old waxing crescent moon and at bottom is a 'full disk' reference image. The mosaic was shot using a vintage 1970, 8-inch, f/7 Criterion newtonian reflector and a ZWO ASI290MC with a lum filter - connected at prime focus while the reference image was taken using an ED80T CF (i.e. an 80MM, f/6 carbon-fiber, triplet apochromatic refractor) connected to a 0.8x Televue focal reducer / field flattener and an unmodded Canon 700D DSLR. The 80mm apo. was piggybacked on the 8-inch, along with an 80MM f/5 Celestron 'short-tube' doublet (for guiding when imaging DSOs) as well as a few other items (e.g. a CCD & wide-field camera lens, etc.) and these optics were tracked using a Losmandy G-11 mount running a Gemini 2 control system.
I have labeled the locations of the Lunar 'X' & 'V' as well as one of my favorite 'geologic' lunar features that, although not perfectly lit, I thought appears somewhat decently in this phase of illumination, 'Vallis Alpes' (Latin for The 'Alpine Valley'). Unlike the 'X' & 'V' which result from pareidolia, the Alpine Valley is a 166 km (103 mi.) long, 10km (6 mi.) wide graben (i.e. a physically depressed section of the moon's crust between parallel faults).
The video clips with the ASI290MC on the 8-inch were controlled by SharpCap Pro, while the individual frames taken with the DSLR on the 80MM apo. were sequenced with AstroPhotographyTool (APT). Processed using a combination of AutoStakkert, Registax & PaintShopPro, as presented here the luminance / lightness channels have been extracted, the entire composite has been reduced to 2 x that of HD resolution (approx. 1/2's the original size).
A shot using the same 8-inch Criterion & ASI290MC camera showing additional lighting on the Alpine Valley region during a first quarter moon back in 2019 can be found at the link attached here:
www.flickr.com/photos/homcavobservatory/48070020973/in/al...
Tránsito de Mercurio
Telescopio: Skywatcher Refractor AP 120/900 f7.5 EvoStar ED
Cámara: ZWO ASI178MM
Montura: iOptron CEM40
Filtros: - Baader Neutral Density Filter 1¼" (ND 0.9, T=12.5%)
- Baader Solar Continuum Filter 1¼" (540nm)
Accesorio: Baader 2" Cool-Ceramic Safety Herschel Prism
Software: SharpCap, AutoStakkert, Registax y Photoshop
Fecha: 2019-11-11
Hora: 12:43 T.U. (Tiempo universal)
Lugar: 42.615 N -6.417 W (Bembibre Spain)
Vídeo: 30 segundos
Resolución: 3096 x 2080
Gain: 72
Exposure: 0,000032
Frames: 529
Frames apilados: 20%
FPS: 17.65
The egress of Mars from behind the moon after Occulation
One if the great astro events of 2022, the occulation of the moon and the planet Mars, where Mars appeared to disappear behind the moon and reappeared an hour later on the other side.
Beset with issues on a well planned night, the weather bought clouds for the beginning at 4:57am so I was unable to capture anything at the time but the re-appearance at 5:57 looked epic, I've seen many photos online only my scope was looking in the wrong part of the moon, so I missed it, but I did realise and scanned around and found it. Captured a couple of vids in Sharpcap, then the battery died on the laptop
So pleased to see both detail on the moon and Mars it was a sight to behold, my thoughts were that the moonlight would washout Mars, fortunatley the sky was super clear and both were crisp.
From the video of 2000 frames I reduced it to 600 frames in PIPP, then took the best 300 frames and stacked them in Autostakkert, a little adjustment in a adobe photoshop and acr and there it was. So pleased I got back up at 5:45am to take another look as the sky was just clearing
Equipment:
Skywatcher 80ED DS Pro refractor
ZWO ASI224MC planetary camera
Celestron x2 barlow
Skywatcher discovery goto Alt Az mount, syncsan app
Images captured in Sharcap 64fps, full resolution
Aberkenfig, South Wales
Lat +51.542 Long -3.593
Skywatcher 254mm Newtonian, Tal 2x Barlow, ZWO ASI 120MC. Captured using Sharpcap.
Processed with Registax 6 & G.I.M.P.
Having not seen clear skies here in upstate, NY for quite some time I thought I'd take a first look at processing a few quick shots I captured back on September 20th of this year's Harvest Moon.
Object Details: The attached shows both 'full disk' images as well as 'close-ups' of the area surrounding the rayed crater Tycho.
Although the crater itself is very conspicuous at the bottom of the full disk images, it's extensive ray system is probably it's best known feature. Very prominent during a full moon, they are probably best seen in the negative brightness channel image at upper right. Resulting from a (relatively) recent impact 108 million years ago, Tycho is 85 km (53 mi) in diameter. Being about 4,800 m (15,700 ft or ~ 3 mi.) in depth, it's central peaks rise 1,600 m (5,200 ft or nearly a mile) above the crater floor.
Image Details: The images that make up the attached composite were taken by Jay Edwards at the HomCav Observatory between the 01:39 and 03:06 September 21, 2021 (UT date & time).
The full disk image at top left, utilized a Canon 700D controlled by APT & connected to an ED80T CF (i.e. an Orion 80mm, f/6 carbon-fiber triplet apochromatic refractor), and a 0.8X Televue field flattener / focal reducer as is a stack of 17 'lights-only' frames shot at 1/1000 sec and ISO 100. Shown at top right is this image that has had it's brightness channel extracted and then negated, a technique meant to emphasize fine detail.
The shots of Tycho are stacks of selected frames from short video clips taken with an ASI290MC 'planetary camera / auto-guider' controlled by SharpCap Pro on a vintage 1970, 8-inch, f/7 Criterion newtonian reflector using both luminance and infrared filters (all other things held equal, the infrared wavelengths tend to be less affected by the atmospheric distortions associated with bad seeing conditions).
As noted at center is a one-shot-color version of each, and since humans tend to see detail in an image via it's brightness & contrast (as opposed to it's color) variations, at left the brightness channel has been extracted from the OSCs, and like the full disk image above it, at right the brightness channel extractions have been negated in an attempt to bring out additional detail.
Both of these scopes were mounted on and tracked by a Losmandy G-11 running a Gemini 2 control system and the images were processed using a combination of AS3, Registax & PaintShopPro. As presented here in the HD composite the full disk images have been reduced to one third their original resolution while the close-ups have been reduced down to one-half their original size and all are presented as 8 bits per channel.
Wishing clear, dark & calm skies to all; and of course, a very Happy, Healthy, Safe & Prosperous New Year !!!
Ecco una bella immagine del pianeta a soli 5 giorni dalla congiunzione inferiore.
La fase di ripresa non è stata facile a causa delle raffiche di vento e della turbolenza atmosferica. Ho dovuto anche aumentare il contrasto perchè quasi non riuscivo a vedere il pianeta durante la messa a fuoco.
Telescopio Celestron 114/910 Newton
Montatura eq2 motorizzata Sky-Watcher
Camera QHY5L-II-C
Barlow 2,5X tripletto Tecnosky
Filtro UV IR cut
Sharpcap 4.0 per acquisire un video contenente 9322 fotogrammi
PIPP, AS!3, Astrosurface U3 per elaborarne 674
Data e ora: 8 agosto 2023 alle 14:47 UTC
Luogo: Cabras, Sardegna, Italia
Date Imaged: April 22 2015
Location: Bethalto, IL
Exposures: Best 25% of 750
Captured: SharpCap
Stacked: AutoStakkert2
Processed: Photoshop
Scope: SkyWatcher ED80
Reducer: GSO .5
Camera: ASI174MM
Mount: CG5
Filters: Quark Chromosphere
AUTORE: Aldo Rocco Vitale (Gruppo Astrofili Catanesi “Guido Ruggieri”)
DATA: 28 dicembre 2017
ORA: 20:25
LOCALITA’: S. Agata Li Battiati (CT) 250 m. s.l.m.
TEMPERATURA: 10°
UMIDITA’: 60%
SEEING: 4
TRASPARENZA: 3
FASE: 77%
DISTANZA: 370.544,157 Km
OBIETTIVO: Celestron Nexstar C11; D=280 mm; F=1764 mm; f/6.3
CAMERA DI RIPRESA: ZWO ASI 120MC
SOFTWARE DI ELABORAZIONE: Sharpcap + Avistack2 + Pixinsight + Astroart
Equipment
Imaging Telescopes Or Lenses
Coronado PST
Imaging Cameras
Point Grey Grasshopper3 GS3-U3-23S6M-C
Mounts
Celestron Omni CG-4
Accessories
OnStep Telescope Mount Goto Controller
Software
Adobe Photoshop · AstroSharp Ltd SharpCap · Emil Kraaikamp AutoStakkert!
Acquisition details
Date: Oct. 9, 2022
Frames: 250
FPS: 25
Focal length: 800
Resolution: 3024x3867
File size: 19.2 MB
Data source: Backyard
Object Details: Having gotten a break in the weather yesterday I thought I'd take advantage of it to try to capture a few quick shots of two enormous sunspot groups currently facing Earth. Although the seeing was poor (2 out of 5), given the fact that each of the cores of these groups is itself larger than the entire Earth, a fair amount of detail was still visible (for size comparison, an image of Earth scaled to the size of the close-up shots has been added below center).
The attached composite shows how the Sun appeared from approximately 16:00 to 17:00 UT on October 28, 2021 from the RoR observatory I built at my home here in upstate, NY. As can bee seen Active Region 2981 has just rotated onto the visible side, while AR 2887 lies near center. Both areas are surrounded by a great deal of plage (i.e. brighter, hotter areas of the surface often associated with large active regions), and as is typical, this is most easily seen when sunspot groups are nearer the limb (as in AR 2891's current position).
It should be noted that AR 2887 released an X1 class solar flare yesterday at 15:35 UT, accompanied by an associated Coronal Mass Ejection. As would be expected given it's somewhat central location on the disk, this CME appears to be Earth directed and a G3 geomagnetic storm may result. As detailed in the graph at bottom center, the Sun appears to be headed toward it's next solar maximum a bit earlier than expected, and with possibly a higher peak than originally anticipated.
With spring and fall being somewhat preferential for auroral displays, as can be seen at center, 18 years ago today, when near the solar maximum of Cycle 23, our area was treated to one of the best auroral display I have ever witnessed. With the geomagnetic storm lasting more than two days the images at center were taken from my back yard with a simple Canon A40 point-and-shoot camera on a tripod as the sky was enveloped horizon-to-horizon with a variety of auroral structures in ever-changing colors and hues.
(a slightly higher resolution of this auroral composite can be found at the link attached here: www.flickr.com/photos/homcavobservatory/48982448196/in/al... )
Image Details: Taken by Jay Edwards at the HomCav Observatory, the full disk image is simply meant for reference as to the location of the active regions and is a single-frame shot using an Orion ED80T CF (i.e. an 80MM, f/6, carbon-fiber, trplet, apochromatic refractor) connected to a 0.8X Televue field flattener / focal reducer and an unmodded Canon 700D (t5i) DSLR with an over-the-aperature Kendrik whie-light solar filter.
The close-ups were shot using a vintage 1970, 8-inch, f/7, Criterion newtonian reflector connected at prime focus to a ZWO ASI290MC 'planetary camera / autoguider. The 8-inch used a homemade off-axis Baader (visual grade) material 'over-the-aperture' white-light solar filter, in addition to a luminance filter (at top) and an ultraviolet filter (at bottom) on the ASI290MC. With the 80MM apo. riding piggyback on the 8-inch newt., these scopes were tracked using a Losmandy G-11 mount running a Gemini 2 control system.
The DSLR was controlled by AstrophotographyTool (APT), while SharpCap Pro was used for the ASI290MC, whose video clips were then stacked and processed using a combination of Registax & PaintShopPro. Although I have yet to examine or process most of the video clips, in addition to the Lum & UV shown here, I was able to get a few quick shots using Infrared & Methane filters on the 8-inch (in combination with the over-the-aperture white-light filter of course).
With the current solar cycle expected to reach a maximum between Nov. 2024 & Mar. 2026, with sometime around July 2025 being the best prediction at this point in time, it will be interesting to see what the next few years may bring ! As quoted from one of my favorite sci-fi trilogies that I first read so many years ago (Dune, Dune Messiah & Children Of Dune) 'The sleeper must awaken ! ' :)
Happy Halloween To All !!!
Similar composites using various filters can be found at the links attached below:
Solar:
www.flickr.com/photos/homcavobservatory/51319924807/
www.flickr.com/photos/homcavobservatory/50815383151/
www.flickr.com/photos/homcavobservatory/50657578913/
www.flickr.com/photos/homcavobservatory/51027134346/
www.flickr.com/photos/homcavobservatory/51295865404/
Saturn:
www.flickr.com/photos/homcavobservatory/51489515877/
www.flickr.com/photos/homcavobservatory/51417055085/
www.flickr.com/photos/homcavobservatory/51345118465/
www.flickr.com/photos/homcavobservatory/51316298333/
www.flickr.com/photos/homcavobservatory/50347485511/
www.flickr.com/photos/homcavobservatory/50088602376/
www.flickr.com/photos/homcavobservatory/51007634042/
Jupiter:
www.flickr.com/photos/homcavobservatory/51489515877/
www.flickr.com/photos/homcavobservatory/51405393195/
www.flickr.com/photos/homcavobservatory/51335239208/
www.flickr.com/photos/homcavobservatory/50303645602/
www.flickr.com/photos/homcavobservatory/50052655691/
www.flickr.com/photos/homcavobservatory/50123276377/
www.flickr.com/photos/homcavobservatory/50185470067/
www.flickr.com/photos/homcavobservatory/50993968018/
www.flickr.com/photos/homcavobservatory/51090643939/
Mars:
www.flickr.com/photos/homcavobservatory/50425593297/
www.flickr.com/photos/homcavobservatory/50594729106/