M11, the Wild Duck cluster

About an hours worth of data captured with the H183C, RC8 and Sharpcap, stacked in DSS and processed in Pixinsight, A but overstretched i think.

While I was playing with my new portable mount, I was imaging the Sun with a Coronado PST and ASI120MC fitted with a 2x Barlow. I imaged the same regions of the Sun in H-alpha then tuned the etalon back to white light. This telescope gives horrendous Newton's Rings when the etalon is tuned to white light but my usual white light imaging rig won't attach to the new mount.

Both images here were 1,000 frame videos captured with SharpCap, then the best 30% were stacked. Colour was removed before processing then I added false colour back in at the end using Photoshop.

Lots of active regions visible on the Sun at the moment so it was interesting to see the various regions side by side in the different lights. The faculae were really popping in the white light images!

Jupiter and 3 of the moons, 9 September 2012.

Celestron NexStar 5se, Philips SPC900NC, captured using Sharpcap and processed in Registax 6 and Photoshop.

Equipment:

- Nikon D90 (Astro-Mod)

- Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer

- Sky-Watcher Tripod

- AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6

- Bahintov Mask

- Intervalometer

- Laptop

- All Sky Plate Solver

- Sharpcap

- Stellarium

Acquisition:

- Taken from a bortle class 2 zone

- 407 x 1″ light frames – total 6 hours 47 minutes (taken across - 2 nights)

- 59 dark frames

- 400 flat frames

- 500 bias frames

Processing:

- Manually stacked in pixinsight

- Crop to remove stacking artifacts

- Image solver

- DBE

- Photometric Color Calibration

- Deconvolution

- Noise Reduction (TGV + MMT)

- HSV reparation

- Masked stretch

- Star reduction x2

- Curves with and without masks

- Sharpening

Speaking of developing skill at mosaics....

These are 23 images stitched together. Unfortunately I didn't get full coverage of the lunar disk. Since this was "first light" for the new MAK, I was having too much fun playing with the scope to give much thought to a mosaic. Nonetheless, I find this image impressive. In particular, it was taken about an hour to an hour and half after sunrise in morning daylight. I used an IR pass filter. It worked pretty good I think. Seeing was crummy and I had a hard time focusing, particularly since I had to manually adjust the focusing knob by hand. Practice will make perfect, or at least better.

SharpCap; ASI585MC; ROI of each frame was 1800x1800; SVbony IR pass filter.

Foto Izquierda - Sol medio completo

Telescopio: Skywatcher Refractor AP 120/900 f7.5 EvoStar ED

Cámara: ZWO ASI178MM

Montura: EQ5 Bresser EXOS2 motorizada sin goto

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: 2019-04-02

Hora: 15:21 T.U.

Lugar: 42.615 N -6.417 W (Bembibre Spain)

Vídeo: 2 minutos

Resolución: 3096 x 2080

Gain: 56

Exposure: 0,000032

Frames: 1707

Frames apilados: 16%

FPS: 14.19

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Foto derecha - detalle manchas

Telescopio: Skywatcher Refractor AP 120/900 f7.5 EvoStar ED

Cámara: ZWO ASI178MM

Montura: EQ5 Bresser EXOS2 motorizada sin goto

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: 2019-04-02

Hora: 15:24 T.U.

Lugar: 42.615 N -6.417 W (Bembibre Spain)

Vídeo: 2 minutos

Resolución: 800 x 600

Gain: 0

Exposure: 0,000032

Frames: 19173

Frames apilados: 9%

FPS: 159.54

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Telescope: Altair Astro Starwave 102ED-R (2017)

Mount: HEQ5 Pro (Rowan Belt Drive), Berlebach Tripod

Cam: Altair IMX178MC Hypercam, Altair 0.6x Focal Reducer,

Filter: Variable Moon Filter

Accessories: Pegasus Stepper Motor Focuser

Capture: SharpCap Pro 3.1 Beta (500 subs, 80 processed)

Processed: PIPP and Registax

Finished in Lightroom

Orion Nebula

Jan 2021 from Sonning Common, UK.

SW 130PDS

SW NEQ6 PRO Synscan Goto Mount

ZWO ASI294MC PRO with Baader CC and Optolong LPRO filter.

20 sec unguided exposures. Total time 75 minutes.

Sharpcap Pro, DSS, Startools.

Time to play with the new toys! First image taken with my Meade LX90 telescope and Mintron 72S85HP-EX video camera. The camera is primarily to be used for 'live' viewing on a monitor as it outputs composite video. Using a usb frame grabber I captured a short video on my laptop using SharpCap. After processing in Registax I cleaned up the final image using Photoshop Elements. Rough and ready I know but it'll do for a first effort. Once I've got some more practice I'll start hunting down those galaxies, nebulas and star clusters!

C8, F/6.3

Evo mount on wedge

ASI533MC Pro, UV/IR cut filter

350 gain, 75x_8.0s_600s

Saved as viewed in Sharpcap + Topaz DeNoise AI

Copper Breaks State Park Texas, Bortle 2

NGC 7635, also known as the Bubble Nebula, Sharpless 162, or Caldwell 11, is an H II region emission nebula in the constellation Cassiopeia estimated to be 7,100 - 11,000 ly away. It lies close to the direction of the open cluster Messier 52. The "bubble" is created by the stellar wind from a massive hot, 8.7 magnitude young central star, SAO 20575. The nebula is near a giant molecular cloud which contains the expansion of the bubble nebula while itself being excited by the hot central star, causing it to glow. It was discovered in 1787 by William Herschel.

-Wikipedia

This is an image of Jupiter shot with my Celestron f/10 SC11 telescope and the monochrome ZWO 120mm-s planetary camera, fitted with a 2X barlow lens (thus f/20). It is the first image of Jupiter obtained with this telescope and camera used together. Three channels were combined to produce the image: infrared, green, and blue. Each channel was obtained from a 90 second AVI capture, and each channel was subsequently derotated in Winjupos. Software used was SharpCap, Castrator, VirtualDub, AutoStakkert2, Winjupos, PixInsight and Photoshop CS3. Shot on the evening of 26 march 2016.

-

Voici une image de Jupiter réalisée avec mon télescope Célestron SC11 f/10 et la caméra planétaire monchrome ZWO 120mm-s, munie d'un barlow 2X (donc f/20). C'est la première image de Jupiter obtenue avec le SC11 et cette caméra. Trois canaux ont été combinés pour réaliser l'image: infrarouge, vert et bleu. Chaque canal a été obtenu d'une capture AVI de 90 secondes, chaque canal étant par la suite dérotationné avec le logiciel Winjupos. Les logiciels utlisés sont SharpCap, Castrator, VirtualDub, AutoStakkert2, Winjupos, PixInsight et Photoshop CS3. Photographié le 26 mars 2016.

ES102ED

ZWO ASI1600

EQ6-R, Unguided

Sharpcap, Nebulosity, PixInsight, Photoshop

Caldwell 49

Using a basic astro setup. No triplets, CCDs, or heavy mounts here, just a trusty 80ED doublet and a DSLR.

Orion ED80 with x0.85 reducer and GSO focuser

Advanced VX mount

Nikon D5300 h-alpha modded

ST80 with QHY5L-II for phd guiding

Sharpcap polar alignment

12 dithered subs @ 200 iso x 480s = 1h 36min total

30 bias

30 flats

Bortle 2 skies at Nirvana (Irvine Lake Airstrip near Bon Echo Provincial Park, ON)

Image scale is at 1.58px

Guiding RMS was horrible - around 1.2 for DEC and 1.6 for RA

Transparency average

Seeing average

Imaged using BackyardNikon, Stacked in DSS, processing in Pixinsight.

Dynamic crop (just edges)

DBE

Background Neutralization

Color Calibration

SCNR Green

Luminence mask

MLT noise reduction on background

Histrogram transformation

Mask with stars mask subtracted for:

- LocalHistogramEq

Histogram adjustment

MLT Chrominance

Color saturation adjustment

Curves adjustment

Morphological transformation for star reduction

Dark structure enhance

SharpCap Live Stack

Photoshop Edit

RC6 AP CCDT67 f/6.77 1029mm FL

IDAS D1 Filter

[ZWO ASI294MC Pro]

FrameType=Light

Debayer Preview=On

Pan=0

Tilt=0

Output Format=FITS files (*.fits)

Binning=1

Capture Area=4144x2822

Colour Space=RAW16

High Speed Mode=On

Turbo USB=80(Auto)

Flip=None

Frame Rate Limit=Maximum

Gain=300

Exposure=30.000s

Timestamp Frames=Off

White Bal (B)=50

White Bal (R)=50

Brightness=10

Cooler Power=55

Temperature=-10

Target Temperature=-10

Cooler=On

Auto Exp Max Gain=285

Auto Exp Max Exp M S=30000

Auto Exp Target Brightness=110

Mono Bin=Off

Background Subtraction=Off

Planet/Disk Stabilization=Off

Banding Threshold=10

Banding Suppression=0

Apply Flat=E:\SharpCap Captures\2021-06-15\FLAT-202-300-MONO-BIAS\flats\22_08_34_offset=-0.009%.fits

Subtract Dark=E:\SharpCap Captures\darks\ZWO ASI294MC Pro\RAW16@4144x2822\30.0s\gain_300\dark_50_frames_-10.0C_2020-12-14T01_14_34.fits

Display Black Point=0

Display MidTone Point=0.5

Display White Point=1

Notes=

TimeStamp=2021-06-17T04:32:36.9429120Z

SharpCapVersion=4.0.7888.0

TotalExposure(s)=1830

StackedFrames=61

LiveStack.SaveRawFrames=None

LiveStack.AlignFrames=True

LiveStack.Derotate=True

LiveStack.StarsForAlignment=10

LiveStack.StarDetection.Sensitivity=80

LiveStack.StarDetection.SuppressHotPixels=True

LiveStack.AlignAutoDisabled=False

LiveStack.ReduceNoiseAmount=0.5

LiveStack.BrightnessLimit=84.32433

LiveStack.FilterBrightness=False

LiveStack.AutoBrightnessLimit=False

LiveStack.FWHMLimit=5.783784

LiveStack.FilterFWHM=False

LiveStack.WarningThreshold=5

LiveStack.StackingMode=1

LiveStack.SigmaClipInitialCount=10

LiveSack.SigmaClipThreshold=3

LiveStack.SigmaClipLowLimit=0.2645503

LiveStack.AutoSaveReset=False

LiveStack.AutoSaveResetMinutes=5

LiveStack.LogarithmicHistogramHorizontalAxis=True

LiveStack.AutoSave=False

LiveStack.BlackLevel=2.12922

LiveStack.WhiteLevel=96.5

LiveStack.MidLevel=3.331116

LiveStack.WBB.db=1.421232

LiveStack.WBG.db=-1.233487

LiveStack.WBR.db=9.419994

LiveStack.Saturation=1.1

AutoStretch.Strength=1

LiveStack.StarDetection.FaintStarsOptimization=False

This ISS solar transit was visible from our garden in Oxfordshire at 14:20:01 BST 15th June 2021.

I captured it from Oxfordshire, UK with a William Optics refractor fitted with a Thousand Oaks glass solar filter. The camera I used was an ASI120MC. The video was captured using SharpCap, then I processed the video using PIPP, extracted frames were processed in Lightroom, stacked in StarStaX then final tweaks in Photoshop CS2.

Today's transit was much easier to capture than yesterday's daytime Moon transit was, but the transit chord was not where the prediction showed, so it just shows that even with the best planning, it's possible than orbital changes to the ISS's orbit can change enough that you could miss the transit entirely. I'm glad I decided to do this without any Barlow lenses in place because if I hadn't had such a large amount of the solar disc in view, I would have missed this! The sunspot you can see on the upper left side is AR12833.

If you want to look for transits from your location, you can use the transit finder website: www.transit-finder.com

PLEASE NEVER ATTEMPT TO OBSREVE OR PHOTOGRAPH A SOLAR TRANSIT WITH A PROPER SOLAR FILTER IN PLACE - IT COULD RESULT IN PERMANENT EYE DAMAGE

If you want to see my VLOG as I captured this transit, you can find it on my You Tube channel here: youtu.be/oLMfIiQADKc

A close view of the Moon with its Plato crater and Montes Alpes mountain range...

Sol Región Activa 2740

Telescopio: Skywatcher Refractor AP 120/900 f7.5 EvoStar ED

Cámara: ZWO ASI178MM

Montura: EQ5 Bresser EXOS2 motorizada sin goto

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, Pipp, AutoStakkert, Registax y Photoshop

Fecha: 2019-05-04

Hora: 14:30 T.U.

Lugar: 42.615 N -6.417 W (Bembibre Spain)

Vídeo: 2 minutos

Resolución: 3096 x 2080

Gain: 34

Exposure: 0,000032

Frames: 1840

Frames apilados: 11%

FPS: 15.34

Taken on 19 June 2018, at approx 00.05 BST with Celestron NexStar 6 SCT & zwo asi224mc Camera. 2 videos captured with SharpCap & processed in PS & PSP8. The moons were copied from an overexposed image and pasted onto standard version in PSP 8.

SharpCap Live Stack

Photoshop Edit

RC6 f/9 1370mm FL

IDAS D1 Filter

[ZWO ASI294MC Pro]

FrameType=Light

Debayer Preview=On

Pan=0

Tilt=0

Output Format=FITS files (*.fits)

Binning=1

Capture Area=4144x2822

Colour Space=RAW16

High Speed Mode=Off

Turbo USB=50

Flip=None

Frame Rate Limit=Maximum

Gain=300

Exposure=60.000s

Timestamp Frames=Off

White Bal (B)=50

White Bal (R)=50

Brightness=10

Cooler Power=31

Temperature=-10

Target Temperature=-10

Cooler=On

Auto Exp Max Gain=300

Auto Exp Max Exp M S=30000

Auto Exp Target Brightness=100

Mono Bin=Off

Trail Width=3

Minimum Trail Length=100

Trail Detection Sensitivity=9

Remove Satellite Trails=Off

Background Subtraction=Off

Planet/Disk Stabilization=Off

Banding Threshold=20

Banding Suppression=10

Apply Flat=C:\Users\Chris\Desktop\SharpCap Captures\2023-03-29\FLAT-316-300-MONO-BIAS\flats\MasterFlat_22_27_22_offset=-0.067%.fits

Hot Pixel Sensitivity=5

Subtract Dark=C:\Users\Chris\Desktop\SharpCap Captures\darks\ZWO ASI294MC Pro\RAW16@4144x2822\60.0s\gain_300\MasterDark_25_frames_-10.0C_2023-03-03T22_17_19.fits

NegativeDisplay=0

Display Black Point=0

Display MidTone Point=0.5

Display White Point=1

Notes=IDAS D2 Filter;

iOptron CEM60,iEQ45Pro/30Pro,CEM25,SmartEQ Pro+,AZ Mount Pro,Cube II Mount=RA=14:04:09,Dec=+54:13:25 (JNOW)

TimeStamp=2023-03-30T06:22:40.9944395Z

SharpCapVersion=4.0.9538.0

TotalExposure(s)=4200.00007

StackedFrames=70

LiveStack.SaveRawFrames=None

LiveStack.AlignFrames=True

LiveStack.Derotate=True

LiveStack.StarsForAlignment=10

LiveStack.StarDetection.Sensitivity=90

LiveStack.StarDetection.SuppressHotPixels=True

LiveStack.AlignAutoDisabled=False

LiveStack.ReduceNoiseAmount=2

LiveStack.BrightnessLimit=70

LiveStack.FilterBrightness=False

LiveStack.AutoBrightnessLimit=False

LiveStack.FWHMLimit=4

LiveStack.FilterFWHM=False

LiveStack.WarningThreshold=5

LiveStack.StackingMode=1

LiveStack.SigmaClipInitialCount=5

LiveSack.SigmaClipThreshold=3

LiveStack.SigmaClipLowLimit=0

LiveStack.AutoSaveReset=False

LiveStack.AutoSaveResetMinutes=5

LiveStack.LogarithmicHistogramHorizontalAxis=True

LiveStack.AutoSave=False

LiveStack.BlackLevel=2.231238

LiveStack.WhiteLevel=99.9

LiveStack.MidLevel=3.168976

LiveStack.WBB.db=1.923584

LiveStack.WBG.db=0

LiveStack.WBR.db=11.243

LiveStack.Saturation=1.104368

AutoStretch.Strength=1

LiveStack.StarDetection.FaintStarsOptimization=True

The Wild Duck Cluster is an open cluster of stars 6,100 ly away in the constellation Scutum (the Shield). Its popular name derives from the brighter stars forming a triangle which could resemble a flying flock of ducks (or, from other angles, one swimming duck). The cluster is located just to the east of the Scutum Star Cloud midpoint.

The Wild Duck Cluster is one of the richest and most compact of the known open clusters. It is one of the most massive open clusters known, and it has been extensively studied. Its age has been estimated to be about 316 million years. The brightest cluster member is visual magnitude 8, and it has 870 members of at least magnitude 16.5.

AT60ED F/3.8 on Evolution Alt/Az mount

ASI385MC one shot color camera

IDAS LPS D1 light pollution filter

40x8s 5.3m total exposure

Saved as viewed in Sharpcap (no post-processing) and edges cropped

Hickson 50 galaxy group

05 May 2016

ZWO ASI290MM w/ SharpCap 2.8 software

MC VRC10 + Meade 3.3 (f/2.9) w/ Astronomik UHC

gamma 0.7, gain 50%, 1x30 sec

no dark subtraction

Gamma Cygni Nebula in narrowband. Stellarvue SV80ED telescope. Starlight xPress Lodestar X2 autoguider, ZWO filter wheel with Astrodon Ha 5nm, Sii 5nm, and OIII 3nm narrowband filters. Celestron Advanced VX mount. 10X300 second subs for HA, 15X360 for OiiI, 15X360 for Sii. Captured in SharpCap. Processed in Nebulosity and Photoshop CS2.

Saturn was closest to earth on August 14, 2022 when it was in opposition. Saturn appears brightest near its opposition every year. We captured this image of Saturn on October 18, 2022 using our newly acquired ZWO-ASI 178MC color camera. Our gear included the Celestron HD800 (C8 Edge) telescope at native focal length (No Barlows or Powermates). The effective focal length was a 2032mm which allows us to focus on tiny objects (like planets in our skies).

The small 2.4 micron pixel size of the ASI178 sensor helped us keep image scale to the right level even at the native f10. Rule of thumb for Planetary imaging is focal ratio of an optical system (including Barlow or Powermate) should be 5 times the pixel size in microns. This meant that for our set-up, optimal F-ratio of 12 vs what we used was f10 (native Focal Ratio of C8 Edge telescope).

We used the "Lucky Imaging" technique for our image. In Lucky Imaging of planets, a short video with high frame rates is used to "freeze" the individual images to minimize the blurring caused by turbulence in the air column above us. We captured a short video of 5000 frames using SharpCap capture software.

The video mode used an exposure of 30 ms (milliseconds), and a gain of 303 and at 33 fps (frames per second) shooting speed. We then stacked the best 3200 frames in AutoStakkert3 and then did wavelet sharpening in Registax to get the final image. Enjoy!

NGC 1499, The California Nebula. NGC 1499 is an emission nebula that resembles the shape of the US State of California. It has a somewhat low surface brightness so it is difficult to visually observe through smaller telescopes, but a stack of long exposures captured in astrophotography can reveal it's intricate structure. This image of the nebula was taken with an Explore Scientific ED102 telescope with FL 714mm and F7. Guiding was with an Orion 50mm Guide Scope with FL 242mm, and a ZWO ASI290MC for the guide camera and PHD2 auto-guiding software. Mount: Celestron Advanced VX. Main imaging camera: ASI294MC PRO cooled to -5C. Exposures: 12 x 300s with Gain at 120 and Bin 1 x 1. No darks, flats or bias frames. Processed in PixInsight. Slight crop. Polar alignment was with SharpCap Pro.

Our star today captured with an 80mm APO Refractor at F/12. Artesky Herschel Wedge and ASI290MM. Sharpcap has been used for the capture, then Autostakkert, Registax and PS for the post-processing. Active regions 2778 and 2779 are now very near the limb.

Skywatcher ED80/600 Black Diamond with ED80 field flattener/0.85 reducer

Skywatcher EQM 35 goto pro mount Guiding with PhD2 and Stellarium

Dithering on every 3rd frame

Zwo Asi 385MC Colour Camera with zwo 280mm guide scope

Zwo Asi 294 MC Pro colour cooled camera cooled to -5°

Bin 1

Baader UHC S Booster filter

Unity gain 120

Offset zero

190 × 60 seconds light frames

63 × 60 seconds Dark Frames

Captured with Sharpcap in Fitts file format with forced RGGB

Stacked with Deep Sky Stacker

Histogram stretched with Gimp

Core reduction with Registax

Final processing with Adobe Photoshop Express

My own Hubble deep view!

Discovery and Naming: While individual galaxies within the chain, such as M84 and M86, were first discovered by Charles Messier in 1781 (and others by William Herschel), the chain itself was named after Armenian astrophysicist Benjamin Markarian. In the early 1960s, he discovered that at least seven of these galaxies share a common motion, indicating they are physically associated and not just a chance alignment.

Location: Markarian's Chain is situated within the constellation Virgo and is an integral part of the Virgo Cluster, which is the closest large galaxy cluster to our Milky Way. The cluster's center is approximately 50-70 million light-years away.

Member Galaxies: The chain primarily consists of eight major galaxies, along with several fainter ones. The most prominent members include:

M84 (NGC 4374): An elliptical galaxy.

M86 (NGC 4406): A barred lenticular galaxy, known for its high-speed motion relative to the Virgo Cluster.

NGC 4438 and NGC 4435 (Markarian's Eyes / The Eyes Galaxies): This is a particularly famous pair of interacting galaxies. NGC 4438 is a distorted spiral galaxy, showing signs of tidal disruption due to its close encounter with its companion, NGC 4435, a barred lenticular galaxy.

NGC 4461: A lenticular galaxy.

NGC 4458: An elliptical galaxy.

NGC 4473: An elliptical galaxy with fast rotation.

NGC 4477: A barred lenticular galaxy.

Significance: Markarian's Chain is a valuable target for astronomers as it provides insights into the dynamics of galaxy clusters. The interactions and distorted shapes of its member galaxies offer clues about galaxy formation and evolution in dense environments, the presence of dark matter, and even supermassive black holes at their centers.

Visibility: The brighter members of Markarian's Chain are visible through small telescopes, especially during spring and early summer in the Northern Hemisphere. Larger telescopes can reveal more detail and fainter galaxies within the chain and the surrounding Virgo Cluster. It is best observed under dark skies during new or early Moon phases.

Image Details:

- Imaging Scope: William Optics 61mm ZenithStar APO

- Imaging Camera: ZWO ASI183MC Color with IR Cut filter

- Guiding Equipment: Celestron Starsense Autoguider

- Acquisition Software: Sharpcap

- Guiding Software: Celestron

- Light Frames: 25*4 mins @ 50 Gain, Temp -20C

- Dark Frames: 25*4 mins

- Stacked in Deep Sky Stacker

- Processed in PixInsight, Adobe Lightroom and Topaz Denoise

Taken from Oxfordshire, UK with a William Optics 70mm refractor and ASI120MC camera fitted with a Baader Continuum Filter. .

Best 75% of a 1,000 frame video captured with SharpCap, then stacked with Autostakkert! 3

AUTORE: Aldo Rocco Vitale (Gruppo Astrofili Catanesi “Guido Ruggieri”)

DATA: 28 dicembre 2017

ORA: 20:15

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

SharpCap

Autostakkert 3

RegiStax 6

Photoshop

RC6 f/9 1370 FL IDAS D1

[ZWO ASI294MC Pro]

Debayer Preview=On

Pan=0

Tilt=0

Output Format=SER file (*.ser)

Binning=1

Capture Area=4144x2822

Colour Space=RAW16

High Speed Mode=Off

Turbo USB=70

Flip=None

Frame Rate Limit=Maximum

Gain=150

Exposure=0.012721

Timestamp Frames=Off

White Bal (B)=77(Auto)

White Bal (R)=99(Auto)

Brightness=5

Temperature=-14.8

Cooler Power=76

Target Temperature=-15

Cooler=On

Auto Exp Max Gain=285

Auto Exp Max Exp M S=30000

Auto Exp Target Brightness=100

Mono Bin=Off

Banding Threshold=35

Banding Suppression=0

Apply Flat=None

Subtract Dark=None

#Black Point

Display Black Point=0.0132743362831858

#MidTone Point

Display MidTone Point=0.703539823008849

#White Point

Display White Point=1

TimeStamp=2019-05-21T09:03:21.4867777Z

SharpCapVersion=3.2.6020.0

Taken from Oxfordshire, UK with a Coronado PST, Celestron 3x Barlow and ASI120MC camera on an EQ5 Pro mount on a permanent pier. Videos captured with SharpCap.

2,000 frame video shot, the best 75% stacked with Autostakkert! 3. Image was de-saturated then processed in Lightroom and Fast Stone, then false colour added back in using Photoshop CS2.

This is the first chance I've had to try and image this active region which is just about to rotate off the south eastern limb. It looks a little underwhelming today but it's the first active region we've had for a while!

SharpCap Live Stack

NO Edits

RC6 f/9 1370 FL IDAS D1

[ZWO ASI294MC Pro]

Debayer Preview=On

Pan=0

Tilt=0

Output Format=FITS files (*.fits)

Binning=1

Capture Area=4144x2822

Colour Space=RAW16

High Speed Mode=Off

Turbo USB=60

Flip=None

Frame Rate Limit=Maximum

Gain=300

Exposure=60

Timestamp Frames=Off

White Bal (B)=50

White Bal (R)=50

Brightness=4

Temperature=-14.1

Cooler Power=38

Target Temperature=-15

Cooler=On

Auto Exp Max Gain=285

Auto Exp Max Exp M S=30000

Auto Exp Target Brightness=110

Mono Bin=Off

Banding Threshold=10

Banding Suppression=0

Apply Flat=E:\SharpCap Captures\2019-04-15\FLAT-364-300g-MONO-BIAS\flats\21_16_25_offset=0.144%.fits

Subtract Dark=E:\SharpCap Captures\darks\ZWO ASI294MC Pro\RAW16@4144x2822\60.0s\gain_300\dark_20_frames_-14.8C_2019-01-26T05_02_54.fits

#Black Point

Display Black Point=0.252927097148541

#MidTone Point

Display MidTone Point=0.350386244540297

#White Point

Display White Point=0.998046875

TimeStamp=2019-04-16T10:15:35.2164095Z

SharpCapVersion=3.2.5986.0

Best of a bad bunch from the 21st April 2015. 2500 frames captured in sharpcap 2 with an ASI120MC, Planeta 10 Inch, and AZEQ6. Processed in PIPP, Registax for wavelets and levels and curves in PSCS2

Messier 81 (also known as NGC 3031 or Bode's Galaxy) is a spiral galaxy about 12 million light-years away, with a diameter of 90,000 light years, about half the size of the Milky Way, in the constellation Ursa Major.

Due to its proximity to Earth, large size, and active galactic nucleus (which harbors a 70 million M☉ ((solar mass)) supermassive black hole), Messier 81 has been studied extensively by professional astronomers.

C8 F/5

ASI385MC

225x 4.75s 17.8m total

Saved as viewed in Sharpcap (no post-processing)

I used a QHY268c camera with my William Optics Zenithstar 73 ii apo. I captured 3000 frames using SharpCap software, then further processing in AutoStakkert 3/Registax 6 and final touches in PS.

Mosaic - Shot with Skymax 127 Altair Astro GPCAM2 290C

The two distinctive craters on the terminator of this image are Clavius and Tycho.

Clavius is the one to the SW with the two smaller craters visible within.

Target 9 of the Lunar 100

Tycho is above that and can be recognised by its central peak.

Target 6 of the Lunar 100

Craters on the terminator show the most detail as shadows are deeper here.

Shot through a Skywatcher 130M 900m newtonian.

Imaging via a 640x480 Asda webcam.

Webcam cost about £6 and was dismantled to remove the lens and expose the CMOS chip.

Hickson 50 galaxy group

05 May 2016

ZWO ASI290MM w/ SharpCap 2.8 software

MC VRC10 + Meade 3.3 (f/2.9) w/ Astronomik UHC

gamma 0.7, gain 50%, 46x4 sec

no dark subtraction

Clavius is the main crater in the foreground. Approximately 230km in diameter,

ZWO ASI120MC camera, Celestron C8 8" SCT telescope, Celestron CGEM mount. 54 frames per second captured in SharpCap, 1500 frames stacked in AutoStakkert.

Moon.

Feb 25th 2018

80% illuminated

Astrotech AT72ED w/ Rising Tech RT224 on Skywatcher Star Adventurer mount.

Sharpcap > ICE > Registrax > PS.

Image of Jupiter with the GRS nearing the planet's meridian. Shot on the evening of 11 may 2016, the planet was now lower in the southwestern sky than in previous weeks, 38 degrees elevation here as compared to 50 for the 27 March image, and visually smaller, 38 arc-seconds compared to 42. All factors making it more difficult to image. But I wanted to get a shot of the GRS before the end of the Jupiter season, and the Spot's position was right and sky conditions good, though by no means ideal. The GRS was moving from left to right, crossing the planet's entire face in about 4 hours. The huge cyclonic feature is as wide as three Earths, but has diminished in size over the last several decades. The image was obtained from three seperate 90 second AVI captures done with infrared, green and blue filters (ranging from 2500 to 5000 frames each) shot with a SC11 f/10 telescope, a 2X Barlow lens (making the system f/20), and a ZWO120mm-s planetary camera. Camera gain was set high at 85% to maximize the number of frames captured. The three channels were then derotated in Winjupos before being recombined into an RGB image. Software used were SharpCap, PIPP, AutoStakkert2, Winjupos, PixInsight and Photoshop CS3.

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Une image de la Grande Tache Rouge s'approchant du méridien central de Jupiter. Photographiée le soir du 11 mai 2016, alors que la planète se trouvait considérablement plus basse dans le ciel du sud-ouest que lors des semaines précédentes, 38 degrés d'élévation ici comparé à 50 pour l'image du 27 Mars, et plus petite visuellement, 38 seconde d'arc versus 42. Tous des facteurs rendant la photographie plus difficile. Voulant obtenir une image de la Grande Tache avant la fin de la saison Jupiter, j'ai profité de sa position favorable le 11 Mai, ainsi que des conditions atmosphériques, propices mais certes pas idéales. La Grande Tache se déplaçait de gauche à droite, traversant le disque de Jupiter en environ quatre heures. L'immense cyclone est aussi large que trois Terre, bien que sa taille ait diminué ces dernières décennies. L'image provient de trois captures AVI de 90 secondes chacune, réalisées avec filtre infra-rouge, vert et bleu (comptant de 2500 à 5000 images respectivement). Les captures ont été faites avec un télescope SC11 f/10, un Barlow 2X (faisant f/20), et une caméra planétaire ZWO120mm-s, le gain de la caméra ayant été fixé assez haut à 85% pour maximiser le nombre d'images obtenus. Les trois canaux ont ensuite été dérotationnés avec le logiciel Winjupos, avant d'être recombinés en une image RGB. Les logiciels employés sont SharpCap, PIPP, AutoStakkert2, Winjupos, PixInsight et Photoshop CS3.

Taken with a 10" Dobsonian telescope with Celestron 3x Barlow and ASI120MC camera. I shot a 1,000 frame video using SharpCap, manually tracking to keep the planet in view. I centred it using PIPP then stacked the best 20% of the 1,000 frames in AutoSkakkert! 3. Stacked image was first processed in Registax 6 to sharpen the wavelets, then the rest of the processing was in Lightroom and Fast Stone Image Viewer

Skywatcher 200p

Tal 2x barlow

Philips SPC 900NC webcam

Sharpcap settings

Frame Divisor=1

Resolution=640x480

Frame Rate (fps)=15.00

Colour Space / Compression=YUY2

Exposure=-5

Brightness=56

Contrast=59

Saturation=87

Gamma=0

ColorEnable=255

BacklightCompensation=0

Gain=23

Plate Solving worked perfectly, even the more complicated features like GoTo++. For some reason, the camera didn't save the first 30 pictures. This led to a lot of noise in the final image. I shot this at 600mm. Tracking was very good.

The supernova (SN 2023ixf) can be seen on the outer arm of the galaxy, about 10 o'clock on the disk of the galaxy.

26 light (120 sec, ISO 800, F6.3), 9 dark, 10 bias, 10 flat

Bortle 4

HEQ5, Jackery 500

Nikon D610 (Ha Modified), Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 (600mm)

Altair G-Cam2, 126mm Guide Scope

APT, Sharpcap, PHD2, Stellarium, Green Swamp Server, DSS, GIMP

Imaging telescope or lens:Explore Scientific FCD100 ED127

Imaging cameras:Qsi 683-wsg, ZWO ASI 1600MM PRO -Cooled

Mounts:Losmandy G11 Gemini2, Explore Scientific G11 with PMC-8

Guiding camera:Starlight Xpress Lodestar X2 Auto Guiding Camera

Focal reducers:Skywatcher 2'' coma corrector, Hotech 2 Flattener

Software:SGPRO, PHD2. PixInsight, Photoshop,SharpCap

Filters:Astrodon 3nm Ha 31mm, Astrodon Gen II Blue 31mm, Astrodon Gen II Green 31mm, Astrodon Gen II Red 31mm, Astrodon Gen II Luminance 31mm, Astrodon 3nm OIII 31mm, Astrodon 3 nm SII 31mm

Accessory:Zwo Off axis guider

Resolution: 5408x3568

Dates:Oct. 27, 2017, Oct. 28, 2017, Oct. 29, 2017, July 13, 2018, July 14, 2018, July 15, 2018

Frames:

Astrodon 3 nm SII 31mm: 10x1200" bin 1x1

Astrodon 3 nm SII 31mm: 220x180" (gain: 76.00) bin 1x1

Astrodon 3nm Ha 31mm: 200x180" (gain: 139.00) -20C bin 1x1

Astrodon 3nm Ha 31mm: 10x1200" -20C bin 1x1

Astrodon 3nm OIII 31mm: 10x1200" bin 1x1

Astrodon 3nm OIII 31mm: 220x180" (gain: 76.00) bin 1x1

Astrodon Gen II Blue 31mm: 50x300" bin 1x1

Astrodon Gen II Green 31mm: 50x300" bin 1x1

Astrodon Gen II Luminance 31mm: 15x600" bin 1x1

Astrodon Gen II Red 31mm: 50x300" bin 1x1

Integration: 57.0 hours

Darks: ~25

Flats: ~15

Flat darks: ~15

Bias: ~150

4 hours 30 minutes total integration.

Imaging:

William Optics ZenithStar II 80 ED,

QHY163C with Astronomik CLS filter.

Guiding:

Skywatcher Star Travel 120,

Orion SSAG.

All on

Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro

Captured using SharpCap, EQMOD. Guided with PHD2.

Stacked and processed in DSS, Fitswork and Gimp

25 and 27th October 2017

Cambridge, UK

Sky-Watcher 200/1000

HEQ5 Pro SynScan

ZWO ASI224 MC

Barlow 3x TeleVue

Filtro IR-Cut Meade

Acquisizione con SharpCap

Gain: 125/600

Exposure: 0,010

10.583 frame totali, 2.000 elaborati

Imaging telescope or lens:Skywatcher 250/1200 Newt

Imaging camera:ZWO ASI 1600MM PRO -Cooled

Mount:Explore Scientific G11 with PMC-8

Guiding camera:Starlight Xpress Lodestar X2 Auto Guiding Camera

Focal reducer:Skywatcher 2'' coma corrector

Software:SGPRO, PHD2. PixInsight, Photoshop,SharpCap

Filters:Astrodon 3nm Ha 31mm, Astrodon Gen II Blue 31mm, Astrodon Gen II Green 31mm, Astrodon Gen II Red 31mm, Astrodon Gen II Luminance 31mm

Accessory:Zwo Off axis guider

Resolution: 3872x2360

Dates:May 4, 2019, May 5, 2019, May 6, 2019

Frames:

Astrodon 3nm Ha 31mm: 50x300" (gain: 139.00) -20C bin 1x1

Astrodon Gen II Blue 31mm: 100x180" (gain: 76.00) -20C bin 1x1

Astrodon Gen II Green 31mm: 100x180" (gain: 76.00) -20C bin 1x1

Astrodon Gen II Luminance 31mm: 300x60" (gain: 76.00) -20C bin 1x1

Astrodon Gen II Red 31mm: 120x180" (gain: 76.00) -20C bin 1x1

Integration: 25.2 hours

Darks: ~15

Flats: ~10

Flat darks: ~10

Bias: ~150

TIS DFK 21AU618.AS camera, stacked 2.5x Powermate + 2x Barlow. Sky-Watcher 150P Explorer Newtonian, Baader Neodymium filter. 2 minutes capture @15 fps > SharpCap > PIPP > Registax > PixInsight > Photoshop.

Composite image made by combining two separate output from different exposure videos.

Taken on 8 September 2020, at 22.08 UTC (overexposed) & 22.16 UTC (normal exposure), with Celestron NexStar 6 SE SCT and ZWO asi224mc Camera. Video captured in SharpCap, stacked in Registax 6, then processed in PSP8. Triton was copied from the overexposed image & pasted onto the enlarged normal exposure image, & tidied.