First AP Light HEQ5/BD200 : M8 Lagoon

[Screwdriverone]

Hi Everyone,

Well, I bit the bullet and had a go tonight. I was going to stay inside in the warmth but I walked past the new beast, spotted it and thought: "Why not?"

Took the beast out next to the pool, fiddled with the polarscope and got the mount lined up with the SCP (easier than I thought and therefore all my drift aligning research flew out the window) and then proceeded to show my youngest (he's 9) all the cool things using the goto. He drove the scope for me and called out what he thought each item was, globular, open cluster, fuzzy cloudy thingy etc...He did a good job too!

After he went inside to bed, I decided to see if I could attach the 1000D to the scope and give it a go. Hmmm, how to focus? Selected Altair from the handset and used the liveview to focus. Three minutes later I was slewing to M8 and taking some test 30 sec subs. COLOUR appeared! Cool :D. Raced inside to get the laptop and used the Canon capture program to perform longer than 30 sec subs with the computer.

I noticed a few frames had slightly eggy stars (which I threw away) probably due to the mount not being PEC'd? I dunno. Most were good so I used what looked OK. Remembered to take a dark frame of the same length then proceeded to take some more of M22 and Trifid ( haven't processed these yet). I haven't even tried the autoguiding yet, still starting out so this will have to wait. I stuck with 30 sec subs as any longer tended to show eggy stars, I am sure longer subs are needed for more data.

So, anyway, here is my first go into the dark side....feel free to comment and offer advice. I am a complete newbie when it comes to processing so I hope I didn't commit too many cardinal sins. Please let me know where I can improve. Details below.

Image Details:

Subject: M8 Lagoon Nebula in Sagittarius
Telescope: Black Diamond 200mm Reflector @ F5 on HEQ5 Pro
Camera: Canon 1000D
Capture: Canon EOS Utility
Guiding: No
Frames: 8 x 30 second at ISO 800, 1 x Dark Frame
Processing: Registax 5 only

Here is a link (http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz141/Screwdriver1/Astrophotos/m8.jpg) to a less compressed JPEG (1.1Meg) Sorry if the attachment is too large to view easily, I havent figured out the best format to post here yet. Press the four arrow button on the attachment viewer to make it all visible.

Cheers

Chris

[rcheshire]

Hi Chris. Some nice delicate detail in there. It's a very nice image:thumbsup: Not over processed and nicely focused. Registax has done a good job

[asimov]

Nice job mate. I've found if you're stuck at about 30s exposures ISO 1600 is the way to go. In camera noise reduction works great for ISO 1600 too.

[adman]

Chris that is fantastic. You must have pretty well nailed the polar alignment - you should check it using the drift method next time.....

There is nothing like seeing that nice colour image appear literally out of thin air. I have been loving your posts since you got the new gear - now you just have to get guiding - another good buzz.

Cheers
Adam

[Screwdriverone]

Hi Rowland,

Thanks, I havent had much experience processing Deep Sky Stuff, I am sure there is some better ways, but for now, I am happy to get something.

Cheers

Chris

[Screwdriverone]

Hi John,

Thanks for the tip, I was thinking the ISO 1600 was a bit noisy, I will definitely try this out and give it a red hot go.

Cheers

Chris

[Screwdriverone]

:) Thanks Adam!

I have marked out on the concrete where the tripod was, ALMOST forgot to do it before I packed up...I will check it again using drifting.

You are right, I was astounded how many good frames came out after only about 10 minutes set up and then to see some of the details after processing, I was rapt!. I am glad you are enjoying the posts, seems like we have the same setup!

I have some Trifid and M22 to process, might see how they look.

Thanks

Chris

[asimov]

Well it is noisier than ISO800 yes. I'm no guru on the subject but the other night I was out there imaging & like you, I was limited to 35 secs before I got egg shape stars; I tried ISO 800 & wasn't satisfied with the amount of data collected so I jumped to 1600 & tried an exposure of 25 secs. I also tried using darks by both procedures (In camera noise reduction &/or taking a set of darks after the lights) The darks I took after the imaging run didn't kill all the noise but the in camera noise reduction did.

Here's the 1600ISO example. I'm quite happy with this amount of noise! :)
http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/Asimov_2009/Deep%20space%20object%20imaging/carinafinal.png

BTW No noise reduction in editting was done with the image, just the noise reduction from the camera.

[bmitchell82]

Nice job chris, you would have to be proud of yourself to capture what you have!

A few tips for stacking, for a start try Deep Sky stacker very user friendly.
Secondly try to avoid ICNR (in camera noise reduction) as it doesn't just remove noise.

Best practice is take your darks in multiples of 3 eg, 3 6 9...
And temperature is the key with DSLRS the colder the better, they are forecasting a fine week ahead with over night temps at 2 deg, i will be cheering!

The next piece of hardware that is almost paramount that you purchase is a MPCC multi purpose coma corrector , the cheapest i have found them is at www.tan14.com at least 100 dollars cheaper than over here including postage!

other than that. keep on going and good luck:thumbsup:

[Screwdriverone]

Thanks Brendan,

I will give DSS a go, I tried Maxim DL5 demo but couldnt drive it very well and it seemed to stop with the large files so I went back to Registax.

Thanks for the encouragement, I was stoked when I focussed on Altair first and then slewed to each object and started firing away to be able to get some good results.

Sure is FUN! (but VERY cold)

Had to pack up about 1am as the dew started on everything except the scope mirrors. Need a nice pair of fingerless gloves now...dang, the purchases never stop :)

Thanks for the comments and the support.

Cheers

Chris

[bmitchell82]

Maxim works a lot better with EQMOD for image capture/guiding/mount control and a heap of other things. It makes framing a absolute breeze virtually you do it all with your mouse button! and if you have wireless you can connect into your PC and do it from the comfort of your lounge room! :) Its not hard at all and its not so advanced as one might expect.

[davewaldo]

Looking good Chris! Don't stress too much about coma at this stage. Just have fun and see what you can do to get longer exposures.

The scope/mount combo you have is obviously very good as you're producing great images already (your skill plays a major part too I'm sure ;))

Looking forward to seeing more :thumbsup:

[Screwdriverone]

Thanks for the tip Brendan, I will give Maxim a go next time, I like the idea of imaging from inside, I can do that too! :lol:

Cheers

Chris



Cheers Dave, YEP, its a corker this rig, I am stoked at how following a few careful steps (and remembering some tricks from here) allowed me to make some decent images my first night out attempting it.

Already have my lagoon on my desktop :) Can't wait for the next go at it. Might need some sleep first though...

Cheers

Chris

[Screwdriverone]

Sorry John, I skipped over you there,

I will try to iron out the PEC and or fine tune the polar alignment without having to go to the autoguiding just yet and then give ISO1600 another bash. I can certainly see the difference in data in your pic with similar exposure to mine, albeit on another object.

I can't see in the camera any section to turn on or off the ICNR, not sure if the 1000D has it? EDIT: Found it, in the Custom Functions section - thanks

Might go and have another look.

Cheers

Chris

[rcheshire]

Likewise! - I liked the way you traded saturation for detail in M8 - it spurred me on to tackle the processing differently - confirmed that my recently purchased refractor is not a complete dud. Unguided at the moment, once I get focus sorted out, I'll tackle guiding - one thing at a time.

Cheers,

Rowland.

[Screwdriverone]

Thanks Rowland,

I tried not to overcook the colour as when I did that, the noise came up too. I must admit its amazing to see how much detail 10.1MP can get you through a telescope. The old webcam can't compete with the DSLR in that regard, just takes SO long to stack such large files.

Looking into Autoguiding now, doing my homework to see the best way to tackle it.

Cheers

Chris

[jjjnettie]

Your processing is really very good Chris.:D
Less is more don't you think?

[Screwdriverone]

Thanks Jeanette! :)

I really only did this with the gamma and RGB balance in Registax, I have GIMP but like PS, might need my teenager to show me the best way to drive those. I did have my 16 year old son who is a great artist with his graphics tablet, have a go at processing the shot but his looked funny. (is that the technical term :P)

Have you seen my other Trifid and M22? (gratuitous self promotion here! :lol:) Similar processing on these, very minimal like you said. I am surprised of the performance of the 1000D's images for a CMOS sensor...

Thanks for the compliment too!

Cheers

Chris

[Jen]

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup: wow nice pic Chris well done buddy ;)

Look out astro pros there is a few noobies coming along from the inside lane :lol::lol:

Keep em coming Chris :thumbsup:

[cybereye]

Chris,

Just saw your first image - fantastic. Tracking looked good, the stars nice and round and some nice detail visible.

I think we're at about the same stage - trying to get guiding up and running!

Keep up the good work and I look forward to seeing more from the Black Diamond. :thumbsup:

Cheers,
Mario

[Screwdriverone]

HA HA, thanks Jen, but I don't think Messrs Hart, Bradley, Sidonio, Ward, Jennings, Davies, Mitchell..... (etc etc) are looking over their shoulders just yet!

Thanks for the comments though. Now all I need is for these clouds and rain to bugger off!

Cheers

Chris

[Screwdriverone]

Hi Mario!

Thanks mate, yes I have yet to figure out how to mount my 5" reflector on the tube rings to use it as a guide scope (cheapest way for now) so I havent got very far since I took these. I am very happy with the performance of the HEQ5 though considering all I did was point it at the SCP pretty accurately and didnt drift align or use PEC for the first run.

As they say...mount...mount....mount. :)

Look forward to trading shots with you as we progress.

Cheers

Chris

[bmitchell82]

hehehe :) ill let you in on something Chris ehhehe, enjoy the nice round stars and bits now :) they don't last for long and then you have to find them again :) generally 12 - 18 months to start finding them or.... $5-10k :D hehehehe which ever comes first but they will most likely both come in due time

[Screwdriverone]

Hi Brendan,

Yeah 5-10K sounds about right...the shopping list you keep adding to for me is starting to worry me.....I really need to pull the finger out and move to sorting out the little bits like the MPCC and some sort of guide scope so I can get longer subs and more data. If I can get a little improvement each time, I will be happy. I dont need to get to legend status just yet, every new image that I like is a bonus. Once I get some under my belt I am sure the perfectionism seeking will accelerate, no doubt...

I'll give you a buzz when I set up and have everything running so I can learn how to catch some flies with chopsticks eh? :P

Cheers

Chris.

[bmitchell82]

hahaha,

Im no legend cheif just had a little bit of experience with eq6's and newts :) when your ready let me know and ill see where I am.

[Manav]

Hi Chris! I've been on and off IIS with work and busy life. Your setup is similar to mine and seeing your image is very encouraging. A couple of things I'd like to point out:

1. The Canon EOS utility does not help with shots over 30 sec. You may want to look at Maxim DL for this.*
2. Brendan suggested the MPCC and I would also recommend the same.*
3. Build a lightbox if you haven't done so yet. I can PM the design links I used if you want.
4. The autoguider (QH5) is my best purchase to date using it with my setup *makes things so much easier. I would also recommend to allocate budget for that down the track.

Having said that you are doing well and I'm looking forward to more images from you in the future.*

YB