Carina - Revisited

[MarkChap]

I acquired a new (first) scope this past weekend

Carina Nebula revisited - It's an easy target

First Image from the new scope

Sky Watcher Evostar ED72 420mm f5.8, HEQ 5 Mount, Canon 5D MkIII iso 3200, 2 minute exposures (can't remember how many I stacked) Stacked in Seqator
Editing is whole new world, but I will get there, I am sure, hopefully, maybe

Still don't know how I feel about this one, I seem to get way to many stars ?, but I have definitely managed more of the nebula colour.
This will need to be re-stacked in DSS and re-edited

Good-
Got more Nebulae colour and detail
Got my polar alignment pretty good
Got focus pretty good
Pretty happy with my amateur editing

Not So Good
Seem to have an abundance of stars (may be over exposed or to long exposure time)
Got my polar alignment pretty good, but not spot on, need some more work on that
Missed focus by "that much",
Not overly happy with my amateur editing
Any way, enjoy, or don't

[assbutt94]

Hi Mark, try dropping your ISO, most DSLRs seem to have an ISO 800-1600 sweet spot.

Since Carinae is a bright object, and you are using an f5.8 scope with 2min exposures, you could probably use ISO 800.
This might help stop stars overexposing (and losing their color).

Also, when stretching the histogram, you could try mask the stars so they dont get brighter and larger.

A combination of these should help the abundance of stars, and in turn, help the nebula pop out a bit better.

You caught some fantastic, bright color in the nebula, well done

[MarkChap]

Thanks heaps Nathan, I will try all that

[LostInSp_ce]

Hi Mark, congrats on the new scope. As Nathan said a star mask will help separate the nebula and the stars giving you more control as you stretch. Also making adjustments through the channels can sometimes help with improve nebula. As for finding the optimal ISO for your camera try this https://www.photonstophotos.net/Charts/RN_ADU.htm. I'd say about 400 or 800 would be a good starting point. However, sometimes the recommended ISO isn't right and you may find that 1600 or 3200 is your magic number. The tables are only guides and you may have to experiment a little to find your camera's sweet spot. All that aside, you've got a really nice capture of Carina. There's plenty of information in your histogram and that's always a good sign that you're doing things right. Nice work and I hope to see more.

[MarkChap]

Thanks, will check out the link