This my 2nd attempt at the southern Pinwheel Galaxy
Sunday night 3rd March
11.30sm to 3.00am
Canon 600D stock
ISO 800
37 x 4 minute subs
20 x darks
Dithering for first time ( every frame )
BYEOS
PHD2 guiding at min 0.88 to max 1.90 arc sec error due to Dithering
Stacked in DSS
Processed in Startools
Thumbs up for dithering
This image has significantly less noise than my 1st attemp
Cheers
Thanks Raymo
My processing was a bit too adventurous , imaged was stretched to much and colour is a bit rich for such a dim object
My DSLR was running for nearly 5 hrs with the 4 minute subs and dithering thrown in and the outside temp was 23 deg on Sunday night / Monday morning so not a good combination. Could get the sensor temperature below 35 deg C even with 10 sec of pause and delay.Bring on winter please !!
I must be going blind as I only now noticed your wonderful image Martin.
You need to start saving for a cooled camera by next summer☺
However to be honest the noise does not seem to be a problem.
Many dithered images is the go.
When I get back to Sydney I plan to make a peltie cooled box for the Nikon ... just for fun...folk say they dont work unless the unit is on the sensor but I am sure although inefficient there will be a small benefit.
I have a simple design in mind so hopefully I can fit that project in☺
Alex
Very nice Martin, colours are quite pleasing regardless of your own criticism. Did you find the dithering had a noticeable effect on noise given then ambient temps were up there?
Cheers,
Tony
Thanks so much everyone
I wanted to take at least 50 subs but dithering took up a bit more time than I expected plus I had been imaging since 8.30pm and finished up at 4.00am so pretty tired towards the end ( 4 cups of coffee did help a bit )
Tony, “Dithering” is definitely a must do for DSLRs during the summer months ( and probably winter as well ) when your imaging the dimmer Nebula and Galaxies that require longer exposures. I could see a marked improvement in noise reduction. When I saw the image after DSS I knew it was heaps better than my first go at this object a month earlier without dithering
Also my dithers were on the low or cautious side as it was all new to me so next time I’ll push it a bit harder
Finally getting my head around AP after nearly 2 years , still on the first wrung of the ladder and slowly climbing , so much more to learn , so much more to image
Clear Skies
Cheers
Thanks for the compliment
Snagging this 7.6 magnitude galaxy on a warm night using my unmodded DSLR running at 35 deg C gives me confidence to chase after dimmer galaxies ( say mag 8 and 9 ) in the cooler months during autumn and winter
Setting up and using dithering with my guiding has made a big difference in the quality of the final image
Thanks again
