Hi all,
I had a go at imaging the Tarantula last night.
18 x 20 second exposures @ ISO 1600 - then I accidentally turned off the mount.
10 x Dark frames
10 x Flat
10 x Bias
Used Deep Sky Stacker. The resulting image looked near grey scale so I had a stab at brining some colour out in Paintshop Pro. I think the colours look a bit tacked on but overall I'm happy with my first try.
Happy for any advice.
Cheers
Mick
Last edited by mikeyjames; 06-11-2016 at 12:53 PM.
Hi Mick
Well done. The spider is a very hard target. I have had almost no success with it in my time. Personally I almost prefer it as a visual target!
What gear are you using?
Much better that my first, second and third nebula attempts Doesnt help turning the mount off though
Thanks Colin. I didn't realise until I saw pic number 19, then realised I had turned off the mount rather than my phone charger when packing up some of the gear.
Last edited by mikeyjames; 06-11-2016 at 01:13 PM.
Hi Mick
Well done. The spider is a very hard target. I have had almost no siccesswith it in my time. Personally I almost prefer it as a visual target!
What gear are you using?
I wish I could see things like Tarantula as a visual target. When I looked at the piece of sky the scope was pointing I could barely see a single star.
O.K. so I'm gathering that your light pollution is pretty bad.
raymo
It's a combination of general Sydney light pollution and mission control next door (which is directly in my view of the Tarantula part of the sky). I find nebulas one of those things where I'm asking myself, "is there something there or am I imagining it?" The view for the western sky is less light polluted but still no clear cut views of nebulas.
Maybe some type of filter may help - I've read that Lumicon make a good one and the Orion Ultrablock is good too.
At present, I need to get the goto pretty accurate, then when it slews to a to a target I take a pic and then centre it from that.
BTW - that tip you gave me about shooting the moon really paid off, I got a couple of really good shots last night.
Many people here on IIS swear by NPB nebular filters. Their service is good,
and they sell cosmetic seconds. My 1.25" cosmetic second was $75, and
the only fault was part of one letter of a word on the rim was missing.
Glad you had some luck with the moon. A $15 webcam with a 2x barlow
is a popular way of getting pin sharp lunar shots. Just have to learn the ins
and outs of Registax or whatever other software you are using. When the
seeing is really good you can get nice single frame lunar shots, but video
is really the way to go; you can of course do video with your DSLR.
raymo
The DGM NPB filter will be a godsend if you're trying to see fickle nebulae in light polluted skies -it will certainly confirm if there's something there or your mind is playing tricks! Even more rewarding if you can get yourself to a dark sky site.
Many people here on IIS swear by NPB nebular filters. Their service is good,
and they sell cosmetic seconds. My 1.25" cosmetic second was $75, and
the only fault was part of one letter of a word on the rim was missing.
Glad you had some luck with the moon. A $15 webcam with a 2x barlow
is a popular way of getting pin sharp lunar shots. Just have to learn the ins
and outs of Registax or whatever other software you are using. When the
seeing is really good you can get nice single frame lunar shots, but video
is really the way to go; you can of course do video with your DSLR.
raymo
The DGM NPB filter will be a godsend if you're trying to see fickle nebulae in light polluted skies -it will certainly confirm if there's something there or your mind is playing tricks! Even more rewarding if you can get yourself to a dark sky site.
Re being unable to see the Tarantula through the scope...
When I look through the viewfinder of my DSLR through my 200/1000mm Newt, I can barely see anything. When I take the camera out and use, say, a 25mm eyepiece, I can see vastly more. The camera's viewfinder is nowhere near as bright as an eyepiece - only bright targets like clusters or planets (or the occasional nearby nebula like Orion) are visible through it. It's a pain having to refocus etc, but it's either that or take a bunch of high-ISO exposures and guess which way to slew the mount to centre the target.
You probably already know that, but just thought it was worth making sure!
Re being unable to see the Tarantula through the scope...
When I look through the viewfinder of my DSLR through my 200/1000mm Newt, I can barely see anything. When I take the camera out and use, say, a 25mm eyepiece, I can see vastly more. The camera's viewfinder is nowhere near as bright as an eyepiece - only bright targets like clusters or planets (or the occasional nearby nebula like Orion) are visible through it. It's a pain having to refocus etc, but it's either that or take a bunch of high-ISO exposures and guess which way to slew the mount to centre the target.
You probably already know that, but just thought it was worth making sure!
Hi Chris,
I'm using a modded Canon 60D. I am having trouble viewing anything other than Moon, Saturn, Venus, and sometimes Mars through the viewfinder. Even with ISO set to its highest and shutter speed set to 30 seconds nothing like Orion Nebula or clusters in my viewfinder. So I end up doing exactly what you said is the less desirable option, taking a high ISO image and then trying to move the scope to get it in the centre.
I wonder if there is some setting on the camera I am getting wrong.
Mick, the viewfinder is purely optical; you see the same view with the camera switched off, so settings are irrelevant. The night sky is dim through the viewfinder because of the focusing system built into it. There used to be
different gratings available for different purposes, one of which
brightened up the finder somewhat; maybe they are still available.
raymo
It's a pretty good result for first try, and especially given your circumstances. Given it is your first go, and in trying situation, I have to wonder how much better it would have been from a better site, and i hope you can get to one one day.
Well done - Trev
Mick, the viewfinder is purely optical; you see the same view with the camera switched off, so settings are irrelevant. The night sky is dim through the viewfinder because of the focusing system built into it. There used to be
different gratings available for different purposes, one of which
brightened up the finder somewhat; maybe they are still available.
raymo
Thanks raymo. I've just realised I had the terminology wrong. I meant the LCD screen on the camera.
The gratings sound interesting, I'll have a look around and see what I can come up with.
It's a pretty good result for first try, and especially given your circumstances. Given it is your first go, and in trying situation, I have to wonder how much better it would have been from a better site, and i hope you can get to one one day.
Well done - Trev
Thanks Trevor. A dark site would be great and I will get there one day. Before I do that I want to learn how to accurately set everything up and find things and there is still a long way to go.
I'm 98% sure I will stick with it. Generally I love a challenge and lose interest in something quickly once I get pretty good; I don't see this ever happening with this hobby as there is always room for improvement.
I've just realised I had the terminology wrong. I meant the LCD screen on the camera.
Ah! Then yeah, you're never going to see much with that as it's limited to 1/25 or 1/30 expsures.
You're better off using your eye to the viewfinder, but that's still very dim because of the focusing mechanism blocking part of the light as Raymo said.
You're never going to see anything with the DSLR, either through the viewfinder or the rear LCD, anywhere near as well as you'll see it through a 25mm eyepiece. Yes you'll have to refocus each time, but at least you'll actually see your target.
Doesnt help turning the mount off though 
