Eden
27-01-2014, 09:10 PM
Hi All,
This is my first astrophotography post and I am still a relative newcomer to the art, but don't hold back -- any and all critique would be appreciated.
Many of the images I have taken so far with the QHY12 have been lacklustre, simply because I haven't taken the time to determine the optimal gain and offset parameters when imaging. Last night I bit the bullet and spent the better part trying to nail these values down and came away with a couple of reasonable shots.
I also learned a lesson in focus. Normally I use the focus assistant supplied as part of QHY's EZCap program to establish focus before imaging. After doing a 5 minute exposure of Omega Centauri and checking the resulting image, focus appeared to be OK but I decided to check it anyway using Nebulosity which I had never done prior.
Much to my surprise, I was quite a bit out of focus and was subsequently rewarded with considerably more stars (both images of Omega Centauri attached for comparison).
Images I have taken of the Orion Nebulae in the past have resulted in the core being blown out, obscuring a good deal of the gaseous region. Although the focus was slightly off on this shot, I am pleased with the results using improved gain and offset values. The attached image is a single 5 minute exposure.
No darks or bias frames used but because of nearby streetlight I have used a UHC-S filter. Colour stretching was done using Maxim.
More about the QHY12 in a future post and as for the Crayford focuser supplied with the Skywatcher ED120 Black Diamond, that's another post begging to be written.
Cheers,
Brett
This is my first astrophotography post and I am still a relative newcomer to the art, but don't hold back -- any and all critique would be appreciated.
Many of the images I have taken so far with the QHY12 have been lacklustre, simply because I haven't taken the time to determine the optimal gain and offset parameters when imaging. Last night I bit the bullet and spent the better part trying to nail these values down and came away with a couple of reasonable shots.
I also learned a lesson in focus. Normally I use the focus assistant supplied as part of QHY's EZCap program to establish focus before imaging. After doing a 5 minute exposure of Omega Centauri and checking the resulting image, focus appeared to be OK but I decided to check it anyway using Nebulosity which I had never done prior.
Much to my surprise, I was quite a bit out of focus and was subsequently rewarded with considerably more stars (both images of Omega Centauri attached for comparison).
Images I have taken of the Orion Nebulae in the past have resulted in the core being blown out, obscuring a good deal of the gaseous region. Although the focus was slightly off on this shot, I am pleased with the results using improved gain and offset values. The attached image is a single 5 minute exposure.
No darks or bias frames used but because of nearby streetlight I have used a UHC-S filter. Colour stretching was done using Maxim.
More about the QHY12 in a future post and as for the Crayford focuser supplied with the Skywatcher ED120 Black Diamond, that's another post begging to be written.
Cheers,
Brett