Wanted: Tips for combining images from different sessions

[[1ponders]]

I have a number of images of NGC55 I've taken over the past week or so and I'd like some opinions on the best way to go about combining them.

I'm using ImagesPlus and so far I have calibrated, aligned and combined each individual batch with the thought of doing a final combination of the individual combined images.

Is this the best way to go? Or would I be better calibrating each seperate batch with their own darks and flats, then taking the calibrated images from each batch, renaming them and copying them all into one directory and doing a final combining using there?

[Striker]

If you have already calibrated and aligned and combined each session then I would just align and combine the already calibrated images....meaning just the final image from each session.

You will need to rename the files if you didn't already do so when calibrating each session.

Remember to crop the image to get rid of the overlapping misaligned exposures before final processing.

[[1ponders]]

Thanks Tony. I'll give it a go. I might even try both methods and see how they work out. To my mind it shouldn't make much difference, but then you know my minds :lol:

[[1ponders]]

I tried both methods Tony and the restacking of the individual images won out, but not buy much. Mind you I've only been imaging widefield with the ED80 so I don't expect much hi-rez of NGC55 that way :)

Any way here's the final result,

17x300sec (over 3 nights) @ISO800, terribly smokey conditions, transparency maybe 5-6/10, fully processed on the laptop and pretty heavy on the noise filter, so who knows what it is going to look like from your end, probably lots and lots of artifacts :lol: :)

[h0ughy]

nice Paul, the stars show a little bit of elongation towards the edge. Would have thought though with that much imaging time a bit more would have been captured and be able to be developed out in IP. I like it though!

[[1ponders]]

I seem to get a bit of that with the 80 for some reason. I've got my eye out for a good refractor field flattener that doesn't cost me my right arm.

I haven't tried any image adjustment apart from curve, levels and noise reduction in PS. I'll have to take some time one day and learn how to use that ImagesPlus properly

[gbeal]

Pretty flash Paul. What is the "cross" in the centre? Don't tell me this is your pencil mark for aligning!!!
Image scale is up there as well, you cropped it a bit?

[[1ponders]]

I did Gary (crop it that is, not pencil marked ;) ) and reduced in size just a bit, so it's almost full size. As for the cross; I've just checked and it's a part of the dust lanes in the galaxy, but you already new that and were just jazzin' me 'eh. ;)

[Striker]

Nice work Paul.

I just looked at a high rez image of this galaxy...I would like to know how many galaxy's are in this shot.....I will have a guess at approx 50.