Book-ending Qld Astrofest

[Retrograde]

My first (widefield) and last (M31) images from Qld Astrofest back in August.

Neither of these came out quite how I wanted unfortunately.

The wide-field of the M16-M17 region was hampered by the fact that I forgot to take the UV filter off the front of the lens :doh: so I had to throw a fair few subs away due to double-images. Still had about 90 minutes of reasonably usable data however.
Still not 100% sure about this lens (Pentax 6x7 165mm f2.8) for DLSR use but I probably need more testing (without the UV filter).
Larger version here: http://www.astrobin.com/full/264019/0/?nc=user

The shot of M31 was a rather desperate last-minute mosaic attempt during the early morning hours of my last night at Astrofest. This was using the ED102 with about 55 minutes worth of data for each panel. I'd tried imaging it the previous morning using the little Astrotech but got bad trailing on the stars so the image was unusable. Unfortunately this mosaic cut M110 in half as the framing was rushed. Oh well something to aim for next time!
Larger version: http://www.astrobin.com/full/263105/B/

[gregbradley]

Totally jealous of your M31 shot. It looks wonderful. Perhaps a project for next year to finish off the mosaic. The widefield has a green tint but the data is good.
I also have the Pentax 67 165mm F2.8 lens. Its a wonderful lens. Sharp wide open.

Greg.

[RickS]

Hi Pete,

As Greg said, take out a bit of the green in the wide field (SCNR process in PI) and it should look pretty schmick.

A good result on M31 too!

Cheers,
Rick.

[Retrograde]

Thanks Greg,

Yes happy with the detail in M31 given the short exposures but still want to do a better job overall. Maybe I can add some extra data as well as filling in the mosaic.
I actually took a fair bit of green out of the wide-field shot already (using HVLG PS plugin). Not enough it seems.



Thanks Rick.
It's not the first time my images have looked too green (& I already took some out as per my reply to Greg above). I plan to get a proper IPS monitor for image processing soon which should hopefully help.

[Placidus]

The M31 is great. Lovely subtle colour and good detail. A mosaic is an excellent approach to a big target.

[Retrograde]

Thanks M&T.