NGC 6744 with StarTools

[LostInSp_ce]

I wasn't going to post this but the wise Alex made a good point. Whilst waiting for Saturn to rise a little higher in the sky I thought that I'd kill some time with a few happy snaps. The clouds were forecast to clear later on in the night but at this particular time there was still a thin film of high cloud above. Still since I was only playing around I thought I'd capture some subs to use as test data for my first attempt with StarTools. Having never used StarTools before I wasn't sure where to begin so I just went with the flow.

It was an interesting exercise with some challenges. The biggest one being noise suppression, hence the softness of the final outcome. NGC 6744 is a dim target, but even more so through the high clouds. I had to use high gain settings just to see something leaving me with very noisy subs. It's heavily processed and probably more of an artistic rendition than a photographic one. Anyhow here's the result from my experiment. Processed mostly in StarTools with a couple of little tweaks in Photoshop at the end.

Location:
Backyard
Bortle 7-8ish Sky

Equipment:
130 mm APO
NEQ6
ASI290 MM
Generic eBay filters

Acquisition:
L = 10 x 180
R = 8 x 180
G = 8 x 180
B = 8 x 180

Software:
DSS, StarTools and Photoshop

[xelasnave]

Great stuff thanks for having a go.
Alex

[Startrek]

Great result from limited data and ordinary conditions
It’s my 3rd year using Startools and still discovering features and techniques to produce a better image, currently using V1.5
Which version are you using ?

[muletopia]

Well done.

My ,limited, experience with Startools is that it is good for colouring nebulae but for galaxies Nebulosity is easier to use, When I have used startools I usually follow with a few tweeks with Nebulosity. I use Nebulostity for frame and focus and then capture control. Then for my OSC camera debayering ,preprocessing and stacking, Then to Star tools and back to Nebulosity to taste.


Chris

[PKay]

Looks great LIS.

180s subs a good choice for SNR.

[Mickoid]

Nicely done! :thumbsup:

[Saturnine]

That is a pretty nice image LIS, it's amazing what even the basic ZWO cameras can do.

[LostInSp_ce]

Thanks Alex, it's all in good spirit.



Thanks Martin. I downloaded the latest version 1.6.399. I don't know how it compares to previous versions but you're right about it's feature list.
On the surface it doesn't look like much but there's certainly more than meets the eye.
What I found though, is that I needed to do a few passes or rounds to get where I wanted to be if that makes sense?



My experience is basically no-existent. I use GIMP and Photoshop. I just went with the flow after some reading on their site (like a crash course).
It's certainly different to what I'm used to but I did find the suggested workflow in some parts similar to what I already kind of do.
Overall it was an interesting experiment and I ended up buying it, so I now have it in my tool box if I need it.



Thanks Mick!


Thanks Peter, but I might have gotten a little lucky there, it was a bit of a guess :lol:




Thanks Jeff, I was just looking to pass time and decided to take some shots with the 290, so off came the Barlow and I fired away clouds and all. :lol:
I'm hoping that I can have a real go with the DSLR but the weather Gods really have cursed us again.