Flame & Horsehead - first attempt

[Drac0]

Skies finally cleared and the wind dropped for a while last night so a chance to get the scope out again. Only managed about an hour of actual imaging but it was enough time for my first attempt at the Flame Nebula (NGC 2024) & the Horsehead Nebula (Barnard 33).

I didn't get it framed the the way I wanted by mistakenly rotating the camera when I didn't need to - I'll know better next time. :)

Saxon 102mm ED triplet
Canon 40D
EQM-35 Pro
16 x 3 minute exposures + darks & flats.
Processed in DSS & Photoshop (Couldn't get it to come out well in StarTools)

Cheers,
Mark

[AdamJL]

Nice work, Mark!

[Startrek]

Mark,
Apart from framing , that’s a great first image of this challenging target
Just a slight reflective curve off Alnitak but well captured and processed considering limited data
Looks like you’ve got that 40D hitting the sweet spot
Well done !!
Martin

[Drac0]

Thanks guys.


Martin - I was worried the old 40D (yet to be modified) would be up to it after a couple of years in storage - though I think there's a couple of spots on the sensor that need cleaning. Just wouldn't work for me in StarTools, the result was so noisy each time I tried. Still some learning for me there I think.


Cheers,
Mark.

[Startrek]

Mark,
That’s unusual, Startools is one of the best noise reduction processing software around
It does require clean untouched linear data from the stacker to begin with to make things click ( Prerequisites are important)
Attached are the Prerequisites
Cheers
Martin

[Drac0]

Thanks for the guides Martin, but no luck for me.


Imaging this again tonight, hopefully with the correct orientation - just hoping the cloud stays away. Maybe StarTools will go better with more data to work with - looking for at least 2 hours of usable lights. Currently my setup seems to be working the best it has with excellent guiding tonight. Hope I haven't jinxed myself now... :P


Cheers,
Mark

[Startrek]

Mark,
Capture at least 3 to 4 hours on this target to maximise your SNR
In Startools are you -
Using AutoDev for initial stretch to inspect data
Binning at default 50%
Cropping stacking artifacts
Using default Wipe
Using AutoDev for final stretch , bumping up “ignore fine detail “ and adjusting ROI with your mouse to obtain best result

It’s just noisy , heavy gradient , vignetting ???

Hmm...... strange it’s not working for you , somethings a miss

Martin