[mbaddah (Mo)]

I managed to take a few shots with my 14.5” SDM last weekend. Subs were limited to around 10-15seconds max due to the long focal length of the scope and tracking in Alt/Az.

The first 4 were taken from my light polluted (Mag 3?) skies. The Lagoon and NGC253 were taken from reasonably dark skies.

1) 47_Tuc (single sub 8 sec, ISO1600)
2) Tarantula Nebula (16min, ISO1600, 5D Mark II)
3) Helix Nebula (~1hr total exposure, Canon 600D, CCD-CLS filter ISO1600)
4) M16 - Eagle nebula(~1hr total exposure, Canon 600D, CCD-CLS filter ISO1600)

5) Lagoon Nebula (10 min, ISO1600/ISO3200, 5d Mark II)
6) NGC253 - Sculptor Galaxy (~10 min exposure, 5D Mark II, ISO1600)

These were stacked in DSS, slightly processed in DSS and then I copied the image as it looked in DSS (“Copy to Clipboard” option) over to PS6 for adjusting Levels, Curves and Saturation. Unfortunately for some strange reason, when I export the image in DSS into a TIFF file (either 16 or 32 bit) and then adjust the TIFF file in PS6, I get a terrible looking image and I’m not sure why? I’ll post up an image of what it looks like tonight when I get home.

As I’m always looking to improve my photography and processing skills, critique is (encouraged) and most welcome  Thanks for looking.