Ugly Flame and Horsehead

[iceman (Mike)]

This data was taken on the 6th December, in-between clouds. A lot of frames were affected by clouds, but some of them were included in the stack anyway.

I took dark frames, but after calibrating they resulted in spotty lights so I didn't use them. So this is a result of stacking 9x 3 minutes and 5x 5 minutes.

Not enough exposure, not enough subs, no darks, no flats, too much light pollution and too many clouds

But, there's room for improvement I was going to throw this data away but decided to process it anyway.

Unmodded 350D @ ISO800 + ED80 + WO 0.8x reducer, guided on EQ6 with DMK+80mm refractor using PHD.

Maybe i'll have another go this weekend

[leon]

Mike that horsey is not ugly, it is just has to be let out of the stable so we can see the whole thing, for the way you imaged it, and no darks and flats etc, it came out pretty well i reckon.

Leon

[avandonk]

Mike it is not the destination that is important, it is the journey! A bit like life. And we all know what the destination is.

Have you noticed that the hero/ine in most novels has to undergo extreme tests of moral fibre and courage before the ultimate confrontation with his/her greatest fears. And then is only victorious due to the earlier 'practice'.

I don't know how many times I have imaged various objects but each time we get a little better. We = (myself and equipment)

I won't comment on your image as your self critique said it all.

Bert

[Garyh]

Doesn`t look too bad at all Mike. Stars are nice and round, colors look good. Just lots of noise and a bit spotty.
Just think of it as a trial run for this weekend! WHEN WE GET SOME CLEAR WEATHER!...lol...lookin good today so far..
cheers Gary

[bloodhound31]

Good effort Mike.

Baz.

[danny (Daniel)]

Colour in the flame looks good, I'd be happy

[dcalleja]

Not sure about ugly - my one and only attempt at the flame really is ugly. Nice image and framing

[Ric]

Nothing ugly about that Mike, I think you've done a pretty good job.

Cheers

[iceman (Mike)]

Thanks guys. You're too kind.

I had another attempt last night, in the only clear night in ages. I used ICNR as the dark subtraction, and took FLATS for the first time in my life!

Still needs more exposure and darker skies, but so far the preliminary processing looks good. Much smoother. Will finish processing monday.