First Light Gstar-EX

[ReaPerMan (Paul)]

These are my first ever pictures of DSOs taken with my new Gstar-Ex that I received yesterday. They are the best that i could do between some patchy cloud and a sudden onslaught of massive dew post sundown on a humid night. I was wiping down the glass after every filter change!

M42: Gstar-EX 50frames R,G,B + Dark Frame, C9.25 and 0.5 Focal reducer, 40 frames stacked in registrax, Photoshop CS4, AstraImage filter LR deconvolution. Adjusted for Curves and colour.

Tuc 47: Gstar-EX 50frames R,G,B + Dark Frame, C9.25 and 0.5 Focal reducer, 20 frames stacked in registrax, Photoshop CS4, AstraImage filter LR deconvolution. Adjusted for Curves.

Still a lot to learn and I'm looking forward to having more time/ better weather to get some better pics.

Any comments or advice would be greatfully received.

[jjjnettie (Jeanette)]

Great first light Paul!
I think you're doing fine, the more you image with the camera, the better you'll get.
Do you keep a log of your settings?
I used to keep like a Recipe Book for different objects to refer back to.

[tonybarry (Tony)]

Good work, Paul. You seem to have a good grasp on the colours aspect, something I am still working on. Keep up the efforts, you will be well-rewarded, especially on the fainter DSOs which other imaging systems would require long exposures to record and you would never see in real-time.

Have you read Massy & Quirk's book "Deep Sky Astrophotography" ? It gives a fairly good rundown on some aspects of using Photoshop to good effect.

Regards,
Tony Barry

[telecasterguru (Frank)]

Not a bad first effort. How long are the subs?

Frank

[lacad01 (Adam)]

Nice work Paul

[multiweb (Marc)]

Not bad at all for a first on a C9. Tracking looks good so you're 90% there. You need to focus on the squaring of your camera, it's slightly tilted. Try to use a bathinov or hartmann mask to reach focus also. Once you have those two sorted out your subs will be much clearer and you can take it to the next level. Looking forward to more.

[TrevorW]

Being a GStar I assume that the exposure times were short like frames per second so all I can suggest possibly you need a lot more frames stacked and guiding would help improve the image overall but a good first effort and as JJ said you'll only get better the more you do

[lacad01 (Adam)]

Just my 2c worth but agree with Trevor that more stacked frames will make a good difference and perhaps reduce the integration time when imaging something like M42 otherwise as you can see the core gets blown out severely. I don't own a GStar but a cctv camera which to all intents and purposes is the same as a GStar

[Hagar (Doug)]

Nice images Paul. In fact a great pair for first light. I never fail to admire what is possible with these little video cameras.
Keep working at it and your results will shine through.

Well done.

[ReaPerMan (Paul)]

Thanks everyone for your help and encouragement, i'm off to bed now post nightshift but just a few words before i go to the land of Nod...

Originally Posted by jjjnettie

Great first light Paul!

Do you keep a log of your settings?
I used to keep like a Recipe Book for different objects to refer back to.

I'm only just starting so this sounds like a great ideam thanks jjjnettie

Originally Posted by tonybarry

Have you read Massy & Quirk's book "Deep Sky Astrophotography" ? It gives a fairly good rundown on some aspects of using Photoshop to good effect.

Regards,
Tony Barry

It's on my wish list

Originally Posted by TrevorW

Being a GStar I assume that the exposure times where short like frames per second so all I can suggest possibly you need a lot more frames stacked and guiding would help improve the image overall but a good first effort and as JJ said you'll only get better the more you do

The weather conditions were a problem i started out in 128 integration with 150 frames untill i noticed that something was going wrong and i was loosing my image. It was dew forming on the glass to such an extant that i lost the picure!! I then deceided to reduce my capture to 50 frames each R G B and 20 frames for the dark. Inbetween filters i wiped down the glass to keep it clear (i dont have a dew controll system yet just a dew sheild. So this became my overriding limit for this imaging session.

Originally Posted by lacad01

Just my 2c worth but agree with Trevor that more stacked frames will make a good difference and perhaps reduce the integration time when imaging something like M42 otherwise as you can see the core gets blown out severely. I don't own a GStar but a cctv camera which to all intents and purposes is the same as a GStar

It was my first time with this system and you have confirmed what i thought that if I reduce the frame intergration then i can reduce the overexposure. I took some initial images without the 0.5 reducer (so C9.25 @ F10) and at 128 frame integration the trapizium was separate and clear.

Thanks Guys

[mill (Martin)]

Two very nice first images Paul.
As said above, shorter exposures will bring better images.