A woefull result after 3 nights of imaging this is a poor 7 hours worth of photons of Centaurus A. I cant push it anymore as the light pollution has simply made the outer area extinct of data. A DSLR simply has its limits! I was going to image this for longer but after discussions with the Centaurus DEMIGOD i realsied that this will be an unachievable goal from the Doghouse unless there is a total power outage in newcastle at night for 3 days. Now whats the likelyhood of that?
this is a crop form the full image size as i had noise from the AMP glow to remove as well.
Its horrible, nasty and probably could be processed slightly better, but without divine intervention this is as good as i can get my bucket of photons i have collected!
It does have quite a bit of detail but that background is noisy, and that's understandable...given the conditions and limitations you've had to put up with. Good shot, anyway
It does have quite a bit of detail but that background is noisy, and that's understandable...given the conditions and limitations you've had to put up with. Good shot, anyway
thanks – but it is far from what I was hoping to achieve
Quote:
Originally Posted by multiweb
It does but you can beat it. More exposures will increase your SNR and eventually you'll smooth everything out. It's a numbers game. Not impossible.
So your saying keep at it and see if I can improve it?
Quote:
Originally Posted by tornado33
The extended halo of stars is just starting to show, so pretty good for a city location.
Scott
Mate – your dreaming!! You must have eagle eyes Scott it becomes an issue now of finding what works and what the limit is for the setup, thanks anyway for the hope?
Quote:
Originally Posted by kinetic
I think you are being too hard on yourself Dave.
The detail is there, I can see the extent of it on a good monitor.
Maybe your processing is too harsh on the data?
Steve
I don’t Steve, you think if anyone said to you - hey I have done 7 hours worth of imaging you would assume that you would see a well defined and smooth image. I did push it hard and did say that – I will have to repro, but might hold off on that until I get more data?
Quote:
Originally Posted by gregbradley
Its not too bad.
Galaxies are a tough target for light polluted areas though.
Greg.
Your too kind Greg. I am now realising how tough they are - well for that matter anything. Gees if I get really touched badly I could end up like Fred
Nice image David with lots of detail but even with LP I would have expected a bit more for 7 hours worth. This imaging game can be a mongrel where loads of exposure doesn't always mean the best image. To many variables.
Still it's a nice image David but I can understand your disappointment.
So your saying keep at it and see if I can improve it?
Hell yeah. You'll probably put double or triple the integration time but the more you stack the better it'll get. There's nothing you can't do from a light polluted sky that you can do at a dark site unless the sky count is higher than the the object you are trying to take a picture of.
Every 16 or so frames you gain an image brightness increase, noise disappears and eventually a great image. This can be very tough through light pollution. Not prepared to deal this anymore myself. A good image all the same. Maybe a little soft on the focus perhaps.
I was going to image this for longer but after discussions with the Centaurus DEMIGOD i realsied that this will be an unachievable goal from the Doghouse unless there is a total power outage in newcastle at night for 3 days. Now whats the likelyhood of that?
ZERO...?
Still a great effort from your new observatory
Save such projects for dark skies where the seemingly impossible can become a reality.
Nice image David with lots of detail but even with LP I would have expected a bit more for 7 hours worth. This imaging game can be a mongrel where loads of exposure doesn't always mean the best image. To many variables.
Still it's a nice image David but I can understand your disappointment.
Keep at it Mate.
thanks - youre quite correct far too many variables
Quote:
Originally Posted by multiweb
Hell yeah. You'll probably put double or triple the integration time but the more you stack the better it'll get. There's nothing you can't do from a light polluted sky that you can do at a dark site unless the sky count is higher than the the object you are trying to take a picture of.
ok i am currently doing another 2 hours worth at iso 800, if i am lucky i will try to squeeze in another hour on that - it is getting windy?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul Haese
Every 16 or so frames you gain an image brightness increase, noise disappears and eventually a great image. This can be very tough through light pollution. Not prepared to deal this anymore myself. A good image all the same. Maybe a little soft on the focus perhaps.
no Paul the focus was spot on - the seeing was the variable this time - was some thin cloud methinks
Quote:
Originally Posted by strongmanmike
ZERO...?
Still a great effort from your new observatory
Save such projects for dark skies where the seemingly impossible can become a reality.
Michentaurus A
Michentaurus the great, please accept my humble apology but i simply cant let go of this
Quote:
Originally Posted by DavidTrap
I just hope my efforts will resemble your's David...
Agreed. Actually had a look at it again this morning and it's a top shot regardless of where it was taken. More data will only make it better but it's already very good as it is. Details are sharp in the lane and you start seeing the oval halo around the galaxy. It think the whole gig's there.
Last edited by multiweb; 12-05-2010 at 08:23 AM.
Reason: spelling
A woefull result after 3 nights of imaging this is a poor 7 hours worth of photons of Centaurus A. ...
Its horrible, nasty and probably could be processed slightly better, but without divine intervention this is as good as i can get my bucket of photons i have collected!
WHAT are you on about David!!!! Not perfect - sure, but a perfectly resepectable and worthy image!! You should be proud of your effort. Nice colour, good detail given conditions and equipment, and nice round stars. Just go out and get yourself a mono CCD camera and you'll be laughing!
well i got just a tad more data last night and added it and badly processed it. so i got the count now to 11h and 11min. as you can see from the screen transfer function pushing it there is a significant difference, but it is way over processed. I think one day i may get there but that day is way way way off
. I cant push it anymore as the light pollution has simply made the outer area extinct of data. A DSLR simply has its limits! I was going to image this for longer but after discussions with the Centaurus DEMIGOD i realsied that this will be an unachievable goal from the Doghouse unless there is a total power outage in newcastle at night for 3 days. Now whats the likelyhood of that?
Scott it becomes an issue now of finding what works and what the limit is for the setup, thanks anyway for the hope?
Not perfect - sure, but a perfectly resepectable and worthy image!! 
but that day is way way way off
