Had another crack at this a couple of weeks back. Just invested in
CCDStack. Wow, what a learning curve!
Anyway, 7 exposures of 2 mins. at ISO 800, plus darks. Plus 4 days work!!!
Still some noise there, have to work at that.
Robert http://www.astrobin.com/full/232509/0/
Pretty good Robert; I suggest darkening the background a little, and
upping the contrast a little; I think that would give it a lift.
I started 60 yrs ago.
raymo
OK Raymo,
How's this? I just upped the contrast in PS.
I didn't really start until some 10 years after retirement, but also always had a strong interest in photography and mild interest in astronomy.
Robert
That looks a bit better. In PS, if you go into selective colour and select
black, you can make the background darker in tiny increments. It just
needs a little to help the nebulosity stand out [IMHO].
raymo
Had another crack at this a couple of weeks back. Just invested in
CCDStack. Wow, what a learning curve!
Anyway, 7 exposures of 2 mins. at ISO 800, plus darks. Plus 4 days work!!!
Still some noise there, have to work at that.
Robert http://www.astrobin.com/full/232509/0/
Try NoiseWare (free).
Quite good at cleaning up backrounds just on the normal setting. Only turns out jpegs though, not TIFFS etc although that may be a factor of the free version.
Raymo, thanks for that tip. Always something new to learn in PS.
George, another good tip. I checked and had it wrong! Had a hunt for the pattern of my D90 and sure enough, different to the default setting. I'll have to have yet another go. As I said, a steep learning curve.
Brent, I had a look for NoiseWare - no longer free. At the moment I feel I've spent enough $s.
There are only 4 options for debayering in ccdsatck, i debayered one frame with each option until i found the correct pattern, it should stay as a default in that pattern unless you change it.
Could repost the altered image?
I found the correct pattern on the internet and will be having another go at the image with the "correct" settings. I will post when done. Thanks again George.
Robert
Brent, I had a look for NoiseWare - no longer free. At the moment I feel I've spent enough $s.
Thanks all for your help.
Robert
I have the install file for the Community Free version if you want. As I said, only turns out jpegs, you pay for the TIFF capable version.
PM me your email if you want to at least give it a try. It's almost 2 megs in size and I can rename the file extension so it doesn't get hammered by the filters.
Hi,
Well, I had another go at the old spider with the correct Bayer pattern and I think this version is much better. http://www.astrobin.com/full/232509/B/
I have not cropped this one as much and I think the framing is aesthetically better. There is still some noise present but much reduced. All comments appreciated.
Brent, thanks for the offer of the NoiseWare software free addition. I located it on the internet and when I tried to download the following message came up: Based on our internal quality systems, this software could be either potentially malicious or may contain unwanted bundled software. We therefore recommend one of the alternatives below. By clicking on the Continue button, you agree to continue with the download at your own risk and Softonic accepts no responsibility in connection with this action.
So I didn't proceed. I'll take you up on your offer and PM you my email address. Hopefully you have a clean version. Many thanks.
Robert
At the moment I feel I've spent enough $s.
I'll take you up on your offer and PM you my email address. Hopefully you have a clean version. 
Many thanks.
