This months shake down of my setup, NGC253(my yard stick this time of the year), Horse Head (my daughters choice) and three of the Grus Quartet.
I'm still getting the hang of LRGB processing in PixInsight (which is now working like a rocket ship, thanks Rick)
Wind was the environmental cause of my frustration but the mount stayed on target and guided well. At least there was no clouds.
All of these are L 20x90 sec and RGB 10x90 sec 2x2 bin. I'm pushing the old workhorse DSI at 90 sec without cooling but I can't let a good night go by, even without a flash new camera. But I am really hanging for some cooling and a wider CCD.
I have reprocessed the images again, and LRGB now makes sense, as does a lot more of the software.
Still need to work on calibration but that works better with a stabilised CCD temperature as I understand it so I won't chase my tail with that until I get a better camera.
I removed the mat, and put the scope inside. The safety net provides enough shelter from the wind to cut it down to the point where it doesn't affect the scope any more, and the whole thing is very lightweight to move around the backyard, and a lot cheaper than other options
Pixinsight is worth the effort, once you get your head around it, it is incredibly powerful.
seeing limited resolution and a 16 inch aperture!!!
these images are hi res, but it will be interested to see what you can do with a camera upgrade.
Thanks Shiraz,
That is what I'm aiming for with the scope at f4.5. The QHY23 with 3.69 um pixels will new beyond normal seeing but give me the chance to grab high res should the atmosphere permit and in 2x2 binning for normal nights.
Even with the DSI, these images are showing good detail for short exposures!
Can't wait to see what comes from your 16" with the new camera.
Cheers,
Justin.
Thanks Justin,
I can't wait either but my hobby funding is a little short at the moment but the new camera is on the cards. I see what others are doing with cooled cameras and I'm seriously envious. I've done longer exposures but the thermal noise starts to overload the top left corner beyond 90 sec.
I can't say enough about PixInsight at the moment. It is fast and stable, and lots of great tools. I can't figure out why I had trouble with it before but I don't care now as it is working like a treat.
Hi Justin,
I prefer the first version of the HH, and the 2nd versions of “galaxies”
Thanks Ian,
I'm still getting the hang of posting images and the transfer from my monitor to the web looses some of the darker details and I agree with your selection.
The learning curve is steep but it is starting to level out.
I removed the mat, and put the scope inside. The safety net provides enough shelter from the wind to cut it down to the point where it doesn't affect the scope any more, and the whole thing is very lightweight to move around the backyard, and a lot cheaper than other options
Pixinsight is worth the effort, once you get your head around it, it is incredibly powerful.
Thanks Peter,
I like the idea and recycling where possible and giving things other uses than the one they were designed for is right up my alley. I built the mount and scope because I like the extra satisfaction you get from the results. (When it works)
Yes PixInsight is powerful, the more I dig into it the more I get out of it.
Nice bag Justing, all the repros are much smoother mate, and majic how you can grab such depth with 90secs ? top stuff
Thanks Bob,
I would love to go deeper but the poor old DSI without cooling has thermal noise in the top left corner that fills the wells after about 120 sec and makes calibration a bigger challenge. I see you are getting great results from the QHY and I can't wait to get one for my rig.
