Sculptor NGC 253

[spearo (Frank)]

Hello,
still working on technique and improving the autoguiding
here's a shot of Sculptor
3X15 min ISO 400
given the time i'm posting this...lets just hope my boss doest surf this site....

not particularely or overly happy with this but it's an improvement for me so here it is

frank

[Dennis]

Lovely image of my favoutite galaxy. Nicely done Frank. Your boss will be proud of you!

Cheers

Dennis

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

I think that's pretty good!

Your processing is excellent.

Many DSLR images I see here show characteristic colour blotching and a quite a bit of noise but this image has tamed both quite well, so well done!

Mike

[spearo (Frank)]

Thanks
I think I should be able to get a bit more sharpness if I can get the autoguiding to work slightly better (and possibly eventually get the CG5 cleaned - regreased etc). in fact the best would probably be a longer exposure at ISO 200 but i dont think i'm quite there just yet...i still manae to ruin too many shots but i'll get there.
I used a master dark for the first time on this image which is probably an indicator of how much of a newbie I still am!
Still having fun though!
:]
mike:thanks mate, I'm trying to follow all the steps I can with cropping, levels, curves, unsharpmask and for shots like this i use the noise-scratches filter function instead of the usual noiseware which leaves it a bit sharper.
all good fun I must say

[Lee]

It's a great image..... I'd be glad to have it as mine!

[Ric]

It's a great looking image, I'll probably have a go myself this weekend. I hope they turn out as good.

great work

[tornado33]

Nothing wrong with that, looks great. Good guiding for the 15 minute esposures too.
Scott

[Garyh]

Love it, heaps of detail there!! Great for only a stack of 3 pics!!!
Cheers Gary

[Striker (Tony)]

Your doing some really nice work there franky boy.

Can I still get some of the credit for selling you the camera in the first place or has that grace period gone...lol

Yes your doing well guiding for that long with the CG5 mount..very impresive.

Keep them coming.

[EzyStyles (Eric)]

beautifully done there frank. well balanced.

[spearo (Frank)]

Gee thanks everyone,
I actually almost didnt post this one because by the time i finished processing it blurry eyed and tired i couldnt even tell if it was nice or not anymore!!!
hahahahah
and Tony, yes you still get credit , that generous deal for the 20Da was a Godsend!...let me know if you want to offload a 200R OTA cheap...:]
or a G11...I'll consider a swap
hahaha


Thanks again everyone,
makes want to try again for more exposures
cheers
frank

[matt]

Frank

Even though everyone's already congratulated you on a very nice pic, I'm gonna throw you a compliment as well.

That's very nice work. Well done

[spacezebra (Petra)]

Excellent image

Cheers Petra

[spearo (Frank)]

Thanks
I'll be back at it tomorrow for sure now!
frank

[beren]

Wonderful image Frank, as well those featured on your website Im amazed at the tracking I hope the CG5ASGT mount I get works just as well

[spearo (Frank)]

Thanks Beren,
dont forget I'm autoguiding , left to it's own the CG5 could only track up to about 3.5 minutes without trailling...might be able to do a wee bit better but i started autoguiding .
The CG5 feels a bit stiff esp compared to G8 and G11 and EQ6 s of friends I have had the opportunity to try (all of these are very very nicely smooth and offer virtually no resistance when balancing the scope)

On the other hand my trusty little CG5 has been serving me pretty well so far so I'm not complaining!
:]
f

[beren]

3.5 min is pretty damn good to I think considering the mount is a carrying a C9.25 OTA and a guidescope ...well done again