Hi all,
Here are some of the first images I've got out of the Skywatcher ED80 I recently bought from leon.
Been struggling a bit framing the subject as you might notice!!!!
Still, I'm having fun.
Most images are stacks of 30sec iso800 exposures, some are iso1600.
Processing these for too long to care anymore!!
Went crazy with software spikes too(First M6 looks like a dog's dinner - had to ReDo!!!)
1.M8/M20
2.Eta Carina
3.M22
4.M6 - Butterfly Cluster
5.M7 - Ptolemy's Cluster
6.Antares
7.M6 - ReDo
Cheers and be gentle...
Doug
Last edited by dugnsuz; 25-06-2007 at 12:05 AM.
Reason: 'orrible M6 pic!
Great selection of first light images there Doug. Well done mate. You're M22 image is starting to show signs of colour balance - may need to boost saturation a little to bring the colour out a little. Not sure about those software diffraction spikes... I think a bit of fishing line, cotton or string does a better job.
The stars in your images are spot on
Nice and round and crisp.
The nebulas do look slightly over-processed though. It is very easy to get carried away in the processing, coz it's fun. Try a re-process and keep all the processing levels a bit lower, then when you have it looking just right, hit it with 'Brightness/Contrast' adjustment to finish it off. It might help, but I don't know what you did, so I can't suggest which part to tone down.
Other than that, they are great images! Wish I could get Lagoon and Trifid in the one FOV.
You do know Doug that by posting so many images in one go you have doooommeed your fellow astronomers in SA to a bout of truely horrible weather for at least the next full moon (after this one )
Just jealous Good to see you making great use of a fantastic little telescope, especially considering the light weight mount you are using. Top stuff!! Here's to many many more.
Hi Doug, well you are certainly getting the hang of it and for your first lights, well done mate.
Now I'm not being silly here, but how come they are purple, it is a real question, and i would like to know, is that from the processing.
Great effort mate.
Leon
Thanks for all the comments and constructive criticism.
Leon, just can't seem to get reds out of the Pentax - it just doesn't seem to
be as red sensitive as the Canons for example. That and a hefty slice of overprocessing!!! (well spotted Ken )
Any ideas?
Sorry, cant help but try out the spikes on those open clusters! I'll try to refrain!!!
Cheers all
Doug
![[1ponders]'s Avatar](../vbiis/customavatars/avatar45_9.gif){kind=avatar}
) 
Good to see you making great use of a fantastic little telescope, especially considering the light weight mount you are using. Top stuff!! 
Here's to many many more. 
