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  #1  
Old 31-12-2022, 09:00 PM
Startrek (Martin)
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First Light NGC2359 Thors Helmet South Coast NSW

Captured Thors Helmet for the first time ever from my Dome on the South Coast NSW over 2 nights ( 26th and 27th December) Haven’t imaged from the Dome since July 2022
The mount performed really well considering it hasn’t been powered up for nearly 6 months. Goto was super accurate compared to my EQ6-R in Sydney, however guiding was obviously seeing limited

Seeing was poor the first night and only slightly better the second night ( high humidity, dew , no wind with Stars scintillating like crazy.

10” f5 Klaus Helmerich Carbon fibre newt ( fl 1280mm )
Skywatcher EQ8-R pro mount
ZWO2600MC cooled to -10C , Gain 100
TS Optics GPU coma corrector
Antlia ALPT 5nm Dualband narrowband OSC filter
85 x 3 min dithered guided subs ( just over 4 hrs )
2 x 40 Flats ( a new set each night )
60 x Bias
EQMOD and Ascom Stellarium
APT
PHD2 Multistar guiding (0.60 to 0.70 arc min total ) using PPEC Algorithm, Dec rock solid but Ra jumping around a little bit.
Stacked in DSS using multiple night method with reference frame
Processed in Startools version 1.8
Spatially Variant PSF Deconvolution worked really well on both main structures and stars ( don’t need BlurXterminator)
Data loaded via Compose and selected Bi Colour luminance colour with SHO channel blend to create a few Bi Colour renditions
All images are native scale with only edges cropped for stacking artefacts
A really enjoyable target to capture, although I reckon I could have got away with 2 minute subs as that 10” Newt is a real light bucket

Comments welcome
Thanks
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  #2  
Old 01-01-2023, 10:20 PM
Dave882 (David)
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Great resolution and detail Martin well done! Number 4 for me. Must be great to have some clear sky at the dome it’s been a long time coming!!
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  #3  
Old 02-01-2023, 07:27 AM
Startrek (Martin)
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Thanks Dave
Took me an hour or two Boxing Day to clean up the Dome inside and out of spider webs and mould etc… after being locked up for so long
Nice to get the big rig up and running again
It was enjoyable to image this new and exciting target too

Cheers
Martin
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  #4  
Old 02-01-2023, 10:08 AM
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seeker372011 (Narayan)
6EQUJ5

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I have never been able to get satisfactory results from Startools …seeing your very fine results makes me thinks I should give it a go once again.

Your comment about the 10 inch being a light bucket- makes me think I should try taking the ota off the dob mount and onto the EQ6…
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  #5  
Old 02-01-2023, 10:57 AM
Mickoid (Michael)
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Very nice image Martin, so much nebulosity revealed from your dark sky location. Hard to choose which one I like best from all the variations shown to us!
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  #6  
Old 02-01-2023, 03:26 PM
Startrek (Martin)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by seeker372011 View Post
I have never been able to get satisfactory results from Startools …seeing your very fine results makes me thinks I should give it a go once again.

Your comment about the 10 inch being a light bucket- makes me think I should try taking the ota off the dob mount and onto the EQ6…
Thanks
I’m happy to help with Startools, been using it for 5 years

Weight and rigidity is everything with a long tube Newt for AP
My carbon fibre weighs nearly 30% less than a steel tube newt plus very little expansion or flexure along the axis
A 10” f5 steel tube newt on an EQ6 is definitely limiting with respect to guided long exposures , ok for short exposures I suppose.
Cheers
Martin
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  #7  
Old 02-01-2023, 03:27 PM
Startrek (Martin)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mickoid View Post
Very nice image Martin, so much nebulosity revealed from your dark sky location. Hard to choose which one I like best from all the variations shown to us!
Thanks Mick
Much appreciated
Martin
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  #8  
Old 02-01-2023, 03:33 PM
Startrek (Martin)
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Spent a little bit more time on processing
Less Gamma on the AutoDev stretch
Increased HDR
Sharpening using 70% Dark 30% Light
A bit more dark saturation with colour

Here’s a couple of cropped versions for a closer look
Cheers
Martin
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  #9  
Old 02-01-2023, 10:26 PM
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strongmanmike (Michael)
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On ya Martin, glad the equipment worked well for you after a break, always a relief Cant pick a favourite, they all look good but I like it when this nebula is a teal (blue/green) colour with red/magenta highlights

Mike
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  #10  
Old 03-01-2023, 06:28 AM
Startrek (Martin)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by strongmanmike View Post
On ya Martin, glad the equipment worked well for you after a break, always a relief Cant pick a favourite, they all look good but I like it when this nebula is a teal (blue/green) colour with red/magenta highlights

Mike
Thanks Mike
When the weather clears I might capture some more data on this little gem
Hope to see some more images from Eagleview soon
Cheers
Martin
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  #11  
Old 03-01-2023, 09:10 AM
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Stephane
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Martin, very nicely done - particularly the revised versions. Plenty of nice detail and faint gas. I’m glad you’re able to get some imaging time in the dome. The darker skies must make a real difference.
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  #12  
Old 03-01-2023, 01:24 PM
Startrek (Martin)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Stephane View Post
Martin, very nicely done - particularly the revised versions. Plenty of nice detail and faint gas. I’m glad you’re able to get some imaging time in the dome. The darker skies must make a real difference.
Thanks Stephane,
Yes, great little target , a real gem of the universe
Really enjoying the dark skies , 10” aperture , 1280mm focal length and image scale of this bigger rig compared to my little 6” newt and Bortle 8 light polluted skies of Sydney
Cloudy weather for the next week or so but happy to sneak in 2 clear nights after Christmas

Cheers
Martin
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  #13  
Old 04-01-2023, 09:47 PM
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Ant0nio (Tony)
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Nicely done Martin, my vote goes to image #2.

Cheers & all the best for the new year,
Tony
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  #14  
Old 04-01-2023, 10:42 PM
Startrek (Martin)
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Originally Posted by Ant0nio View Post
Nicely done Martin, my vote goes to image #2.

Cheers & all the best for the new year,
Tony
Thanks Tony
All the best for 2023 too
Clear Skies
Martin
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  #15  
Old 06-01-2023, 08:13 AM
AdamJL
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Good stuff there, Martin. Great first attempt on this target.
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  #16  
Old 06-01-2023, 08:35 AM
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Ryderscope (Rodney)
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A nice display Martin and it’s good to see that everything is working well after resting for a while.
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  #17  
Old 06-01-2023, 01:52 PM
Startrek (Martin)
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Thanks Rodney and Adam,
Much appreciated

The clear weather was short lived it’s been cloudy and showers for a week now and nothing positive next week either , oh well that’s summer on the east coast

Took the opportunity to work on the image again whilst it’s cloudy
Created a Star mask, tidied up the Star colour in the colour module and some colour halos on the medium to bigger stars using the Shrink module with Halo Extend and Colour Taming sliders. Cleaned it up ok

This version look a lot cleaner now with Stars tidied up

Cheers
Martin
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