Hi guys,
after being beaten by the dew lastnight i decided i wasn't going to be beaten tonight and set up to image through the 6" instead of the ED80.
the only problem i had with this was that i don't have the spacer yet for my MPCC so LOTS of coma but theres not much i can do about that for now.
not only first light for the QHY8 but also my first time autoguiding, so this is really my first serious go at it and i'm pretty happy so far.
i wasn't really happy with the colour version i processed so i also processed the red channel separately as a RHa monochrome image and i'm much happier with that, i think this shows more detail but thats probably down to my lack of processing skills.
I was especially interested in these photos as I'm waiting for clear skies to try my first auto-guiding attempt. I'll also be using a 6" newt. This is a real encouragement for me, monoxide!! Thanks for sharing!
TJ, I recall you saying in a previous post that you don't have good data to start with... I'd have to disagree. There is plenty of potential in what you have presented. 90mins of data should give a reasonable result. I sense you could perhaps push/stretch this image a little harder to bring out more nebulosity. Colours look good. Well done. Look forward to seeing more.
Hi TJ Very nice first light. Processing is everything with the CCD. A pretty steep learning curve but you are well on the way. Looks like you haven't struggled as much as me.
What I think you need:
More data (longer subs)
Better focus (Very dificult)
Less processing is sometimes better.
thanks guys, i really enjoyed it lastnight.
i think i underestimated the HEQ5, i've put a fair load on it and its guiding beautifully. As Doug said I think my focus could have been a touch better, this is probably because i only focused once at the start of the night. hopefully i can nail this with the motofocus.
Jase, this is my first set of 'good' data. minus the coma of course.
i think i had the offset a little low which is why i had trouble bringing out more detail, i'll have to experiment more with the capture settings to make it easier when it comes to the processing.
a set of darks and flats would probably help out a lot too.
i still really need to get a handle on the processing, at the moment i'm only sticking to really basic processing routines but i need to learn more to bring out the most i possibly can.
anyway, i'll get out there tonight and give it another bash on something different and see how i go.
Goodluck with your first light too Kirkus, hope you have as much fun as i did.
Top work for a 1st light TJ, smooth. Flats are necessary methinks. You could sharpen the bright bits with colour select or masking layer without more noise on the dim bits.
Thanks Ric and Fred,
you're not wrong about the need for flats, when i pushed the data harder it was a lot more obvious.
at the moment though i'm mainly just trying to work out the camera, the gain and offset settings are going to take a lot of experimenting, at the moment though i think i need to take the offset up just a touch as i'm not getting the finer detail i'd expect from a 10 minute sub even though my processing is sub standard.
i'm going to have another go tonight without the UHC-S as this seems to throw the colour balance a lot, i've also found a way to attach my mpcc but i don't know how accurate the spacing is at the moment, im about to go take a few subs to see if its better or worse.
i probably should have mentioned that the images i posted were SUM combined with NO flats or darks, im very very happy with how smooth the result was considering this.
Hi TJ,
Try a spacer of around 30mm (I use the Meade f3.3 reducer spacer), as i use the MPCC and this seems to be the best for me, and also the spacing of the sensor glass to the top of the metal case is around 22mm from memory, so both together gives you the required 52mm or so.
For a first image, its pretty good. But you have learned on the pain and torture of others (Mainly Doug and Clive), so its off to a new world of processing for you to TJ.
not wrong Theo,
atleast now i know its not my gear holding me back, even though its pretty modest its still pretty capable, i just have to put the effort in to be able to reap the rewards.
on a good note, i think ive solved my coma problems without the need to get an additional spacer, if you take off the small ring it screws into the filter thread on the standard 2" nose piece i have attached, seems to be working well from the subs ive just taken.
just a warning though, the threads are not the same but they are close enough that it will hold without any chance of falling off but if you force it you could damage the threads.
yes, for no darks thats good for 10 min subs, but those pure colour pixels might be hotties, which will go with darks. Theres some vignetting there too.
