Thanks to everyone for caring about it. I will provide more details very soon.
In the meantime - I don't know why I'm having problems processing - I think it is just because I know the raw data is extra good and extra long I'm expecting more. I have cropped just the main part of M8 processed in two slightly different ways. I'd be grateful for a few views on which is actually the better version. Both will no doubt suffer from the heavy compression applied uploading it here, but....
Andrew, that was my thinking too but whilst the second one may look more unattractive it seems a shame not to reveal structure where it exists. This is not, by the way a finished processed image - I haven't yet applied curves or any saturation. I would like to alter the colour slightly too.
great news about your computer chris
don't want to go on about what has happened but i hope the police get involved as to deture any other thieft at any astro events within australia..
My laptop appears to be as it was - I don't think they re-installed it after all and both of my disks have been returned too, which really is great news. I only bought those disks a couple of weeks before and they costs a good $150 each and had my entire system backed up on them! I will travel to the Sunshine coast next week to collect.
In the interests of being fair - whilst there were two people at astrofest together I believe that only one of them actually took the laptop, possibly without the other person's knowledge - but that is only giving the benefit of the doubt - innocent until/unless proven guilty I suppose.
For me it will be the end of the matter but it is a lesson to us all and I'm sure it will mean the imposition of a little more security at Astrofest next year - a shame, but that is the way of the world these days.
Irrespective of the incident I had an absolutely glorious astrofest - I have so many great memories from this year and so much fun. Looking out of my 'warm room' with the door open at 01:00 as Scorpious was in full decent to the dark western horizon is a viewthat is etched in to my memory.
I have plenty of daytime shots of the field which I will post in due course.
OK, I have re-processed M8 and M20 to produced the attached. I'm happier with it, but still think it is lacking something given that it is 10 hours of data.
Although I played with curves and saturation I didn't seem able to fundamentally change the colour in PI to get the nice purple David managed to get. Mine seems a little too red. Thoughts, good and bad welcome.
Excellent news on the laptop. Best result all-round by the sounds.
Regarding your image processing questions, I reckon you'd be better off starting a specific thread in the appropriate part of the forum rather than the general AF thread here.
Great to hear that that your laptop and disks have been recovered. In the 20 Astrofests that have been held I can only recall one other time that pilfering has occurred. It puts a dampener on the camp that we can do without, as I feel that the Queensland Astrofest reflects the relaxed and friendly attitude of Queenslanders in general.
Having said that pilfering is rare, Anne-Louise and I are somewhat amused and bemused that a section of one of the spreaders that was to support our tarp over "Casa de Surma-Hawes" was deemed to be needed elsewhere on the first morning of the camp. It has not been sighted since.
I was feeling the ghosts on Saturday night. Peter came & set up the 30" beside me on Saturday afternoon.
There I was just quietly checking my gear when my scope started to slew all by itself....
It was slewing full speed & also heading up to Z.
I was crapping myself thinking that my electrics were in meltdown.
Turned out Peter's wireless remote was set at the same frequency as mine. So where ever he drove the 30", mine went as well.
The controlls also worked the other way... So I got to drive the 30"
