Hi all
Ive reprocessed an Eta Carina Neb shot I took a few weeks ago with the 6 inch f3.6 SN
6x10 mins ISO400. Baader UHCS filter and MPCC coma corrector. Hutech modded 350D.
Taken from my suburban back yard where the LMC is only just visible to the naked eye.
Not bad for a 20 year old telescope and an even older mount. Both corrector plate and main mirror of the SN are ordinary green plate glass, what was at the time a "cheap n nasty" scope that only cost a few hundred dollars, very cheap back in the 1980's. Look how cheap standard newtonians are today
I should point out a few modern additions like the camera of course and also the q guider camera but that still requires hand guiding a star image on the laptop pc.
The whole shooting match, including the Hutech modded camera and laptop cost me less than the cost of a STL11 on its own with no scope or even a filterset and wheel
One final advantage. If necessary it can be used in the field without a PC. I used to manually guide with an illuminated recticle before the Q guider came along. The drive corrector that runs the mounts RA drive draws about 0.6 amps 12V, so even a small SLA battery lasts a very long time in the field.
Scott
This is the proceedure I use with Photoshop. Images Plus has star size reduction built in. The PS method is a bit hit and miss, not all my images benefit as well as this Eta carina pic did
I suspect a lot of astro imagers employ some sort of star size reduction in their processing.
Mainly in rich starfields it helps. In shots with my 10 inch scope especially in less dense starfields it may not be needed.
Scott
I suspect a lot of astro imagers employ some sort of star size reduction in their processing.
Mainly in rich starfields it helps. In shots with my 10 inch scope especially in less dense starfields it may not be needed.
Scott
nice shot scott, i found the minimum filter tends to introduce halos even with extending and feathering, particularly in Nebs. But youve done it very well..... well done.
Agree, a good image considering (or not considering) the equipment age. Though you've only mentioned hardware. We all know image processing is what makes or breaks an image. Finely polish a bit of tin and stick a camera on end, then let the smoke and mirrors of image processing turn it into a master piece.
Here is what happens when I process an image taken with the 10 inch scope the same way
Image is just 3x10 mins ISO400, Hutech LPS filter, 10 inch f5.6 newtonian, hand guided with off axis guider and Q guider cam.
Yes Clive youre right, and indeed I had quite a few goes with different settings, some made noticable haloes and grossly distorted stars, others not enough impact, so yes had a few goes at it before settling on this one. It is indeed amazing what processing can do.
The old days of film was submitting exposed film to the photolabs and going with what was printed. A lucky few with film scanners could do some processing but the pc capacity and software we now have just wasnt around. I think we are going to see real good images from Pauls modded 450D, with its 14 bit 12 MP images in the near future.
While I'm not too fussed on the orange colour you have come up with here the resolution is pretty tidy! Can you post a bigger file? Just above the waterfall that cascades out of the keyhole there is a feature, the presence of which indicates good resolution particularly if it is sharpley defined. It is a kind of depression in the gasses, like a canyon and shapped like a chefs hat (or kings crown) pointing down at the 7 o'clock position at the head of the keyhole in your image. At the file size you have posted I can make it out ok but I think it would be more obvious at fuller res?
Thanks Mike. Yes I think I see what you refer to there. It can just be seen here
Note, the processing isnt 100% here, there is some haloes round stars of certain brightness. Ive done the star size reduction just using normal Photoshop functions, I guess a dedicated function to reduce star sizes might do as good a job without any haloes or other artifacts. Anyway I can see a faint depression with 2 stars in it. The "Finger of God" can also be seen above the keyhole. Youve got a good pic of it on your home page I see Its sheer co incidence the diffraction skiles are running vertical and horozontal, as being an off axis guider, they can be at any angle depenting on where the camera is rotated.
Scott
OMG amazing
the resolution is pretty tidy! Can you post a bigger file? Just above the waterfall that cascades out of the keyhole there is a feature, the presence of which indicates good resolution particularly if it is sharpley defined. It is a kind of depression in the gasses, like a canyon and shapped like a chefs hat (or kings crown) pointing down at the 7 o'clock position at the head of the keyhole in your image. At the file size you have posted I can make it out ok but I think it would be more obvious at fuller res?
