Takahashi FSQ106ED and Bortle 2/3 skies

Using SharpCap for other Astro Imaging such as all sky cameras and meteor detection
Post Reply
User avatar
oopfan
Posts: 1321
Joined: Sat Jul 08, 2017 2:37 pm
Location: New York
Contact:

Takahashi FSQ106ED and Bortle 2/3 skies

#1

Post by oopfan »

I didn't take these. I downloaded them. They were taken at a remote site in Spain with a Takahashi FSQ106ED at f/3.6 and a QSI camera.
We can dream can't we?

These are single frames: one each of Ha, R, G, B with exposures 600s, 900s, 900s, 900s, respectively.

Brian
horsehead-1x600s-Ha-bin1-Pier6-Takahashi-FSQ106ED-f3.6.jpg
horsehead-1x600s-Ha-bin1-Pier6-Takahashi-FSQ106ED-f3.6.jpg (101.73 KiB) Viewed 8710 times
horsehead-1x900s-Red-bin1-Pier6-Takahashi-FSQ106ED-f3.6.jpg
horsehead-1x900s-Red-bin1-Pier6-Takahashi-FSQ106ED-f3.6.jpg (123.89 KiB) Viewed 8710 times
horsehead-1x900s-Green-bin1-Pier6-Takahashi-FSQ106ED-f3.6.jpg
horsehead-1x900s-Green-bin1-Pier6-Takahashi-FSQ106ED-f3.6.jpg (115.42 KiB) Viewed 8710 times
horsehead-1x900s-Blue-bin1-Pier6-Takahashi-FSQ106ED-f3.6.jpg
horsehead-1x900s-Blue-bin1-Pier6-Takahashi-FSQ106ED-f3.6.jpg (109.34 KiB) Viewed 8710 times
User avatar
turfpit
Posts: 1779
Joined: Mon Feb 13, 2017 8:13 pm
Location: UK
Contact:

Re: Takahashi FSQ106ED and Bortle 2/3 skies

#2

Post by turfpit »

Brian

I downloaded the data from the home page and spent 2 days developing my APP skills. Incredible detail from Bortle 2/3 skies. As usual with imaging, no gain without pain. This is what I managed to produce.

IC434-HaLRGB_R-12x900s_G-9x900s_B-12x900s_Ha-20x600s.jpg
IC434-HaLRGB_R-12x900s_G-9x900s_B-12x900s_Ha-20x600s.jpg (226.24 KiB) Viewed 8676 times

IC434_Ha-20x600s.jpg
IC434_Ha-20x600s.jpg (142.55 KiB) Viewed 8676 times


I had to experiment stacking different numbers of RGB frames in order to get the colour balance right. Also a synthetic L frame was generated by combining Ha, R, G, B stacks, described here https://www.astropixelprocessor.com/har ... olonnello/.

The camera used for capture was a QSI 683ws (KAF 8300 sensor). 20 darks, 20 bias and 10 flats were used with each filter. APP performed flawlessly handling this data.

Alnitak is troublesome with these exposure lengths and currently beyond my processing capabilities but I am satisfied with the range of colours and Ha detail.

Dave
User avatar
oopfan
Posts: 1321
Joined: Sat Jul 08, 2017 2:37 pm
Location: New York
Contact:

Re: Takahashi FSQ106ED and Bortle 2/3 skies

#3

Post by oopfan »

Great work Dave! You are the APP wizard.

Brian
User avatar
turfpit
Posts: 1779
Joined: Mon Feb 13, 2017 8:13 pm
Location: UK
Contact:

Re: Takahashi FSQ106ED and Bortle 2/3 skies

#4

Post by turfpit »

Not really Brian - I used all the default settings in APP.

Dave
User avatar
oopfan
Posts: 1321
Joined: Sat Jul 08, 2017 2:37 pm
Location: New York
Contact:

Re: Takahashi FSQ106ED and Bortle 2/3 skies

#5

Post by oopfan »

Fair enough but you knew what buttons to press in the proper order!

Brian
User avatar
turfpit
Posts: 1779
Joined: Mon Feb 13, 2017 8:13 pm
Location: UK
Contact:

Re: Takahashi FSQ106ED and Bortle 2/3 skies

#6

Post by turfpit »

After some 'support & encouragement' from Brian I have settled on this one. This is the 9th version (9th attempt at processing the stacks) - better framed and finally managed to grasp removal of light gradients in APP. In the end, more was achieved with less processing. The final step was to denoise with Neat Image.

IC434-HaLRGB-resized.jpg
IC434-HaLRGB-resized.jpg (227.05 KiB) Viewed 8648 times


Dave
User avatar
oopfan
Posts: 1321
Joined: Sat Jul 08, 2017 2:37 pm
Location: New York
Contact:

Re: Takahashi FSQ106ED and Bortle 2/3 skies

#7

Post by oopfan »

A really stunning image, Dave! I see that it is really racking up the views, likes, and comments at AstroBin.

Brian
Post Reply