M31, Andromeda with Altair 183C

[turfpit]

_M31-30x60s-g150-bl100.jpg (390.91 KiB) Viewed 2551 times

Full scale image here https://www.astrobin.com/365121/

Altair Lightwave 66ED, Celestron AVX mount, Altair 183C

All Star Polar Align (Celestron mount), focus Bahtinov mask, unguided.

SharpCap 3.1
30 x 60s, g=150, black level=100
30 lights
30 darks
30 bias
100 flats
(session interrupted by cloud )

Processed in Siril + GIMP 2.10 (40 minutes total)

Dave

[ALTAIRH183C]
Debayer Preview=On
Output Format=FITS files (*.fits)
Capture Area=5440x3648
Binning=1x1
Pan=0
Tilt=0
Colour Space=RAW12
Fan=On
Temperature=11.5
Black Level=100
USB Speed=2
Auto Exp Target=121
Frame Rate Limit=Maximum
Analogue Gain=150
Exposure=60000
Timestamp Frames=Off
Apply Flat=None
Subtract Dark=None
#Black Point
Display Black Point=0
#MidTone Point
Display MidTone Point=0.5
#White Point
Display White Point=1
TimeStamp=2018-09-05T23:46:07.4412580Z
SharpCapVersion=3.1.5193.0

[admin]

Very nice - some good detail visible in the dust lanes - well done!

Robin

[turfpit]

Cheers Robin. Thanks for all your blunt off-line comments/suggestions over the past year which have helped me to progress.

The image below is from September 2016. A good example of what can be achieved with an unbalanced scope, poor polar alignment, poor focus and no idea what any of the SharpCap camera controls actually mean/do. Plus I wasn't paying attention to the shape of the histogram or scrutinising the max/min image statistics in a single frame in FITS Liberator before commencing a run back then.

To anyone starting out and at the stage below (it is M31 - honest), I would say persistence is the key and do pay attention to the phrases above in italics

Dave

M31-September 2016.jpg (110.62 KiB) Viewed 2532 times

[mAnKiNd]

wonderful images!

[turfpit]

Thanks Minos.

It was 3rd time around before I got anything decent with M31.

Dave