M31, M45, 180s exposures *unguided*
Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2018 1:08 pm
The following were captured on 14/15 October 2018.
High-res M45 here https://www.astrobin.com/370439/E/. Note the differences over the revisions.
Images and SharpCap capture settings below.
- Altair Astro 66ED refractor, Altair 183C V2 camera, Celestron AVX mount, Planostar 0.8x flattener/reducer.
- Capture software SharpCap v3.2 beta.
- 2 alignment stars + 4 calibration stars.
- All Star Polar Align via hand controller.
- Focus with Bahtinov Mask, unguided.
- Bias frame checked with FITS Liberator to ensure balanced histogram, used to decide black level setting.
- Light frame checked with FITS Liberator to ensure Image Statistics min > 0 and max < 65535.
- Stack produced using Siril plus colour calibration, SCNR & colour saturation.
- Stack finalised with GIMP 2.10. About 30 minutes each for calibration and processing.
- Flats taken with home made EL panel, £25.
- M31, M45, 20x180s lights, 20 darks, 50 flats, 50 bias.
- Both images gain=200, black level = 150.
High-res M45 here https://www.astrobin.com/370439/E/. Note the differences over the revisions.
Images and SharpCap capture settings below.