M42 Astro Pixel Processor 5 session stack
Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2020 10:10 am
I recently collected 5 sets of M42 data, in one session at 5 different exposures, with a view to experimenting with HDR images. I have just tried using the multi session capability in Astro Pixel Processor to create a single stack from the 5 sets. The data (collected in December 2019 using SharpCap 3.2, an Altair 183C camera and Altair 66ED refractor on a Celestron CG5 mount) was:
The resulting default file name can be quite long!
Post processing in APP included:
Once the frames were all correctly assigned to their respective sessions, APP was used in the same way as for a single set of exposures.
In summary, 86 minutes total integration time of M42 with some exposures being 120s and the resulting image not having a blown out core gives some interesting possibilities for future projects.
This seems to be a productive way to deal with objects with a large range of brightness - for example M31 and globular clusters. It might also save me having to learn about processing using layers.
Dave
- lights: 15x120s, 30x60s, 30x30s, 50x10s, 50x4s
- darks: 20 for each of the above exposures
- flats & bias: 100 of each
The resulting default file name can be quite long!
Post processing in APP included:
- remove light pollution
- calibrate background
- calibrate star colours
- stretch from pre-defined list
- saturation
- contrast
- highlights
- crop
Once the frames were all correctly assigned to their respective sessions, APP was used in the same way as for a single set of exposures.
In summary, 86 minutes total integration time of M42 with some exposures being 120s and the resulting image not having a blown out core gives some interesting possibilities for future projects.
This seems to be a productive way to deal with objects with a large range of brightness - for example M31 and globular clusters. It might also save me having to learn about processing using layers.
Dave