Our Beautiful Universe - Photos and Videos

[chemisttree]

You mentioned a 9.25 scope in your first post. I assume a Celestron CPC925 ?

Yes, of course. During quarantine I’ll go through my archived photos and post a couple. My favorite is the Venus transit through a NOS Carton 60 mm scope that I assembled from parts being sold (~2010) at the time.

 

[davenn]

6 am 20th Mar 2020 ... Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Moon and Mercury ...
Canon 6D, ISO1000 , f4, 1 sec exp, fl = 24mm fl.
From Sydney Australia

 

[bruha]

Hello, I send still 3 images processed by GIMP -Jupiter, Satum and Moon .. if some have experience in image processing by GIMP or similar software I will appreciate ... thanks and lot of success :)

 

[chemisttree]

Hello, I send still 3 images processed by GIMP -Jupiter, Satum and Moon .. if some have experience in image processing by GIMP or similar software I will appreciate ... thanks and lot of success :)

There are very good! They are all single images? Keep up the good work!

 

[davenn]

awesome effort :)

 

[bruha]

Hello, thank you yes its all single images-sharpened, denoised , saturated and highlights/shadow balanced.
(Nowadays I am on the country house carantena and this night should be clear (but for ex. Andromeda galaxy is already to low when getting dark...

 

[Andy Resnick]

'First Light' using Astro Pixel Processor on images taken post-lockdown of M101, 1700 seconds integration at 400/2.8 ISO 1600:

Not bad, especially since I am still learning how to use APP. The full field of view (DX format) shows pretty good flat field correction:

Lots of NGC objects are visible, although maybe not as this downsampled size.

 

[davenn]

looking good :)

 

[bruha]

Hello I send two images of yesterday Venus (by Bresser camera on ocular) just sharpened.. M101 images is very impressive-do you know arc size of this galaxy?

Hi and lot of succes...

 

[Andy Resnick]

Here's the 'Leo Triplet', 1 hour integration time @Iso 1250, slightly downsampled:

 

[chemisttree]

Here's the 'Leo Triplet', 1 hour integration time @Iso 1250, slightly downsampled:

View attachment 259406

What telescope/lens is that camera seeing this through?

This one?

 

[Andy Resnick]

What telescope/lens is that camera seeing this through?

This one?

Yes, sort of- a 30-year old manual focus version of that lens. It's amazing!

 

[Andy Resnick]

Next, finished processing the Rosette nebula, 78 m integration @ISO1250: cropped and downsampled 33%

Still a bit faint, but the color rendering is fantastic.

 

[davenn]

Comet Lovejoy from a few years back
2015-01-14

Image data

 

[davenn]

Next, finished processing the Rosette nebula, 78 m integration @ISO1250: cropped and downsampled 33%

View attachment 259455

Still a bit faint, but the color rendering is fantastic.

Good image, but so faint for 78 minutes. I still can't figure out why your long exp. images are all quite faint.
At that length of exposure time, regardless of if it's a bunch of stacked images or a single image should be blasting off the screen

here's 21.5 minutes made up of 30 sec exposures 44 lights, 9 darks

 

[bruha]

Hello, it is very interesting. Please what is for example apparent magnitude and arc size of this nebula
Thanks

 

[Andy Resnick]

Preliminary M51 stack, 58m integration time; there are about 10 NGC objects in the full field of view:

Again, the hue/chromatic problems I used to have with DSS are largely resolved in APP (not an endorsement). What is odd, there remains a large-scale blue-red gradient (red in the center, blue at the edge) in the flat-corrected stack, indicating a real phenomena and not an algorithm quirk. I suspect it's because I'm using a LCD (monitor) for the flats; the LCD display color temperature is not the same as the night sky.

 

[Andy Resnick]

Good image, but so faint for 78 minutes. I still can't figure out why your long exp. images are all quite faint.
At that length of exposure time, regardless of if it's a bunch of stacked images or a single image should be blasting off the screen

here's 21.5 minutes made up of 30 sec exposures 44 lights, 9 darks

Yeah, I know. I'm going to plead a combination of 'ignorance' and 'non-optimized' b/c I'm using a new stacking program.

 

[davenn]

Yeah, I know. I'm going to plead a combination of 'ignorance' and 'non-optimized' b/c I'm using a new stacking program.

OK My processing skills need to be improved as well. Wish I could process images the way
others do

Ohhh just had the other thought ... are you still only doing just 1 sec exposures ?

 

[Andy Resnick]

Ohhh just had the other thought ... are you still only doing just 1 sec exposures ?

Heh... nope, I've progressed all the way to 8 second exposures :) Well, depending on the declination- I can go up to 15 seconds for M51/M101 and still get a reasonable fraction of stackable images.

 

[bruha]

Hi, these two moons I think is not bad

 

[davenn]

Hello, it is very interesting. Please what is for example apparent magnitude and arc size of this nebula
Thanks

M9.0 is the apparent magnitude

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosette_Nebula

 

[bruha]

Thank you...

 

[bruha]

Thank you

 

[bruha]

Hello,
I attached still one moon image -moore saturated

 

[chemisttree]

Hello,
I attached still one moon image -moore saturated

Better and better. Single image?

 

[chemisttree]

Hi, these two moons I think is not bad

Theophilus is striking. Focus is very good. These are afocal images? Plossl 12mm?

 

[chemisttree]

Yeah, I know. I'm going to plead a combination of 'ignorance' and 'non-optimized' b/c I'm using a new stacking program.

How long were your subs?Edit:
Nevermind. 8 sec. I see.

 

[chemisttree]

Heh... nope, I've progressed all the way to 8 second exposures :) Well, depending on the declination- I can go up to 15 seconds for M51/M101 and still get a reasonable fraction of stackable images.

Your images are not tracked?

 

[chemisttree]

What is odd, there remains a large-scale blue-red gradient (red in the center, blue at the edge) in the flat-corrected stack, indicating a real phenomena and not an algorithm quirk. I suspect it's because I'm using a LCD (monitor) for the flats; the LCD display color temperature is not the same as the night sky.

You are setting your LCD to white and taking your lights that way? What would happen if you imported that flat into Adobe and removed the color info?

 

[Andy Resnick]

Your images are not tracked?

I don't know what you mean by 'tracked'?

 

[Andy Resnick]

You are setting your LCD to white and taking your lights that way? What would happen if you imported that flat into Adobe and removed the color info?

I made some progress- the white balance of my flat source (the LCD) is not the same as the (streelight polluted) night sky- I took another set of flats 'red shifting' the color and that reduced the problem significantly.

 

[bruha]

Thank you,
yes its single image ( I have not possibility with my sony compact to make automatic sequence..)

:)

 

[bruha]

 

[davenn]

I don't know what you mean by 'tracked'?

That means the telescope is tracking the stars/object

 

[Andy Resnick]

Your images are not tracked?

That means the telescope is tracking the stars/object

Oh... I assumed it was obvious- there's no way to acquire an 8-second exposure without it (well, except for Polaris...). I don't have an auto-guider.

 

[bruha]

Hello, I send two older images Jupiter with some months (little fuzzy)

 

[Andy Resnick]

ISS flyover, 4/2/20 9:15pm. 1/1600s 800/5.6 ISO1250:

Definitely best images yet.
Edit: I figured out how to post the 'video':

 

[davenn]

ISS flyover, 4/2/20 9:15pm. 1/1600s 800/5.6 ISO1250:

Definitely best images yet.
Edit: I figured out how to post the 'video':

Sweet

 

[davenn]

Venus and M45 the Pleiades Cluster
04 Apr. 2020. 0830UT (1930 AEDT)
Canon 6D 40th sec, 100mm, ISO2400
From Sydney, Australia

 

[bruha]

Hi its very interesting, ( I quess as its opposite to northern sky, Aldeberan is in direction upper right ? - as I could track pleiades by help of Venus...)

Two moon imges.. not sure if better is colour or B/W...

Hi and lot of succes

 

[davenn]

I quess as its opposite to northern sky,

Yes it is

Aldebaran is in direction upper right ?

for me, yes, some distance off the upper right corner of the image

last nite's pic
05 Apr. 2020 Venus and Pleiades from home
West Ryde, NSW, Australia
Canon 6D, 1/5 sec exp, f5.6, 400mm, ISO 4000

cheers
Dave

 

[bruha]

Hi, thank you , I send moon image from yesterday (we have almost full moon now)...

 

[bruha]

Hi, I attach Venus image from yesterday... (proc. by GIMP) , its not very satisfying.. have you somebody some Venus images..?
Hi and lot of succes...

 

[chemisttree]

ISS flyover, 4/2/20 9:15pm. 1/1600s 800/5.6 ISO1250:

View attachment 259946

Definitely best images yet.
Edit: I figured out how to post the 'video':

View attachment 259948

Ah, so an alt-az mount you have!

 

[Andy Resnick]

Ah, so an alt-az mount you have!

My non-motorized tripod has a gimbal mount, yes. My motorized tripod (astrophotography) is a Losmandy GM-8 German Equatorial mount. The only real trick is that the non-motorized tripod can be arranged to allow the lens to point directly toward zenith- there used to be a pic on the web, can't find it now.

 

[chemisttree]

My mistake. Looked a lot like frame rotation to me.

 

[Andy Resnick]

My mistake. Looked a lot like frame rotation to me.

My ISS video does indeed have frame rotation! As the camera slews, the relative orientation between the camera and object rotates (the gimbal acts as an Az-El mount). The lens has a adjustment allowing rotation with respect to the tripod, but when ISS is moving there's no time to fiddle around with stuff like that.

 

[davenn]

My mistake. Looked a lot like frame rotation to me.

You do realize that the ISS is constantly turning ?

 

[bruha]

Hi, here is my last Venus image from yesterday...original and saturated image -, I quess if this light spot on saturated image just below Venus could be some object (star)...