Our Beautiful Universe - Photos and Videos

[Andy Resnick]

Just got back from vacation at the beach- I have about 1 TB of images to sort/stack/stitch which should keep me busy for several months... kinda like data analysis after an accelerator run :)

Here's a few 'quick looks', taken with a 105/1.4 lens, wide open. 1.3s exposures, ISO 8000, about 30s total exposure time. Unfortunately, downscaling to 800x600 really wrecks these, but I'm happy to report that the lens is pure magic- near perfect. I'm having a lot of fun with that lens, for sure. The first 3 images are Lyra, Andromeda, and a section of the milky way:

I'm really hopeful that the milky way panorama will result in a 'print-worthy' image. Here's a less-downscaled but still not 1:1 closeup of the lagoon and trifid nebula with saturn- you may be able to tell that images from multiple days were combined, as saturn is in two locations:

The next image was taken with a 15/2.8 lens during the Perseid meteor shower- new moon, so the sky was super-dark (30s ISO 4000). There is a meteor visible in the image, but again, downscaling obliviates it. This image is part of a timelapse, which I've already uploaded to my Youtube channel.

 

[DennisN]

The first 3 images are Lyra, Andromeda, and a section of the milky way

I like all of them, but particularly the first one!

 

[Andy Resnick]

I like all of them, but particularly the first one!

Thanks!

 

[Andy Resnick]

Part of the Veil Nebula (1:1 crop):

105/2, 30s ISO 200, about a dozen frames. Trivial!

 

[pinball1970]

Just got back from vacation at the beach- I have about 1 TB of images to sort/stack/stitch which should keep me busy for several months... kinda like data analysis after an accelerator run :)

Here's a few 'quick looks', taken with a 105/1.4 lens, wide open. 1.3s exposures, ISO 8000, about 30s total exposure time. Unfortunately, downscaling to 800x600 really wrecks these, but I'm happy to report that the lens is pure magic- near perfect. I'm having a lot of fun with that lens, for sure. The first 3 images are Lyra, Andromeda, and a section of the milky way:

View attachment 229765

View attachment 229766

View attachment 229767

I'm really hopeful that the milky way panorama will result in a 'print-worthy' image. Here's a less-downscaled but still not 1:1 closeup of the lagoon and trifid nebula with saturn- you may be able to tell that images from multiple days were combined, as saturn is in two locations:

View attachment 229768

The next image was taken with a 15/2.8 lens during the Perseid meteor shower- new moon, so the sky was super-dark (30s ISO 4000). There is a meteor visible in the image, but again, downscaling obliviates it. This image is part of a timelapse, which I've already uploaded to my Youtube channel.

View attachment 229769

Breathtaking Andy, beautiful.

 

[Andy Resnick]

Breathtaking Andy, beautiful.

Thanks!

 

[Andy Resnick]

First attempt at a stitched panorama of Cygnus:

The original is about 8000 x 6000 pixels, and the average star FWHM is 3.1 pixels (about 10.5 microns).

 

[Andy Resnick]

Here's a first attempt at stitching together images of the Milky Way; about 35 stacks of images (total integration time per stack is about 1 minute = 50 images):

This is about 0.1% of the size of the original (20k x 20k pixels). The bright spot in the center is Saturn, and the field of view spans NGC 6124 at the bottom right to M11 (Wild Duck Cluster) in the upper left.

 

[davenn]

A nice view in the western evening sky a couple of nights ago

Lower left is Venus, lower right, the Moon and near the upper edge, Jupiter

Canon 6D, 24-105mm cropped in PP, 30th sec, F5.6, ISO800

Dave

 

[bruha]

Hi I attached few images I made on Kefalonia last week.
moon just by camera
2 x moon by telescope
2 x Saturn by telescope (it is just attempt but I have problem inpossibility to adjust manually time exposition -so it is about 1/4 sec and therefore fuzzy...)
Hi and have nice days..

 

[Andy Resnick]

Ok, some results of imaging Cygnus @105mm and 400mm: Getting closer to being print-worthy...

 

[bruha]

Hello, your milky way is very impressive, (and cygnus as well).. which software do you use?-I have Registax.but not experienced ...( I send as sample attempt of Moon image sharpening)

Hi and lot of success!

 

[Andy Resnick]

Hello, your milky way is very impressive, (and cygnus as well).. which software do you use?-I have Registax.but not experienced ...( I send as sample attempt of Moon image sharpening)

Hi and lot of success!

Thanks! I use Deep Sky Stacker for stacking, Fiji/ImageJ for most post processing, and if needed, Neat Image for noise reduction and Hugin for stitching.

 

[bruha]

Hi thank you very much for information and lot of sucess, I will try and send some sample if sucess:)

 

[davenn]

Hello, your milky way is very impressive, (and cygnus as well).. which software do you use?-I have Registax.but not experienced ...( I send as sample attempt of Moon image sharpening)

Hi and lot of success!

hi,

Don't use Registax for deep space stuff ... only use it for solar, lunar and planetary stuff

For deep space image stacking, Deep Sky Stacker as Andy and I use is a great easy stacking program, then do editing of the stack in Photoshop etc

There are other programs that cost money, some lots of money and are much more complex to get to understand
eg, Nebulosity3

 

[bruha]

Hi thank you for advise- yes It its true- I would like to get deeper space but with my condition (I am from Prague) I have no much chance..(do you think that for example andromeda galaxy is relatively easy to take ?

 

[Andy Resnick]

Hi thank you for advise- yes It its true- I would like to get deeper space but with my condition (I am from Prague) I have no much chance..(do you think that for example andromeda galaxy is relatively easy to take ?

I am located in an "suburban/urban" location, my night sky is horribly light-polluted (in addition to generally poor seeing conditions), so I would argue you have very good chances.

 

[bruha]

Hello,
I attach two images processed by Registax (two settings of filtering) and original image as well.
If you have somebody some experiences with Registax I appreciated some advice…
Have nice days and lot of succes..

 

[DennisN]

High resolution from the International Space Station:

Experience High-Res Science in First 8K Footage from Space

Fans of science in space now can experience fast-moving footage in even higher definition as NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) deliver the first 8K ultra high definition (UHD) video of astronauts living, working and conducting research from the International Space Station. The same engineers who sent high-definition (HD) cameras, 3D cameras, and a camera capable of recording 4K footage to the space station now have delivered a new camera capable of recording images with four times the resolution than previously offered.

Source: http://www.nasa.gov/8k-science

 

[bruha]

Hi, I attach images of Rigel and Betelgeuse (it was take by 1/4 sec. exp. time so it is fuzzy but different colour (temperature)is recognizable..
have nice days

 

[mfb]

A picture from Mars, taken by InSight shortly after landing:

 

[davenn]

A picture from Mars, taken by InSight shortly after landing:

...

cool

but it looks like the Australian outback

 

[DennisN]

A very nice scrollable and zoomable panorama!

Mars Panorama - Curiosity rover: Martian solar day 2082
http://www.360cities.net/image/mars-panorama-curiosity-solar-day-2082

 

[davenn]

A very nice scrollable and zoomable panorama!

Mars Panorama - Curiosity rover: Martian solar day 2082
http://www.360cities.net/image/mars-panorama-curiosity-solar-day-2082

ohhh WOWOW that's truly stunning

 

[pinball1970]

A very nice scrollable and zoomable panorama!

Mars Panorama - Curiosity rover: Martian solar day 2082
http://www.360cities.net/image/mars-panorama-curiosity-solar-day-2082

Some of the stuff I've seen on here is unreal.
This is one of those. Hats off to the scientific community and engineering guys on this.

 

[bruha]

Hi this is my "colour playing" -four stars "images" last night...
You mean that this Mars panorama is "artificially corrected" ?
Have nice days-and nights

 

[Stavros Kiri]

After somewhat reviewing this thread, I figured something is missing. The following non-media was not uploaded in the forum:It was intented to show complete vacuum, but, since there was nothing to see, I figured I might as well skip it ...

 

[davenn]

Went out last nite, 7th Dec, for the first serious observing/imaging session for a long time.

Was very disappointed, when I got to site after a long drive, that I discovered that I had grabbed the wrong scope mount drive controller.
The controllers are the same except one has a 8 pin RJ connector and the other has a 6 pin RJ connector
The scope mount I took has the 6 pin and the controller I took has the 8 pin

As a result I had no tracking ability for my imaging
I had to keep exposures short but at the focal lengths being used, there is still some trailing.

Did some serious pushing of ISO settings to compensate a bit for the short exposures

Comet 46P/Wirtanen ... a comet with a large coma ( gas/dust halo) the size of a full moon, but the overall surface brightness is
reasonably low
10sec @ f2.8, ISO 6400, 200mm focal length ( 70 - 200mm zoom) on a Canon 6D

Large Magellanic Cloud

5sec @ f2.8, ISO 25600, 200mm focal length ( 70 - 200mm zoom) on a Canon 6D

cheers
Dave

 

[davenn]

Path of Comet 46P/Wirtanen for the first half of December 2018

I hope to get out again, weather permitting, on the weekend of the 14 to 16th Dec when the comet will be beside the Pleiades (M45) cluster. It will make a nice image

this image is flipped horizontal and vertical for us southern hemisphere observers
attached is a pdf file for the northern hemisphere observers

Dave

 

[DennisN]

but it looks like the Australian outback

I've never been to Australia, but I think I understand what you mean...

 

[davenn]

I've never been to Australia, but I think I understand what you mean...

'

haha brilliant

yeah ... it's nick name is the "Red Centre" ... we periodically have it visit the east coast by way of dust storms
Last time was a couple of weeks agoDave

 

[davenn]

Comet 46P/Wirtanen

well, battling mosquitoes, a bright moon nearby, bright city lights making the sky glow. I managed to get the comet near the Pleiades.--
Ohhh and when I took the scope and gear out, the sky was cloudless. Within 10 mins of doing the alignment and ready to go, the clouds started rolling through ... shot through the gaps
30 sec exposure, 150mm, f5, 1000ISO, Canon 6D
Not exactly brilliant, but better than not at all

yup, that small fuzzy green blob approx. right of centre

Astrophotography from suburbia is somewhat difficultDave

 

[pinball1970]

Comet 46P/Wirtanen

well, battling mosquitoes, a brigt moon nearby, bright city lights making the sky glow. I managed to get the comet near the Pleiades.--
Ohhh and when I took the scope and gear out, the sky was cloudless. Within 10 mins of doing the alignment and ready to go, the clouds started rolling through ... shot through the gaps
30 sec exposure, 150mm, f5, 1000ISO, Canon 6D
Not exactly brilliant, but better than not at all View attachment 235891

yup, that small fuzzy green blob approx. right of centre

View attachment 235892Astrophotography from suburbia is somewhat difficultDave

I cannot find the blob Dave, looked hard on a calibrated screen and still can't find it. There are three stars in line in the centre a lone star left of that and then a blob left of that of that, is that it?

 

[Andy Resnick]

Last night was a Christmas Miracle: the night sky was clear for the first time in about 2 months, and the last night before the moon got too close to comet 46P/Wirtanen: here's a 1:1 crop of a single frame (8", 400/2.8, ISO 800). The bright star is (I believe) φ Tau.

Unfortunately, doing 'comet stacking' with DSS is rather time-consuming, not sure when I'll finish the post processing (about 200 frames)... stay tuned.

 

[davenn]

I cannot find the blob Dave, looked hard on a calibrated screen and still can't find it. There are three stars in line in the centre a lone star left of that and then a blob left of that of that, is that it?

tis a little difficult ... the forum software plays havoc with images, it lowers the quality quite a bit

 

[davenn]

comet 46P/Wirtanen: here's a 1:1 crop of a single frame

nice shot, Andy

 

[pinball1970]

tis a little difficult ... the forum software plays havoc with images, it lowers the quality quite a bit

View attachment 236037

Got it!

 

[Andy Resnick]

Here's the best I could coax out of DSS- 200 frames covering about 2.5 hours of observing time, keeping the comet still and letting the stars drift. Also, either a plane or a satellite moved through the image field, so you can easily see the effect of non-zero wait times between frames.

The image has been downsized a bit, but if you think you can discern a short stubby tail on the comet, it's actually the result of non-perfect centering. This is also a tiny fragment of the entire image plane- suffice to say I'm still having problems with flat field correction.

Trying to 'double stack', so that both the stars and comet are 'frozen', resulted in a mess. Unclear what that problem is.

All in all, not bad for urban astronomy.

 

[davenn]

Images of the LMC ( Large Magellanic Cloud) showing the effect of increasing ISO and opening the aperture, with the same exposure time.
Canon 6D, Lens 70-200 f2.8 @200mm, 30 sec exp ---
1000 ISO, f4.0
2500 ISO, f3.5
3200 ISO, f2.8

Dave

 

[davenn]

Following from the previous 3 image with experimenting with ISO and aperture settings.
This LMC ( Large Magellanic Cloud) image is a stacked version
Canon 6D, 70-200 f2.8 @200mm, 30 sec exp ...
3200 ISO, f2.8, a stack of 8 frames = 4 minutes total exposure time, no darks or bias frames.
For the non astronomy people ... stacking images helps to reduce the noise level

Dave

 

[davenn]

M42, The Great Orion Nebula

 

[Stavros Kiri]

Just "wow!" from me here, for all latest images in this thread ...
The result is still clear and great even after maximum magnification on my screen. Hey! we got an "electronic telescope" that way! ... (thanks to Dave etc. ...)

 

[davenn]

Single exposure of the SMC ( Small Magellanic Cloud) including 47 Tuc globular cluster
Canon 6D, 70-200 f2.8 @200mm, ISO 3200, 30 sec exp.

Dave

 

[DennisN]

M42, The Great Orion Nebula

Wow, those colors!

 

[Andy Resnick]

Andromeda galaxy (M31) @ 105/2, 30s ISO 64, 2h total integration time- full frame:

1:1

 

[pinball1970]

M42, The Great Orion Nebula

View attachment 236615

View attachment 236614

wow!

 

[pinball1970]

Andromeda galaxy (M31) @ 105/2, 30s ISO 64, 2h total integration time- full frame:

View attachment 236796

1:1

View attachment 236797

Started the year off with some corkers!

 

[Andy Resnick]

Some images from last weekend (Pleiades and Orion): all taken at 400mm, each about 2.5 hours integration time, f/4 for the Pleiades and f/2.8 for the nebulae. I also took a series of images with at 105/2.8, but background subtraction has proven oddly difficult... I have a few more tricks to try out before it's ready to post.

 

[davenn]

Some images from last weekend (Pleiades and Orion): all taken at 400mm,

great shots Andy

in the last one, the Flame Nebula is easily visible and the Horsehead Nebula is just there with a close inspection

just some thoughts ...

I will note that particularly with the Pleiades and the Flame/HH images, I am surprised you haven't captured much more light for 2.5 hours of total exposure ??
You didn't comment on camera or ISO settings ? ...
I wonder if you are using a very low ISO and or the camera is an older one with a less sensitive sensor chip ?

For 2.5 hrs exposure time, the nebulosity around the Pleiades should be so bright
Dave

 

[davenn]

Hi Andy

Just as an example ... here's M45 that I took 34 x 30sec frames of last Friday nite (4th Jan)
That's 990 Sec (16.5 minutes) total time and stacked.

Incidentally, the first time I have captured the nebulosity

Note the similar amount of nebulosity compared to your image.

Canon 6D camera 400mm lens, 34 x 30 sec exposures, ISO 4000 and F5.6 apertureDave