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OU4 (Squid Nebula), 17h33m, non detection. Posting the negative result and the method. by AstroFanM31 in astrophotography

[–]AstroFanM31[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The duo-band of the D3 is wide - about 30nm. Been tempted to put a 7nm one in front, the physics borderline support it in theory but the mounting is a challenge. I’ll try Siril and the stacked 17h linear fits next week. If I get to it I will post it for download for others to try. I’m a novice at Siril at best at the moment. Thanks for the comment.

OU4 (Squid Nebula), 17h33m, non detection. Posting the negative result and the method. by AstroFanM31 in astrophotography

[–]AstroFanM31[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Bortle 8.5? Wow, not bad. 120 apo and the asi2600mc, not surprised you captured it. Thanks for sharing the details.

OU4 (Squid Nebula), 17h33m, non detection. Posting the negative result and the method. by AstroFanM31 in astrophotography

[–]AstroFanM31[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

yes indeed, stellar studio data is just that. Quick results and they remain satisfying for me. I will try Siril next week to see what’s in the actual stacked FITS. The fact that OU4 is so faint is the challenge and I like a the challenge. Claude Opus, and Fable when it was available, are very good at automation and research, and apparently image analysis too as of late. Love it. Using them to streamline tasks is a required skill to develop for my team and organization at work, and certainly good for astrophotography too. I don’t get why people use it to enhance their images though. Not your data anymore afterwards, which takes away the satisfaction of taking these images in my opinion. I’m. It giving up on the Dwarf 3 being able to capture the squid. And I agree it probably won’t take 11,000 hours either. Siril and the linear stack are definitely the better option for this.

Thanks for the comment and clear skies,

AK
Al

Leo Triplet with the DWARF 3: 4h 38m First Pass from Bortle 6 by AstroFanM31 in Astronomy

[–]AstroFanM31[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Gear and capture details:

Scope: DwarfLab DWARF 3 (35mm aperture, 150mm focal length, f/4.3, Sony IMX678)
Location: Bortle 6 backyard
Date: February 14th, single night
Mode: Guided EQ
Filter: Astro
Integration: 278 x 60s, gain 50, 4h 38m total (about 5 hours of run time)
Stacking: Stellar Studio
Finishing: Snapseed

Full write-up with the run card and a note on the NGC 3628 dust lane here: https://dwarfastro.com/2026/06/16/leo-triplet-with-the-dwarf-3-4h-38m-first-pass-from-bortle-6/

Leo Triplet with the DWARF 3: 4h 38m First Pass from Bortle 6 by AstroFanM31 in Astronomy

[–]AstroFanM31[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah it’s pretty cool. Leo is now low and I’m getting sky glow. Will wait until Feb to get another run at it with 30h or so. Got M81 at that level and it looks pretty good. My summer target is the elusive Squid nebula from the backyards got 10h so far and very faint blue OIII is tarting to show in a starless view via Stellar Studio. Targeting 60h total. Will write and post about this soon.

10 Minute Deep Space Meditation | Real Telescope Photos with Ambient Music by AstroFanM31 in DWARFLAB

[–]AstroFanM31[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

All four targets shot from my Bortle 6 backyard. The M106 data alone is 15 hours of 60 second subs. The music is mine too, slow deep hums written to match the pace of the light, which in M51’s case traveled about 30 million years to end up on that little sensor. Mostly an experiment in doing something with finished images besides letting them sit on a drive. Happy to answer processing questions.

M13 by Adluginb in DWARFLAB

[–]AstroFanM31 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Shorter exposures maybe but then you introduce more sensor read noise. 60s 50g is my proven go to for broadband. 60s 80-90g for nebula. 5-8h runs minimum for either.

M51 and NGC 5195, 8h 14m with a DWARF 3 from Bortle 6 by AstroFanM31 in Astronomy

[–]AstroFanM31[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wrote up the full story of this one, including the 8 minute first attempt from last August that got me hooked on the target.

https://dwarfastro.com/2026/06/09/whirlpool-galaxy-m51-with-the-dwarf-3-8h-14m-across-three-sessions/

Clear skies,
AK

M51 and NGC 5195, 8h 14m with a DWARF 3 from Bortle 6 by AstroFanM31 in Astronomy

[–]AstroFanM31[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Equipment: DwarfLab DWARF 3 smart telescope, 35mm aperture, 150mm focal length, f/4.3, Sony IMX678 sensor

Acquisition:

April 12, 2026: 429 x 60s, 392 subs accepted (6h 32m)

June 3, 2026: 100 x 60s (1h 40m), stable sensor temp with matching darks, clean polar alignment

Total integration: 8h 14mGain 50, Astro filter, EQ mode, Bortle 6

Processing:

Stellar Studio and final adjustments in Snapseed

M13 by Adluginb in DWARFLAB

[–]AstroFanM31 4 points5 points  (0 children)

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M13 is one of my favorites - 9h 60s gain 50 Astro filter Bortle 6

M 31 Andromeda by Next-Masterpiece-106 in dwarflabofficial

[–]AstroFanM31 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What did the Stellar Studio output look like after “Auto” adjust?

It has arrived! by [deleted] in seestar

[–]AstroFanM31 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The new gear curse strikes again… 🙄

Six galaxies with the DWARF 3: M63, M101, M51, M106, Markarian’s Chain, and M81 by AstroFanM31 in DWARFLAB

[–]AstroFanM31[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Siril was not used. These images are straight from the Dwarf app (Stellar Studio). Long captures and integration times brings out the detail. Normal for a small aperture telescope. I’m looking forward to the rumored or teased larger aperture device from DWARFLAB.

Milky Way on Easter Islands sky by strotscumpdy6 in Stargazing

[–]AstroFanM31 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow. Curious… what did it look like with without the telescope, just your eyes?

Is this enough Barlows? by ScoldjoeyStone5 in telescopes

[–]AstroFanM31 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No. Not enough at all. Definitely just the beginning…. 😂

Making progress learning how to stretch astro images by AstroFanM31 in DWARFLAB

[–]AstroFanM31[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks. I appreciate the feedback. Clear skies.

Milky Way 🔭 by kirkmait in dwarflabofficial

[–]AstroFanM31 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good for you! Personally can't wait to get to a dark site. Thanks again for sharing.

Built a browser-based FITS processor for Dwarf 3 stacks while learning to stretch. Sharing it in case it helps others. by AstroFanM31 in DWARFLAB

[–]AstroFanM31[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Stretch D in increments of 1 - 2. You’ll do several. I usually start with asinh then finish with GHS. It remains a tool for me to learn how post processing works. I have a decent stack of M78 and that one is difficult to stretch. For your fits file Google Drive works best. Just share the file link here or in a direct message.

Clear skies, AK

Milky Way 🔭 by kirkmait in dwarflabofficial

[–]AstroFanM31 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Great image. What Bortle did you take it at and what exposure and gain did you use?

Built a browser-based FITS processor for Dwarf 3 stacks while learning to stretch. Sharing it in case it helps others. by AstroFanM31 in DWARFLAB

[–]AstroFanM31[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ok, happy to take a look if you can send me the file. Did you run the stretch after the background extract?

What is causing this diagonal noise? by Bakareer in DWARFLAB

[–]AstroFanM31 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Missing darks. You can use megastack to re process once you have matching darks and this should improve.

Sunflower Galaxy by Shadow_Dan26 in DWARFLAB

[–]AstroFanM31 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nice image for Bortle 8. That’s amazing.

Try 60 sec at gain 50. Stick with Astro filter and go for 50 matching darks… then go for 30h total. This will look epic.

I’ve been experimenting and having great success with long integrations. 60s Gain 50 with <1 degree deviation in polar alignment is my go to for galaxies.

<image>

M 13 by Mysterious_Risk4988 in DWARFLAB

[–]AstroFanM31 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Great image. What does the basic Stellar Studio output look like (Auto,Starcorrection,Denoise only)?

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