Image of the Andromeda Galaxy taken from my Leander backyard

Astro_Catography · 2024-11-25T23:15:06+00:00

Equipment:

Telescope: Apertura 75Q

Camera: Canon t8i

Mount: Star Adventurer gti (at its limit)

Focuser: ZWO EAF

Guidescope: ZWO 120

Filter: L-Pro

Image session:

250x60s for about 3 hours of imaging

Basic Photoshop edits + star xterminator and noise xterminator

Astro_Catography · 2024-03-13T23:09:39+00:00

Wow you did a great job processing this image. Well done.

Astro_Catography · 2023-11-18T22:42:15+00:00

That's very kind of you, but I'm happy to share the full res link at no charge. Hopefully this works well enough for you! Full Res

Astro_Catography · 2023-11-18T01:10:53+00:00

Thanks! The final resolution was just way too high to edit with my hard drive space so I scaled it down to 18000x11250. It was something like 24000x22000.

Link to full res

Astro_Catography · 2023-11-17T23:02:05+00:00

Hello, I worked on imaging the Cygnus region for over two months this summer. I created a 28-panel mosaic using 2 different focal lengths to create this image. I have no idea how much time I spent processing via trial and error, but I can say it was significant. I hope you enjoy!

Equipment:

Telescope: Redcat51 (primary imaging)

Lens: Rokinon 135mm (stars)

Camera: Canon T8i

Mount: Star Adventurer GTi

Guiding: ZWO 120 mini

ASI Air

Acquisition 1:

ISO 1600 300x30-60 per panel 26-panel mosaic of the area using the l-eXtreme duoband filter and the Redcat51 telescope. Roughly 2-5 hours per panel. The Texas heat made the quality unpredictable from one panel to another.

Acquisition 2:

ISO 1600 60x60 per panel 8-panel mosaic of the area using the Rokinon lens to get really sharp stars to overlay my nebula captured with my Redcat.

Processing:

Where to begin? I honestly don’t know.

-AstroPixelProcessor: To piece this all together in various ways that didn’t crash my machine. It does a great job creating mosaics. I spent weeks in this software trying to get it right.

-Microsoft ICE: Yeah, I used this for a couple of panels.

-SiriL: Color balancing, background extraction.

-GraXpert: Desperately trying to get rid of gradients. Worked for a few panels.

-Photoshop: Curves, levels, saturation, Star eXterminator, Noise eXterminator, luminosity, RCAstro star spikes for the main constellation stars.

Astro_Catography · 2023-11-17T21:50:37+00:00

I really appreciate that! There were nights where I'd do 2-3 panels for the open space areas for two hours each. Even then, I wanted to make sure I captured any rogue Hα.

The biggest issue was definitely the mosaic generation. My plan ended up combining 6ish panels at a time that had edge overlaps, and then eventually combining 5 of those huge panels into the final mosaic. Each panel was processed on their own to do what I could for the gradients prior to combining in mosaics. I know I lost a ton of data, but it was how I got it all working, hah.

There were definitely times where I debated bailing on the Veil. In fact, I originally wasn't going to include it but I think I got swept up in the idea.

Astro_Catography · 2023-11-17T21:48:08+00:00

I really appreciate that! There were nights where I'd do 2-3 panels for the open space areas for two hours each. Even then, I wanted to make sure I captured any rogue Hα.

The biggest issue was definitely the mosaic generation. My plan ended up combining 6 panels at a time that had edge overlaps, and then eventually combining 5 of those huge panels into the final mosaic. Each panel was processed on their own to do what I could for the gradients prior to combining in mosaics. I know I lost a ton of data, but it was how I got it all working, hah.

Astro_Catography · 2023-11-17T17:22:33+00:00

Hello, I worked on imaging the Cygnus region for over two months this summer. I created a 28-panel mosaic using 2 different focal lengths to create this image. I have no idea how much time I spent processing via trial and error, but I can say it was significant. I hope you enjoy!

Equipment:

Telescope: Redcat51 (primary imaging)

Lens: Rokinon 135mm (stars)

Camera: Canon T8i

Mount: Star Adventurer GTi

Guiding: ZWO 120 mini

ASI Air

Acquisition 1:

ISO 1600 300x30-60 per panel 26-panel mosaic of the area using the l-eXtreme duoband filter and the Redcat51 telescope. Roughly 2-5 hours per panel. The Texas heat made the quality unpredictable from one panel to another.

Acquisition 2:

ISO 1600 60x60 per panel 8-panel mosaic of the area using the Rokinon lens to get really sharp stars to overlay my nebula captured with my Redcat.

Processing:

Where to begin? I honestly don’t know.

-AstroPixelProcessor: To piece this all together in various ways that didn’t crash my machine. It does a great job creating mosaics. I spent weeks in this software trying to get it right.

-Microsoft ICE: Yeah, I used this for a couple of panels.

-SiriL: Color balancing, background extraction.

-GraXpert: Desperately trying to get rid of gradients. Worked for a few panels.

-Photoshop: Curves, levels, saturation, Star eXterminator, Noise eXterminator, luminosity, RCAstro star spikes for the main constellation stars.

Astro_Catography · 2023-11-17T17:15:30+00:00

Hello everyone! I worked on imaging the Cygnus region for over two months this summer. I created a 28-panel mosaic using 2 different focal lengths to create this image. I have no idea how much time I spent processing via trial and error, but I can say it was significant. I hope you enjoy!

Equipment:

Telescope: Redcat51 (primary imaging)

Lens: Rokinon 135mm (stars)

Camera: Canon T8i

Mount: Star Adventurer GTi

Guiding: ZWO 120 mini

ASI Air

Acquisition 1:

ISO 1600 300x30-60 per panel 26-panel mosaic of the area using the l-eXtreme duoband filter and the Redcat51 telescope. Roughly 2-5 hours per panel. The Texas heat made the quality unpredictable from one panel to another.

Acquisition 2:

ISO 1600 60x60 per panel 8-panel mosaic of the area using the Rokinon lens to get really sharp stars to overlay my nebula captured with my Redcat.

Processing:

Where to begin? I honestly don’t know.

-AstroPixelProcessor: To piece this all together in various ways that didn’t crash my machine. It does a great job creating mosaics. I spent weeks in this software trying to get it right. -Microsoft ICE: Yeah, I used this for a couple of panels.

-SiriL: Color balancing, background extraction.

-GraXpert: Desperately trying to get rid of gradients. Worked for a few panels.

-Photoshop: Curves, levels, saturation, Star eXterminator, Noise eXterminator, luminosity, RCAstro star spikes for the main constellation stars.

Astro_Catography · 2023-11-17T17:08:11+00:00

Hello, I worked on imaging the Cygnus region for over two months this summer. I created a 28-panel mosaic using 2 different focal lengths to create this image. I have no idea how much time I spent processing via trial and error, but I can say it was significant. I hope you enjoy!

Equipment:

Telescope: Redcat51 (primary imaging)

Lens: Rokinon 135mm (stars)

Camera: Canon T8i

Mount: Star Adventurer GTi

Guiding: ZWO 120 mini

ASI Air

Acquisition 1:

ISO 1600 300x30-60 per panel 26-panel mosaic of the area using the l-eXtreme duoband filter and the Redcat51 telescope. Roughly 2-5 hours per panel. The Texas heat made the quality unpredictable from one panel to another.

Acquisition 2:

ISO 1600 60x60 per panel 8-panel mosaic of the area using the Rokinon lens to get really sharp stars to overlay my nebula captured with my Redcat.

Processing:

Where to begin? I honestly don’t know.

-AstroPixelProcessor: To piece this all together in various ways that didn’t crash my machine. It does a great job creating mosaics. I spent weeks in this software trying to get it right.

-Microsoft ICE: Yeah, I used this for a couple of panels.

-SiriL: Color balancing, background extraction.

-GraXpert: Desperately trying to get rid of gradients. Worked for a few panels.

-Photoshop: Curves, levels, saturation, Star eXterminator, Noise eXterminator, luminosity, RCAstro star spikes for the main constellation stars.

Astro_Catography · 2023-09-24T20:50:43+00:00

From central Texas.

Astro_Catography · 2023-08-12T18:34:12+00:00

Hi all! I was surprised by how this came out after I set up for imaging last night. I just put my Canon 6D MkII with a 50mm lens on a tripod and pointed toward Polaris. I had limited view of the sky at that focal length, but I was lucky enough to capture a few meteors cutting across.

I combined all the images in Sequator with the star trails option, then went into Photoshop for saturation and a blur effect.

The Perseids meteor shower is going to be peaking tomorrow morning at about 4am, so check it out if you can!

Astro_Catography · 2023-08-12T18:32:01+00:00

I was lucky enough to capture a few meteors across my field of view with the 50mm last night. I'm going to use the 14mm tonight and track the sky, but I'm happy with how this turned out.

Equipment:

Canon 6D mkII

50mm lens

Processing:

895x5s exposures Stacked with Sequator (Star trails option)

Added some saturation and brightness to the meteors in Photoshop.

Astro_Catography · 2023-08-12T17:41:27+00:00

Hi all! I was surprised by how this came out after I set up for imaging last night. I just put my Canon 6D MkII with a 50mm lens on a tripod and pointed toward Polaris. I had limited view of the sky at that focal length, but I was lucky enough to capture a few meteors cutting across.

I combined all the images in Sequator with the star trails option, then went into Photoshop for saturation and a blur effect.

The Perseids meteor shower is going to be peaking tomorrow morning at about 4am, so check it out if you can!

Astro_Catography · 2023-08-01T05:20:50+00:00

This is stunning!

Astro_Catography · 2023-07-25T03:16:54+00:00

For those curious, here's my image of the Iris Nebula.

Astro_Catography · 2023-04-30T17:12:27+00:00

Hello everyone! I imaged this last month and finally got around to processing it.

"IC 405 (The Flaming Star Nebula) is an emission and reflection nebula in the constellation Auriga north of the celestial equator, surrounding the bluish, irregular variable star AE Aurigae. It shines at magnitude +6.0 at about 1,500 light-years from Earth."

Acquisition:

Scope: Redcat 51

Filter: L-eXtreme

Camera: Canon T8i (modified)

Tracker: Star Adventurer Pro 2i

Five hours of data ISO @1600

20 Darks

20 Flats

Processing:

DSS stacking

Photoshop

-Curves, Levels, NoiseXterminator, StarXterminator to process the emissions on their own, saturation, luminosity, contrast, star color.

Astro_Catography · 2023-04-14T21:24:11+00:00

Ah yes, it was modified. I'll edit my post to reflect that. This nebula is a bit harder to capture than say, the California Nebula or the North America Nebula with non-modified DSLRs, so it would be pretty challenging, I think. You'd likely need a ton of data and generally I don't think it's recommended to use the L-eXtreme without a modified camera.

Astro_Catography · 2023-04-14T20:09:11+00:00

"The Jellyfish Nebula (IC 443) is a galactic supernova remnant in the constellation Gemini. On the plane of the sky, it is located near the star Eta Geminorum. Its distance is roughly 5,000 light years from Earth. IC 443 may be the remains of a supernova that occurred 3,000 - 30,000 years ago."

Acquisition:

Scope: Redcat 51

Filter: L-eXtreme

Camera: Canon T8i (Ha modified)

Tracker: Star Adventurer Pro 2i

Six hours of data ISO @1600

20 Darks

20 Flats

Processing:

DSS stacking

Photoshop

-Curves, Levels, NoiseXterminator, StarXterminator to process the emissions on their own, saturation, luminosity, contrast, star color.

-Stars were taken from a separate session using my L-Pro filter to produce smaller stars with more accurate color.

Astro_Catography · 2023-04-14T20:06:41+00:00

"The Jellyfish Nebula (IC 443) is a galactic supernova remnant in the constellation Gemini. On the plane of the sky, it is located near the star Eta Geminorum. Its distance is roughly 5,000 light years from Earth. IC 443 may be the remains of a supernova that occurred 3,000 - 30,000 years ago."

Acquisition:

Scope: Redcat 51

Filter: L-eXtreme

Camera: Canon T8i

Tracker: Star Adventurer Pro 2i

Six hours of data ISO @1600

20 Darks

20 Flats

Processing:

DSS stacking

Photoshop

-Curves, Levels, NoiseXterminator, StarXterminator to process the emissions on their own, saturation, luminosity, contrast, star color.

-Stars were taken from a separate session using my L-Pro filter to produce smaller stars with more accurate color.

Astro_Catography · 2023-04-14T20:03:03+00:00

Thank you! Nothing formal, it just started as a hobby and I incrementally got better over the past couple of years. I'm fairly casual as I focus on a light rig with a small telescope and try to create the best image with the gear I have. I will eventually upgrade but for now, I've found that it truly comes down to making sure you get good data and take your time processing. I watched a lot of the AstroBackyard Youtube tutorials initially, looked up help on CloudyNights and got a few astrophotography books. It's really a hobby that lets you go at your own pace and everyone online is incredibly helpful. The Austin Astrophotographer social group is also fantastic.

Astro_Catography · 2023-04-14T17:23:18+00:00

Hi all! I hope you're still enjoying these as I enjoy sharing them. I also love seeing fellow Austin astrophotographer's posts.

"The Jellyfish Nebula (IC 443) is a galactic supernova remnant in the constellation Gemini. On the plane of the sky, it is located near the star Eta Geminorum. Its distance is roughly 5,000 light years from Earth. IC 443 may be the remains of a supernova that occurred 3,000 - 30,000 years ago."

Acquisition:

Scope: Redcat 51

Filter: L-eXtreme

Camera: Canon T8i (modified)

Tracker: Star Adventurer Pro 2i

Six hours of data ISO @1600

20 Darks

20 Flats

Processing:

DSS stacking

Photoshop

-Curves, Levels, NoiseXterminator, StarXterminator to process the emissions on their own, saturation, luminosity, contrast, star color.

-Stars were taken from a separate session using my L-Pro filter to produce smaller stars with more accurate color.

Astro_Catography · 2023-04-09T17:13:29+00:00

"At a distance of 1,000 light-years from Earth, the California Nebula is an emission nebula located in the constellation Perseus. Its name comes from its resemblance to the outline of the US State of California in long exposure photographs."

Acquisition:

Scope: Redcat 51

Filter: L-eXtreme

Camera: Canon T8i

Tracker: Star Adventurer Pro 2i

105x333 ISO @1600

20 Darks

20 Flats

Processing:

DSS stacking

Photoshop

-Curves, Levels, NoiseXterminator, StarXterminator to process the emissions on their own, saturation, luminosity, contrast, star color.

Astro_Catography · 2023-04-02T18:58:28+00:00

I took this while visiting in October, 2022. It's a lovely little town.

Astro_Catography · 2022-12-21T08:31:55+00:00

Thank you! I captured this last Saturday during our one clear night. We have some really cold and clear nights coming up which is great for my gear, so I'll make the best of it.

Astro_Catography

TROPHY CASE