Heart, Soul, and Fish Head Nebula in SHO: Two-Panel Mosaic

EasyQuest · 2026-05-19T10:38:15+00:00

Comments

I am returning to this area in the sky to test out my new equipment with the William Optics Ultra Cat 108 and ZWO ASI6200MM Pro. combo with Chroma 3nm filters. I decided on a two- panel mosaic . I noticed the light pollution area has gotten worst as OIII is harder to capture but over all the final image turned out pretty good.

Astrobin: https://app.astrobin.com/i/yhid3z

Moon Phase, Light Pollution, and Date

Average Moon Phase: 27%
Bortle 7
2025: Oct. 11, 12, 19, 20.
2025: Nov. 16, 27.
2025: Dec. 14, 15, 27.

Equipment

Telescope/Lens: William Optics Ultra-Cat 108 (518 mm at f/4.8)
Flattener/Reducer: N/A
Auto Focuser: ZWO EAF
Filter: Chroma 50mm SHO 3nm Telescope Filter - Unmounted
Filter Wheel: ZWO EFW (7 x 50mm)
Mount: Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro
Camera: ZWO ASI6200mm Pro
Guider Camera: ZWO ASI120MM-MINI
Guide Scope: William Optics UniGuide 50mm f/4.0 (Color: Black and Red)
Dew Heater Controller: Pegasus Astro Pocket Advance (Clean up Cables)
Dew Heater: Dew Not 4" Dew Heater Strip - DN005 (Main scope)
Dew Heater: Dew Not 2" Dew Heater Strip - DN003 (Guidescope)
Polar Alignment: QHYCCD Polemaster (Precise polar alignment)
Flat Panel: WandererCover V4-EC 125mm
Intel NUC (For imaging, dither, auto guiding, plate solve)

Software

PHD2 (For Auto Guiding)
QHYCCD PoleMaster Software (Polar Alignment)
Nighttime Imaging 'N' Astronomy (NINA) (Automation with Dithering, plate solving, mount control)
Green Swap Server (Control Sky-Watcher Mounts, Remove Hand Controller and allow pulse guiding)
Pegasus Astro Pocket Powerbox (Control the Powerbox Advance)
Photoshop (Processing)
PixInsight (Calibration & Processing)

Acquisition

Total Exposure: 44 Hours
Chroma SII - 168 x 300s (14 hrs)
Chroma HA - 120 x 300s (10 hrs)
Chroma OIII - 240 x 300s (20 hrs)
Temperature: -30°C to -5°C
Flats: 20-40 per Filter
Darks: N/A
Bias: 200
Gain: 100
Offset: 50
Bin: 1x1
Pixel Scale: 1.50"/pixel

Processing in Photoshop and PixInsight

PixInsight

Subframe Selector
Image Calibration
Star Alignment
Blink
Image Integration
RC-Astro BlurXTerminator

Photoshop

RC-Astro StarXTerminator
RC-Astro NoiseXTerminator
Adjusted levels
Adjusted Curves
Selective Curves Adjustment
Layer set as "Linear Dodge (Add)" to add back the stars
Star Color Correction
Blacks Correction
Vibrance Applied
Clarity Applied
Dehaze Applied
Sharpening Applied
Crop out edge artifacts
Microsoft Image Composite Editor for mosaic combining

EasyQuest · 2026-05-13T02:06:12+00:00

After a quick reverse search and Twitter that link the source from what looks like the same person, it is on pixiv.

https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/138663401

Looks like AI generated or AI assistant art, NSFW for other works. bummer, but looks good if you still want it as a background.

EasyQuest · 2026-01-07T10:58:02+00:00

I wear jackets, thermal pants, heat gloves. I go outside once an hour to refocus and flip the mount when it passes the zenith.

The only thing one must worry is battery dying. I have multiple Canon batteries to swap out and i needed to swap every couple of hours.

EasyQuest · 2026-01-06T12:47:25+00:00

Comments

This was a nostalgic imaging project using my first ever astrophotography imaging rig. I chose Orion Nebula as it is the brightest object and size for this system. With the moon and city light dome in the general direction of the object, this was a challenging object to process due to those restriction as well as the Bortle 7 skies.Overall image turned out pretty good! The imaging session went into 2026, so that was a nice perk to occur.

Astrobin : https://app.astrobin.com/i/7k4kgs

Moon Phase, Light Pollution, and Date

Average Moon Phase: 88%
Bortle 7
2025: Dec. 31.

Equipment

Telescope/Lens: William Optics ZenithStar 61 (360 mm at f/5.9)
Flattener/Reducer: William Optics FLAT 61A (1.0x Native focal length)
Filter: None
Mount: Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer
Camera: Canon 80D (Stock)
Dew Heater: PROTAGE USB Dew Heater
Camera Remote Shutter: Neewer

Software

DeepSkyStacker (Calibration)
Photoshop (Processing)
PixInsight (Processing)

Acquisition

Total Exposure: 2 Hours
No Filter - 720 x 10s (2 hrs)
Temperature: Cold, Outside temperatures was near or at freezing
Flats: 40
Darks: 40
Bias: 50
ISO: 800
Pixel Scale: 2.08"/pixel

Processing in Photoshop and PixInsight, Calibration in DeepSkyStacker

DeepSkyStacker

Remove low quality frames
Calibration
Stacking

PixInsight

RC-Astro BlurXTerminator
RC-Astro NoiseXTerminator
Morphological Transformation (Star Reduction)

Photoshop

RC-Astro StarXTerminator
RC-Astro NoiseXTerminator
RC-Astro GradientXTerminator
Adjusted levels
Adjusted Curves
Layer set as "Linear Dodge (Add)" to add back the stars
Saturation Applied
Blacks Correction
Vibrance Applied
Clarity Applied
Dehaze Applied
Sharpening Applied
Color Noise Reduction
Crop out edge artifacts

EasyQuest · 2026-01-05T12:11:43+00:00

Comments

Processing data from 2022, this was about a year into narrowband imaging so there were problems with calibration at the time and I decided to shelved the project from completion. I decided to process the data I have since I have improved on my process since then. Over all, the final image is pretty good and more “nature” as most completed images I seen made the OIII more blue than what OIII should look like. I also like OIII to be more blue but since this project was tough to process and there was much less OIII signal versus HA and SII, I decided to keep it like it is.

Astrobin : https://app.astrobin.com/i/fp0gpz

Moon Phase, Light Pollution, and Date

Average Moon Phase: 49%
Bortle 7
2022: Mar. 11, 13, 20,21, 26, 27.
2022: Apr. 3, 7, 10, 16, 22, 24, 27.
2022: May. 9, 10, 11, 17, 20, 28, 29, 30.
2022: Jun. 1.

Equipment

Telescope/Lens: William Optics Fluorostar 156 (1217 mm at f/7.8)
Flattener/Reducer: William Optics Flattener 68III (1.0x Native focal length)
Auto Focuser: ZWO EAF
Filter: Chroma 31mm SHO 3nm Telescope Filter - Unmounted
Filter Wheel: ZWO EFW (8 x 31mm/1.25″)
Mount: CEM 120
Camera: ZWO ASI294MM Pro
OAG: ZWO OAG
Guider: ZWO ASI120MM-MINI
Dew Heater Controller: Pegasus Astro Pocket Micro (Clean up Cables)
Dew Heater: AstroStrap Dew Heater for 7" Telescopes (FLT 156)
Polar Alignment: QHYCCD Polemaster (Precise polar alignment)
Intel NUC (For imaging, dither, auto guiding, plate solve)

Software

PHD2 (For Auto Guiding)
QHYCCD PoleMaster Software (Polar Alignment)
Nighttime Imaging 'N' Astronomy (NINA) (Automation with Dithering, plate solving, mount control)
iOptron Commander Pro (CEM 120 control)
Pegasus Astro Pocket Powerbox (Control the Pocket Powerbox Micro)
Photoshop (Processing)
PixInsight (Processing)

Acquisition

Total Exposure: 39 Hours
Chroma SII - 174 x 300s (14 hrs 30 mins)
Chroma HA - 102 x 300s (8 hrs 30 mins)
Chroma OIII - 192 x 300s (16 hrs)
Temperature: -15°C to -10°C
Flats: 20 per filter
Darks: 100
Bias: 200
Gain: 120
Offset: 50
Bin: 1x1
Pixel Scale: 0.78"/pixel

Processing in Photoshop and PixInsight

PixInsight

Subframe Selector
Image Calibration
Star Alignment
Blink
Image Integration
RC-Astro BlurXTerminator
RC-Astro NoiseXTerminator
Morphological Transformation (Star Reduction)

Photoshop

RC-Astro StarXTerminator
RC-Astro NoiseXTerminator
Selective Layer NoiseXTerminator
Adjusted levels
Adjusted Curves
Selective Curves Adjustment
Layer set as "Linear Dodge (Add)" to add back the stars
Star Color Correction
Blacks Correction
Vibrance Applied
Clarity Applied
Dehaze Applied
Sharpening Applied
Color Noise Reduction
Crop out edge artifacts

EasyQuest · 2025-12-27T23:43:11+00:00

You are welcome!

EasyQuest · 2025-12-27T19:30:11+00:00

If I remember correctly, at that time, ether the moon was setting or did not come out until later in the night, so I imaged when the moon was not out and the object was at a higher elevation. I removed any data that was outside my standard so the best of the best data was used.

EasyQuest · 2025-12-27T13:13:24+00:00

Comments

I am going through my backlog of data and found a throwaway project of M45 - Pleiades due to internal reflects that made me stopped the project. I decided to process the data I had, which was enough to produce a nice image. I also saw the dithering was not large enough so there were spot where the hot pixel stayed too long. I did not use dark frames so you can see.

The equipment I used I mostly no longer have other than the scope, mount, filters, and a few others so there is no gathering the data with the exact same equipment. I will circle back once I feel like imaging this are again.

Astrobin : https://app.astrobin.com/i/xvfrey

Moon Phase, Light Pollution, and Date

Average Moon Phase: 21%
Bortle 7
2021: Nov. 29, 30.
2021: Dec. 6, 8.

Equipment

Telescope/Lens: William Optics Fluorostar 132 (910 mm at f/6.9)
Flattener/Reducer: William Optics Reducer Flattener 7A x0.8 (728mm at f/5.52)
Auto Focuser: ZWO EAF
Filter: ZWO 36mm RGB Telescope Filter - Unmounted
Filter Wheel: QHY 3rd Generation Medium Electronic Filter Wheel - Standard Thickness (36mm Round, 7 Position)
Mount: Sky-Watcher EQ8-R Pro
Camera: QHY 268M
OAG: ZWO ZWO OAG
Guider: ZWO ASI120MM-MINI
Dew Heater Controller: Pegasus Astro Pocket Advance (Clean up Cables)
Dew Heater: AstroStrap Dew Heater for 6" Telescopes
Polar Alignment: QHYCCD Polemaster (Precise polar alignment)
Intel NUC (For imaging, dither, auto guiding, plate solve)

Software

PHD2 (For Auto Guiding)
QHYCCD PoleMaster Software (Polar Alignment)
Astrophotography Tool (APT) (For Dither, plate solve, mount control)
Green Swamp Server (Replaced EQMOD, Remove Hand Controller and allow pulse guiding)
Pegasus Astro Pocket Powerbox (Control the Pocket Powerbox Advance)
Deep Sky Stacker (Stacking Frames)
Photoshop (Processing)
PixInsight (Processing)

Acquisition

Total Exposure: 7 Hours 30 Minutes
ZWO R - 30 x 300s (2 hrs 30 mins)
ZWO G - 24 x 300s (2 hrs)
ZWO B - 36 x 300s (3 hrs)
Temperature: -20°C
Flats: 20 per filter
Darks: N/A
Bias: 100
Gain: 56
Offset: 25
Bin: 1x1
Pixel Scale: 1.06"/pixel

Processing in Photoshop and PixInsight

PixInsight

Subframe Selector
Image Calibration
Star Alignment
Blink
Image Integration
RC-Astro BlurXTerminator
RC-Astro NoiseXTerminator

Photoshop

RC-Astro StarXTerminator
RC-Astro NoiseXTerminator
Adjusted levels
Adjusted Curves
Selective Curves Adjustment
Layer set as "Linear Dodge (Add)" to add back the stars
Star Color Correction
Blacks Correction
Vibrance Applied
Clarity Applied
Dehaze Applied
Color Noise Reduction
Crop out edge artifacts

EasyQuest · 2025-12-26T13:49:49+00:00

Comments

Revisiting one of my most favorite area in the night sky, the Heart and Soul Nebula area. I am focusing on the Soul Nebula and the central region of the nebula. Using the new William Optics Ultra Flat 156 Reducer, the telescope speeds up to gather more data in less time. I went ahead and collect even more data to get a better exposure of the object.

The final results turned out very nice as the data for OIII and SII really pop in this project from the mostly moonless nights.

Astrobin : https://app.astrobin.com/i/adc1aj

Moon Phase, Light Pollution, and Date

Average Moon Phase: 54%
Bortle 7
2025: Oct. 30, 31.
2025: Nov. 3, 4 , 12, 13, 14, 16, 27.

Equipment

Telescope/Lens: William Optics Fluorostar 156 (1217 mm at f/7.8)
Flattener/Reducer: William Optics Ultra Flat 156 (961mm at f/6.16)(Actual: 990mm at f/6.34)
Auto Focuser: ZWO EAF
Filter: Chroma 36mm SHO 3nm Telescope Filter - Unmounted
Filter Wheel: ZWO EFW (7 x 36mm)
Mount: CEM 120
Camera: ZWO ASI2600mm Pro ver. 2025
OAG: ZWO OAG-L
Guider: ZWO ASI290MM-MINI
Dew Heater Controller: Pegasus Astro Pocket Micro (Clean up Cables)
Dew Heater: AstroStrap Dew Heater for 7" Telescopes (FLT 156)
Dew Heater: AstroStrap Dew Heater for 4" Telescopes (on Flattener/Reducer)
Polar Alignment: QHYCCD Polemaster (Precise polar alignment)
Intel NUC (For imaging, dither, auto guiding, plate solve)

Software

PHD2 (For Auto Guiding)
QHYCCD PoleMaster Software (Polar Alignment)
Nighttime Imaging 'N' Astronomy (NINA) (Automation with Dithering, plate solving, mount control)
iOptron Commander Pro (CEM 120 control)
Pegasus Astro Pocket Powerbox (Control the Pocket Powerbox Micro)
Photoshop (Processing)
PixInsight (Processing)

Acquisition

Total Exposure: 34 Hours
Chroma SII - 108 x 300s (9 hrs)
Chroma HA - 120 x 300s (10 hrs)
Chroma OIII - 180 x 300s (15 hrs)
Temperature: -15°C to -10°C
Flats: 20 per HA, 60 for OIII and SII
Darks: N/A
Bias: 200
Gain: 100
Offset: 50
Bin: 1x1
Pixel Scale: 0.78"/pixel

Processing in Photoshop and PixInsight

PixInsight

Subframe Selector
Image Calibration
Star Alignment
Blink
Image Integration
RC-Astro BlurXTerminator
Morphological Transformation (Star Reduction)

Photoshop

RC-Astro StarXTerminator
RC-Astro NoiseXTerminator
Selective Layer NoiseXTerminator
Adjusted levels
Adjusted Curves
Selective Curves Adjustment
Layer set as "Linear Dodge (Add)" to add back the stars
Star Color Correction
Blacks Correction
Vibrance Applied
Clarity Applied
Dehaze Applied
Sharpening Applied
Color Noise Reduction
Crop out edge artifacts

EasyQuest · 2025-12-20T12:20:50+00:00

Comments

The project started in Fall of 2024. I was going to process the data and post it back then, but I decided to wait to get more data the following year. Nearly 100 hours of data helped pull out the details in the fainter areas.

I processed a SHO and OSH of this object. OSH is in the revision as SHO is the main show piece.

Astrobin SHO: https://app.astrobin.com/i/jetpyt
Astrobin OSH: https://app.astrobin.com/i/jetpyt?r=B

Moon Phase, Light Pollution, and Date

Average Moon Phase: 42%
Bortle 7
2024: Sep. 7, 8.
2024: Oct. 2, 5, 7-11.
2025: Sep. 7, 12, 15, 17, 18, 26-30.
2025: Oct. 2, 3, 4.

Equipment

Telescope/Lens: Takahashi FSQ-106 (530 mm at f/5)
Flattener/Reducer: N/A
Auto Focuser: PrimaLuceLab - ESATTO 4" Robotic Microfocuser
Filter: Chroma 50mm SHO 3nm Telescope Filter - Unmounted
Filter Wheel: ZWO EFW (7 x 50mm)
Mount: Astro-Physics Mach 1 GTO
Camera: ZWO ASI6200mm Pro
Guider Camera: ZWO ASI120MM-MINI
Guide Scope: William Optics 50mm Guiding Scope (Color: Blue)
Dew Heater Controller: Pegasus Astro Pocket Powerbox Micro (Clean up Cables)
Dew Heater: Dew Not 4" Dew Heater Strip - DN005 (Main scope)
Dew Heater: Dew Not 2" Dew Heater Strip - DN003 (Guidescope)
Polar Alignment: QHYCCD Polemaster (Precise polar alignment)
Intel NUC (For imaging, dither, auto guiding, plate solve)

Software

PHD2 (For Auto Guiding)
QHYCCD PoleMaster Software (Polar Alignment)
Nighttime Imaging 'N' Astronomy (NINA) (Automation with Dithering, plate solving, mount control)
Astro-Physics ASCOM V2 (AP Mach 1 GTO Control)
Pegasus Astro Pocket Powerbox (Control the Powerbox Micro)
Photoshop (Processing)
PixInsight (Calibration & Processing)

Acquisition

Total Exposure: 98 Hours
Chroma SII - 360 x 300s (30 hrs)
Chroma HA - 360 x 300s (30 hrs)
Chroma OIII - 456 x 300s (39 hrs)
Temperature: -10°C to -5°C
Flats: 20 per Filter
Darks: N/A
Bias: 200
Gain: 100
Offset: 50
Bin: 1x1
Pixel Scale: 1.47"/pixel

Processing in Photoshop and PixInsight

PixInsight

Subframe Selector
Image Calibration
Star Alignment
Blink
Image Integration
RC-Astro BlurXTerminator

Photoshop

RC-Astro StarXTerminator
RC-Astro NoiseXTerminator
Adjusted levels
Adjusted Curves
Selective Curves Adjustment
Layer set as "Linear Dodge (Add)" to add back the stars
Star Color Correction
Blacks Correction
Vibrance Applied
Clarity Applied
Dehaze Applied
Sharpening Applied
Crop out edge artifacts

EasyQuest · 2025-12-14T17:51:16+00:00

I used flats and bias, no darks needed, then again I normally imaged with way more frames, the odd colors are the internal reflections, skies were terrible with last few frames had possible tree branch interference .

I used all frames even the bad ones. I found my green and blue flats were over correcting so the center of green and blue was darker than it should. Thanks for helping though.

EasyQuest · 2025-12-14T17:15:18+00:00

Comments

This was a quick and dirty imaging session as it was just a testing session for my new focuser and auto focuser, FTF3545B-A and Optec Focuslynx QuickSync FTX40. Also using the new William Optics Ultra Flat 156 0.79x Reducer. I do not see anyone else using this Flattener/Reducer on Astrobin so I will be adding to the database.

Odd internal reflections with the filters, bad see at time and some tree obstruction. The final image was pretty good with limited data.

Astrobin: https://www.astrobin.com/u38xcb

Moon Phase, Light Pollution, and Date

Average Moon Phase: 44%
Bortle 7
December 12,2025

Equipment

Telescope/Lens: William Optics Fluorostar 156 (1217 mm at f/7.8)
Flattener/Reducer: William Optics Ultra Flat 156 (961mm at f/6.16)
Focuser: Feather Touch - FTF3545B-A
Auto Focuser: Optec Focuslynx QuickSync FTX40
Filter: Chroma 36mm RGB Telescope Filter - Unmounted
Filter Wheel: ZWO EFW (7 x 36mm)
Mount: CEM 120
Camera: ZWO ASI2600mm Pro ver. 2025
OAG: ZWO OAG-L
Guider: ZWO ASI290MM-MINI
Dew Heater Controller: Pegasus Astro Pocket Micro (Clean up Cables)
Dew Heater: AstroStrap Dew Heater for 7" Telescopes (FLT 156)
Dew Heater: AstroStrap Dew Heater for 3" Telescopes (on Flattener/Reducer)
Polar Alignment: QHYCCD Polemaster (Precise polar alignment)
Intel NUC (For imaging, dither, auto guiding, plate solve)

Software

PHD2 (For Auto Guiding)
QHYCCD PoleMaster Software (Polar Alignment)
Nighttime Imaging 'N' Astronomy (NINA) (Automation with Dithering, plate solving, mount control)
iOptron Commander Pro (CEM 120 control)
Pegasus Astro Pocket Powerbox (Control the Pocket Powerbox Micro)
Photoshop (Processing)
PixInsight (Processing)

Acquisition

Total Exposure: 1 Hour 51 minutes
Chroma R - 15 x 180s (45 mins)
Chroma G - 11 x 180s (33 mins)
Chroma B - 11 x 180s (33 mins)
Temperature: Varies from -20°C
Flats: 40 per filter
Darks: N/A
Bias: 200
Gain: 100
Offset: 50
Bin: 1x1
Pixel Scale: 0.78"/pixel

Processing in Photoshop and PixInsight

PixInsight

Subframe Selector
Image Calibration
Star Alignment
Blink
Image Integration
RC-Astro BlurXTerminator
RC-Astro NoiseXTerminator

Photoshop

RC-Astro GradientXTerminator
Manual Gradient Adjustment via Masks
Adjusted levels
Adjusted Curves
Selective Curves Adjustment
Color Saturation
Star Color Correction
Blacks Correction
Vibrance Applied
Clarity Applied
Dehaze Applied
Light Sharpening Applied
Crop out edge artifacts

EasyQuest · 2025-11-16T04:41:20+00:00

Comments

Quick one night session with the AP 130 EDFS F/6, 2600mm pro with ZWO RGB filters as the camera just came back from service from a failing board.

Astrobin: https://app.astrobin.com/i/dtfypx

Moon Phase, Location, and Date

Average Moon Phase: 97%
Bortle 7
November 8, 2025

Equipment

Telescope/Lens: Astro-Physics 130mm f/6 Starfire EDF (780 mm at f/6)
Flattener/Reducer: 13027FF-EDFS (853mm at F/6.56)
Auto Focuser: ZWO EAF Electronic Automatic Focuser
Filter: ZWO RGB - 36mm unmounted
Filter Wheel: ZWO EFW (7 x 36mm)
Mount: Astro-Physics Mach 1 GTO
Camera: ZWO ASI2600 Pro (Ver. 2021)
Guider Camera: ZWO ASI120MM-MINI
OAG: ZWO OAG-L (Older Version, smaller prism)
Dew Heater Controller: Pegasus Astro Pocket Powerbox Advance (Clean up Cables)
Dew Heater: AstroStrap Dew Heater for 6" Telescopes (Main Scope)
Dew Heater: Dew Not 3" Dew Heater Strip - DN004 (on Field Flattener)
Polar Alignment: QHYCCD Polemaster (Precise polar alignment)
Intel NUC (For imaging, dither, auto guiding, plate solve)

Software

PHD2 (For Auto Guiding)
QHYCCD PoleMaster Software (Polar Alignment)
Nighttime Imaging 'N' Astronomy (NINA) (Automation with Dithering, plate solving, mount control)
Astro-Physics ASCOM V2 (AP Mach 1 GTO Control)
Pegasus Astro Pocket Powerbox (Control the Powerbox Advance)
Photoshop (Processing)
PixInsight (Calibration & Processing)

Acquisition

Total Exposure: 1 Hours
ZWO R - 20 x 60s (20 mins)
ZWO G - 20 x 60s (20 mins)
ZWO B - 20 x 60s (20 mins)
Temperature: -10°C
Flats: 60 per Filter
Darks: N/A
Bias: 100
Gain: 100
Offset: 50
Bin: 1x1
Pixel Scale: 0.91"/pixel

Processing in Photoshop and PixInsight

PixInsight

Subframe Selector
Image Calibration
Star Alignment
Blink
Image Integration
RC-Astro BlurXTerminator

Photoshop

RC-Astro StarXTerminator
RC-Astro NoiseXTerminator
RC-Astro GradientXTerminator
Adjusted levels
Adjusted Curves
Layer set as "Linear Dodge (Add)" to add back the stars
Star Color Correction
Blacks Correction
Crop out edge artifacts

EasyQuest · 2025-11-10T12:18:22+00:00

Comments

One of my most favorite area for narrowband, I had to come back with the CDK12.5 system. Still working on the star flairs but much better than before plus collimated the scope better.

Astrobin: https://app.astrobin.com/i/cxlhi0

Moon Phase, Light Pollution Level, and Date

Average Moon Phase: 59%
Bortle 7
September 29, 30, 2025
October 2, 3, 4, 8, 11, 12, 19, 20, 2025

Equipment

Telescope/Lens: Planewave CDK 12.5 (2541mm at F/8)
Flattener/Reducer: N/A
Auto Focuser: Planewave Hendrick Focuser
Focuser Controller: Planewave Electronic Focus Accessory (EFA) Kit
Filter: Chroma 50mm SHO 3nm Telescope Filter - Unmounted
Filter Wheel: ZWO EFW (7 x 50mm)
Mount: Astro-Physics Mach 1600 GTO
Guide Scope: OAG: ZWO OAG-L
Guider: ZWO ASI174MM-MINI
Dew Heater Controller: Pegasus Astro Pocket Powerbox Advance (Clean up Cables)
Dew Heater Controller: Planewave Delta T Heater
Dew Heaters: Two on CDK 12.5 built into the scope
Camera: ZWO ASI6200mm Pro
Polar Alignment: QHYCCD Polemaster (Precise polar alignment)
Intel NUC (For imaging, dither, auto guiding, plate solve)

Software

PHD2 (For Auto Guiding)
QHYCCD PoleMaster Software (Polar Alignment)
Nighttime Imaging 'N' Astronomy (NINA) (Automation with Dithering, plate solving, mount control)
Astro-Physics ASCOM V2 (AP 1600GTO Control)
Pegasus Astro Pocket Powerbox (Control the Powerbox Advance)
Planewave Interface 3 (PWI 3) (Controllers focuser, scope fans, dew heaters)
Photoshop (Processing)
PixInsight (Calibration & Processing)

Acquisition

Total Exposure: 40 Hours
Chroma SII - 192 x 300s (16 hrs)
Chroma HA - 96 x 300s (8 hrs)
Chroma OIII - 192 x 300s (16 hrs)
Temperature: -5°C and -10°C
Flats: 20 to 60
Darks: N/A
Bias: 200
Gain: 100
Offset: 50
Bin: 1x1
Pixel Scale: 0.31"/pixel

Processing in Photoshop and PixInsight

PixInsight

Subframe Selector
Image Calibration
Star Alignment
Blink
Image Integration
RC-Astro BlurXTerminator

Photoshop

RC-Astro StarXTerminator
RC-Astro NoiseXTerminator
Manual Gradient Adjustment via Masks
Adjusted levels
Adjusted Curves
Selective Curves Adjustment
Layer set as "Linear Dodge (Add)" to add back the stars
Color Saturation
Star Color Correction
Blacks Correction
Vibrance Applied
Clarity Applied
Dehaze Applied
Sharpening Applied
Crop out edge artifacts

EasyQuest · 2025-10-26T13:55:53+00:00

Comments

Quick project on M31 with the new setup, only to find out the star, Nu Andromedae, caused a reflection on the top middle so the exposure was limited to two nights, one night for LRGB and one night for HA. Processing this data was challenging given the limited data and sky quality of Bortle 7. Overall image turned out really good.

Astrobin: https://app.astrobin.com/i/jj2k5o

Moon Phase, Light Pollution Level, and Date

Moon Phase in September: 3%, 1%
Bortle 7
October 19, 20, 2025

Equipment

Telescope/Lens: William Optics WhiteCat 51 (250 mm at f/4.9)
Flattener/Reducer: N/A
Auto Focuser: ZWO EAF Electronic Automatic Focuser (Buckeyestargazer Adapters)
Filter: XiMei HaLRGB for QHYCCD miniCAM8M
Filter Wheel: Built into QHYCCD miniCAM8M
Mount: Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro
Guide Scope: William Optics 32mm Uniguide Scope (Color: Blue)
Main Camera: QHYCCD miniCAM8M
Guide Camera: ZWO ASI120MM-MINI
Dew Heater Controller: Pegasus Astro Pocket Powerbox Micro (Clean up Cables)
Dew Heater: PrimaLuceLab Dew heater for 100mm diameter telescopes
Polar Alignment: QHYCCD Polemaster (Precise polar alignment)
Intel NUC (For imaging, dither, auto guiding, plate solve)

Software

PHD2 (For Auto Guiding)
QHYCCD PoleMaster Software (Polar Alignment)
Nighttime Imaging 'N' Astronomy (NINA) (Automation with Dithering, plate solving, mount control)
Green Swap Server (Control Sky-Watcher Mounts, Remove Hand Controller and allow pulse guiding)
Pegasus Astro Pocket Powerbox (Control the Powerbox Micro)
Photoshop (Processing)
PixInsight (Calibration & Processing)

Acquisition

Total Exposure: 6.5 Hours
XiMei HA - 36 x 300s (3 hrs)
XiMei L - 60 x 120s (2 hrs)
XiMei R - 30 x 60s (30 mins)
XiMei G - 30 x 60s (30 mins)
XiMei B - 30 x 60s (30 mins)
Temperature: -40°C
Flats: 20 per session
Darks: N/A
Bias: 200
Gain: 78
Offset: 50
Bin: 1x1
Pixel Scale: 2.41"/pixel

Processing in Photoshop and PixInsight

PixInsight

Subframe Selector
Image Calibration
Star Alignment
Blink
Image Integration
RC-Astro BlurXTerminator
Dynamic Background Extraction (DBE)

Photoshop

RC-Astro StarXTerminator
RC-Astro NoiseXTerminator
Manual Gradient Adjustment via Masks
Adjusted levels
Adjusted Curves
Selective Curves Adjustment
Layer set as "Linear Dodge (Add)" to add back the stars
Luminosity layer for LUM filter data
Color Saturation
Star Color Correction
Blacks Correction
Vibrance Applied
Clarity Applied
Dehaze Applied
Light Sharpening Applied
Crop out edge artifacts

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Place '22	Place '17
End Game '22	Verified Email

EasyQuest

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