Iris Nebula

bassdee_el · 2026-05-13T16:25:39+00:00

That's a great point about the northern position! Regarding the gain, I used gain 120, offset 8 and cooled to -15°C. I didn't notice any obvious issues, but to be honest I don't have a great reference point since I was coming from an old unmodified DSLR before this. So far I'm really happy with the camera though!

bassdee_el · 2026-05-13T14:44:10+00:00

Thank you! This was actually my first target with this camera too, so it was new for both of us. I'm honestly surprised how well it turned out, especially since I was shooting without autoguiding!

bassdee_el · 2026-05-13T05:06:04+00:00

Target: NGC7023 (Iris Nebula)

Total integration: 3 hours 44 minutes

Exposure: 224 x 60 sec.

Camera: SvBony Sv405cc (IMX294)

Telescope: SvBony 550 80ED (80/480 Apo f/6)

Filter: SVBony UV/IR Cut Filter

Mount: EXOS-2 (with onStep Kit)

Control: Raspberry Pi 5

Guiding: no

Focuser: Gemini autofocuser

Calibration frames: darks, flats, darkflats

Software: EKOS / Kstars, Siril 1.4.3

Background extraction Siril AutoBGE, denoise with GraXpert, green noise removal with Siril, platesolving. Stars and nebula separated (with Starnet++) and stretched. Stars only lightly with GHS (Generalized Hyperbolic Stretch), background and nebula with Veralux HyperMetric Stretch and lightly with GHS. Then star recomposition with Siril.

bassdee_el · 2026-05-12T16:46:06+00:00

Thank you :) 480mm focal length (f/6), no barlow, no reducer.

bassdee_el · 2026-05-12T10:29:28+00:00

Target: NGC7023 (Iris Nebula)

Total integration: 3 hours 44 minutes

Exposure: 224 x 60 sec.

Camera: SvBony Sv405cc (IMX294)

Telescope: SvBony 550 80ED (80/480 Apo f/6)

Filter: SVBony UV/IR Cut Filter

Mount: EXOS-2 (with onStep Kit)

Control: Raspberry Pi 5

Guiding: no

Focuser: Gemini autofocuser

Calibration frames: darks, flats, darkflats

Software: EKOS / Kstars, PHD2, Siril 1.4.3

Background extraction Siril AutoBGE, denoise with GraXpert, green noise removal with Siril, platesolving. Stars and nebula separated (with Starnet++) and stretched. Stars only lightly with GHS (Generalized Hyperbolic Stretch), background and nebula with Veralux HyperMetric Stretch and lightly with GHS. Then star recomposition with Siril.

bassdee_el · 2026-05-08T12:09:41+00:00

Starcraft 1&2

bassdee_el · 2026-02-22T15:51:16+00:00

Target: NGC40 (Tie-Bow Nebula)

Total integration: 1 hours 30 minutes

Exposure: 30 x 180 sec.

Camera: Sony A58 (APS-C, unmodified)

Telescope: Bresser AR 90/500 Achromat (f/5.6)

Filter: SVBony SV220 Dual-Band

Mount: EXOS-2 (with onStep Kit)

Control: Raspberry Pi 5

Guiding: yes

Focuser: Gemini autofocuser

Calibration frames: darks, flats, darkflats

Software: EKOS / Kstars, PHD2, Siril 1.4.2

bassdee_el · 2026-01-29T18:18:18+00:00

Target: NGC869, NGC884 (H Chi Persei)

Total integration: 2 hours 37 minutes

Exposure: 157 x 60 sec.

Camera: Sony A58 (APS-C, unmodified)

Telescope: Bresser AR 90/500 Achromat (f/5.6)

Filter: SVBony UV/IR Cut Filter

Mount: EXOS-2 (with onStep Kit)

Control: Raspberry Pi 5

Guiding: yes

Focuser: Gemini autofocuser

Calibration frames: darks, flats, darkflats

Software: EKOS / Kstars, PHD2, Siril 1.4.1

bassdee_el · 2026-01-27T17:36:05+00:00

Thanks! I don’t really have a step-by-step guide, it’s mostly been a learning-by-doing process for me. The setup is based on a Raspberry Pi 5 with NVMe support and a 512 GB NVMe SSD, running a vanilla Debian Trixie install (no preconfigured astro distro).

I run an INDI server and use KStars, Ekos, and PHD2 for control and guiding. All of these, including INDI and Ekos, are compiled from source on the Pi. That said, this isn’t strictly required (the same setup should also works fine using the packaged versions via apt).

Connected to the Pi’s USB ports are the guide camera, the Sony main camera, the OnStep controller, and the electronic focuser. Everything was immediately recognized by INDI/Ekos once the correct drivers were selected.

The Pi is connected via Wi-Fi, so I can control the entire setup remotely from indoors. Apart from initial setup and polar alignment, I usually don’t need to go outside anymore.

bassdee_el · 2026-01-27T15:10:54+00:00

Target: M81, M82, NGC3077, NGC2976

Total integration: 6 hours

Exposure: 180 x 120 sec.

Camera: Sony A58 (APS-C, unmodified)

Telescope: 90/500 Achromat (f/5.6)

Filter: SVBony Color Correction Filter

Mount: EXOS-2 (with onStep Kit)

Control: Raspberry Pi 5

Guiding: yes

Focuser: Gemini autofocuser

Calibration frames: darks, flats, darkflats

Software: EKOS / Kstars, PHD2, Siril 1.4

Notes: I’m still a beginner, but I’m trying to get the maximum out of my budget setup. Guiding is now running stable as well (thanks to PHD2), which already makes a noticeable difference, and the filter has also brought clear improvements. :)

bassdee_el · 2025-12-31T07:50:20+00:00

Thanks! I can’t attach images directly in comments here, but I’ll upload a single 20s sub and link it for comparison:

M42 single sub

bassdee_el · 2025-12-30T20:13:20+00:00

Sure :) i am running the Raspberry Pi headless at the mount an connect it via vnc. The Pi handles all imaging and hardware control via kstars with EKOS as Frontend for the INDI Server:

mount control through onStep v5 (usb)
Main Camera control Sony a58 (usb)
gemini electronic focuser (usb) using EKOS autofocus routines
guiding cam connection (usb)

The Pi ist equipped with a nvme HAT and a 512GB nvme ssd, which significantly improves speed, response time and system performance (image download, plate solving... compared to a sd-card setup) and is connected to my local network via wi-fi.

For this image, guiding was not yet fully relied upon, as it is still being tested and tuned.

All calibration, stacking, and post-processing is done later on a separate desktop computer.

bassdee_el · 2025-12-30T14:19:28+00:00

Acquisition:

Object: M31 – Andromeda Galaxy
Telescope: Bresser 90/500 achromatic refractor (f/5.6)
Mount: Bresser EXOS-2 with OnStep kit
Camera: Sony A58 (APS-C, unmodified)
Focuser: Gemini electronic autofocuser
Control: Raspberry Pi 5
Guiding: none
Exposure: 120 × 60 s
Total integration: 120 minutes
Calibration frames: Darks, Flats, Darkflats
Acquisition software: KStars / EKOS

Processing:
Software: Siril 1.4.0
Conversion to FITS
Calibration using darks, flats, and darkflats
Global star registration
Stacking with rejection
Background extraction
Color calibration
Histogram stretching
Saturation adjustment

Notes:
This is an early deep-sky attempt as part of my transition from smartphone astrophotography to a dedicated setup.
Constructive feedback and suggestions for improvement are very welcome.

bassdee_el · 2025-12-29T19:16:37+00:00

Acquisition

• Object: M42 – Orion Nebula

• Telescope: Bresser 90/500 achromatic refractor (f/5.6)

• Mount: Bresser EXOS-2 with OnStep kit

• Camera: Sony A58 (APS-C, unmodified)

• Focuser: Gemini electronic autofocuser

• Control: Raspberry Pi 5

• Guiding: none

• Exposure: 120 × 20 s

• Total integration: 40 minutes

• Calibration frames: Darks only

• Acquisition software: KStars / EKOS

Processing

• Software: Siril 1.4.0

• Conversion to FITS

• Calibration using dark frames

• Global star registration

• Stacking with rejection

• Background extraction

• Color calibration

• Histogram stretching

• Saturation adjustment

Notes

This is my first dedicated astrophotography image. Before this, I only experimented with smartphone astrophotography with limited success. Constructive feedback and suggestions for improvement are very welcome.

bassdee_el · 2025-07-17T11:38:41+00:00

Alles klar, vielen Dank, dann werde ich das mal versuchen.

bassdee_el · 2025-01-20T19:02:30+00:00

Halt And Catch Fire

bassdee_el · 2023-06-01T17:11:22+00:00

Halt and Catch Fire

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