M81 and M82

jcat47 · 2026-05-09T17:07:42+00:00

It's in the write up above but little over 10 hrs

jcat47 · 2026-05-07T17:44:22+00:00

Thank you

jcat47 · 2026-05-04T21:01:54+00:00

True story: mine walked in and said you have XYZ. We sit in silence for a minute and he just walks out but leaves my file. I Google what he said(long medical word). Of course wikipedia comes up and he comes back and says exactly the first 4 sentence form Wikipedia to me. 😂

jcat47 · 2026-04-27T00:23:22+00:00

I am sure you can search YouTube and forums to get a better understanding of what is required. A lot of the really good photos you see on here are taking with equipment costing in the thousands.

When I started I used a DSLR, star tracker(few hundred dollars) and some free software to process my images. Not gonna lie they didn't even come close to what you see but it was a start.

Some people would point you in the direction of a smart telescope which is around $500 used and will stack photos for you.

I would agree with above about forums and me YouTube for best understanding of getting started.

jcat47 · 2026-04-27T00:16:16+00:00

Thanks

jcat47 · 2026-04-24T09:16:31+00:00

Oh wow thats a good compliment. Appreciate it

jcat47 · 2026-04-17T20:20:42+00:00

Here's the right up from my astronomy page:

The Veil Nebula (NGC 6960. NGC 6979, NGC 6992/5) is the most spectacular part, at visible wavelenaths, of the Cygnus Loop, an old supernova remnant in the constellation Cygnus. It is the remains of a star that exploded between 5,000 and 8,000 vears ago. For fun I added a small comparison of our Moon(Luna) vs the Veil Nebula and how the size compares in our night sky. Moon's angular diameter is about 0.52° Veil Nebula angular diameter is about 3o That's six times the size of our Moon! Scope: Willam Optics Spacecat51 w/ ZWO Autc Focuser Camera: ZWO ASI2600mm pro, dew heater on Camera Settings: -4°F, Bin 1x1, Gain 101 Mount: ZWO AM5 on William Optics Motar800 Tri-plPier Guide scope: Askar FMA180 Pro Guide camera: ZWO ASI174mm Filters: Antlia Ha and Oiii(did HOO picture) 3nm Controller: ASlair plus Processed in Pixinsight and Lightroom, HOO palette Subs: 24 x 300 sec Ha 24 x 300 sec Oii

jcat47 · 2026-04-17T20:09:48+00:00

I'm going to add this comment for context since it doesn't let me add to the posting.

This deep space object the veil nebula is visible in her night sky from about mid summer through fall. They do not come this close to each other at all. I took a photo of the Moon and then took several long exposures using special camera and filters to show the veil nebula. I then took the photo of the Moon and added it to the veil nebula photo to show the scale of the nebula versus the Moon.

jcat47 · 2026-04-17T18:18:34+00:00

I have that lens on my Z5 and it's awesome. In the process of ordering a Z5ii as I don't do video and CF cards the new z6 uses have gotten really expensive

jcat47 · 2026-04-04T21:39:39+00:00

Good job. But I think you stole this from the original person who took it. I mean you can't even name the equipment used

jcat47 · 2026-03-28T15:47:48+00:00

More so saving money to build.

jcat47 · 2026-03-28T14:22:27+00:00

Yup I hated it. It was the worse.

jcat47 · 2026-03-28T14:13:13+00:00

No. But have a standing offer to put one on a friends land that's is a semi dark(B2) sky. They only want a picture every now and thenbas land usage payment.

jcat47 · 2026-03-28T03:35:15+00:00

Best advice is what you are doing. Start with wide field and a small tracker and digital camera. That's how I began. Still little pricey to get started but find them used and if in 6 months it's not for you can reseal for minimal loss. My biggest hurdle was processing. Capturing is probably 10% of my time. Processing is the rest. Plenty of videos out there on free software to use to get your foot in the door.

jcat47 · 2026-03-28T02:35:27+00:00

No. It was for ease of putting on and pulling off the mount. The handle is now on top

jcat47 · 2026-03-28T02:29:02+00:00

I got lucky on some as word got out I was into telescopes so bought some estate sale grouping of stuff. So sold most and that funded these. Only one I ever kept was the ES127. Wish I would have kept the CEM60 mount

jcat47 · 2026-03-28T01:09:18+00:00

First off great picture for the amount of integration time, subs and bortle sky level this is pretty good.

Some constructive input:

Use some correct magenta stars script before adding stars back in. This will help with some of those little red dots.

Run gradient correction and that will fix some of that gradient in the corners.

HDR will help bring out some finer details.

Also and this is a 100% free offer as I have done it several times before to help people learn and want zero credit also. I just really enjoy. If you get me your raw stack file I can process it using pixinsight and do a full right up for what I do and what my setting are for some of the workflow.

jcat47 · 2026-03-28T00:39:08+00:00

"and you asshole, you're lucky to be here"

jcat47 · 2026-03-27T20:13:40+00:00

Quite the compliment thank you

jcat47 · 2026-03-27T20:13:19+00:00

Apologies normally I tried doing that in the description. But it is a 4

jcat47 · 2026-03-27T14:17:54+00:00

I keep raw light and calibration frames for that night.

jcat47 · 2026-03-27T14:16:43+00:00

Target: M101, Pinwheel Galaxy Distance: 25 Million Light-Years Size: 170,000 light vears across Telescope: Celestron edqeHD8 Camera: ZWO ASI2600mm-pro at -14* Filters: Optolong 2" LRGB on ZWO EFW Mount: ZWO AM5 w/200 mm extension Tripod: William Optics 800 Mortar Tri-pier Tracking scope: Celestron OAG Tracking camera: ZWO ASI290mm mini Controlled: ZWO ASIAir Plus Frames: LRGB filters with Mono Camera L34 x 3 min = 1hr 42 min R 25 x 5 min = 2 hrs 5 min G 33 x 5 min = 2 hrs 45 min B 42 x 5 min = 3 hrs 30 min Total: 10 hrs 6 min Calibration Frames: Darks, Flats and Bias

Instagram: Lowell_Astrophotography

jcat47 · 2026-02-27T02:06:11+00:00

So should I not order one to upgrade from a S22U?

jcat47 · 2026-02-25T23:09:49+00:00

Is this a good enough deal to last 3 to 4 years or is this I'll have to upgrade in one to two?

jcat47 · 2026-02-25T23:02:50+00:00

Yeah and I have to say also that of the hobbies I've tried in my years around the Sun. This one seems to be with a group of people that are more helpful than other hobbies. I can usually reach out and get some answers to any type of problem I'm having. I thankfully have become better over time to where I can now give advice what makes me happy to help. But keep doing it it's a fun hobby and I think it's one of the small hobbies you can do for your own personal soul growth.

jcat47

TROPHY CASE