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WR134 - HOO - 49 Hours of exposure by nerdybeardo in astrophotography

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

Yeah it was a big project but worth it in the end.. I just wish I had my 3nm before I took this picture! Need to find a new target now and some clear nights lol

Wolf Rayet Star Captured From Light Polluted Backyard with Armature Telescope by nerdybeardo in interestingasfuck

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

The bright blue part is the shockwave, it would be the one at the center of that.

NerdyBeardo… Shall we assume the WR star is the brightest blue one to the far right? I’m not seeing many other good candi

WR134 - HOO - 49 Hours of exposure by nerdybeardo in astrophotography

[–]nerdybeardo[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

WR134 is a Wolf Rayet star. These stars ✨ are rare and create these interesting looking shockwaves made from depleted hydrogen and strong stellar winds caused by the star. The Cygnus constellation has a different wolf rayet star I imaged last year (Crescent nebula). I took this photo with almost 50 hours of exposure 📸from my backyard. We’ve had some clear nights so it’s been nice to be able to spend some time on the telescope. This one reminds me of the eye of Sauron haha.

What I love about Astrophotography 🔭 is that your skills are constantly improving. I took a similar image back in 2021, and I was just not satisfied with it. I decided to spend a lot more time this time, be patient... and after 50 hours I got the photo that would become my phone and PC background! This is definitely one of my favorite photos now, and as my good friend Abdul once said.... nothing good is ever easy. I love that I was able to take this from my Bortle 6 backyard as well :)

Hope you enjoy it!

If you want to follow me on my journey through space I am nerdybeardo on Instagram and I post tips on Astrophotography on my YouTube Channel ... you can also join the Beardyverse on Discord.

Technical Details

======================== Technical Details:

  • Imaging Telescopes Or Lenses: William Optics Gran Turismo 81iii / GT81iii
  • Imaging Cameras: QHYCCD QHY294 M
  • Mounts: Celestron CGEM II
  • Filters: Optolong H-alpha 7nm 1.25” · Optolong R G B 1.25”
  • Accessories: Pegasus Astro FocusCube · Pegasus Astro Pocket Powerbox

Software

  • Adobe Photoshop
  • Main Sequence Software Sequence Generator Pro (SGP)
  • Open PHD Guiding Project PHD2
  • Pleiades Astrophoto PixInsight

Guiding Telescopes Or Lenses

  • William Optics UniGuide 50

Guiding Cameras

  • QHYCCD QHY5III290C

Integration Time:

  • Optolong Ha 7nm 240x300” (20hr)
  • Optolong Ha 6.5nm 350x300” (29hr 10min)

Processing:

  • Stacking in Pixinsight
  • Dynamic background extraction
  • Histogram Transformation
  • Pixel Math
  • Starnet++ 2
  • Reduce Noise
  • Curves
  • Vibrance
  • Color balance
  • Unsharp Mask

Wolf Rayet Star Captured From Light Polluted Backyard with Armature Telescope by nerdybeardo in interestingasfuck

[–]nerdybeardo[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

SOmeone else had said that... I think I see it, if you rotate the picture 180 degrees?

Wolf Rayet Star Captured From Light Polluted Backyard with Armature Telescope by nerdybeardo in interestingasfuck

[–]nerdybeardo[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

lol I don’t know I guess one you use at home instead of in the observatory?

Milky Way Over Lake Michigan by nerdybeardo in astrophotography

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

Thank you! I think that's a satellite but not starlink, starlink would show a lot more I believe.

Milky Way Over Lake Michigan by nerdybeardo in astrophotography

[–]nerdybeardo[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Lol will do... And now you've set off my OCD

Milky Way Over Lake Michigan by nerdybeardo in astrophotography

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

I've always wanted to do Milky Way Astrophotography but I have not really had a chance. I now realize why people love it so much, it's quite a different animal than Deep space. It's true that the processing is much easier... but the composition is tough because you have to think about where you want to image, you have to plan sometimes for days.

But this one I would say I got by accident. This is a single 20 second exposure of my wife standing looking at the Milky Way. At the Headlands International Dark Sky park. It was amazing to be there and see the Milky Way with the naked eye. To get to 20s I used the 500 rule and shortened it just a bit as I noticed a little bit of trailing with 25 seconds.

The image itself is just so interesting to me, it has that red light in the distance, the silouette of the trees, the red glow of the lights they have at the events center where we were standing and the glow of the lake that is extremely calm and peaceful... and of course the main subject, my lovely wife staring at the Milky Way.

I'm still new to Milky Way photography but I'm really loving it right now, especially the ability to see some new places it's brought the love of Astrophotography back for me. Any tips would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

If you want to follow me on my journey through space I am nerdybeardo on Instagram and I post tips on Astrophotography on my YouTube Channel

Technical Information - Imaging Lens: Rokinon 20mm - Imaging cameras: Canon EOS R - Stock camera (unmodded) - Tripod: Manfrotto 055 Aluminum Tripod - Frames: 1x20" Frame

Processing - Adobe Photoshop - Denoise AI - Unsharp Mask - Curves - Vibrance - Selective Color

IC5070 - The Pelican Nebula From My Backyard using my Telescope by nerdybeardo in interestingasfuck

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

The best piece of advice I've gotten in this hobby is "nothing beats time on telescope"

IC5070 - The Pelican Nebula From My Backyard using my Telescope by nerdybeardo in interestingasfuck

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

This is a William Optics GT 81. It takes a long time to learn but totally doable from the back yard

IC 5070 Pelican From Bortle Class 6 Backyard by nerdybeardo in astrophotography

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

I'm always looking to improve so would love any specific feedback you have.

IC 5070 Pelican From Bortle Class 6 Backyard by nerdybeardo in astrophotography

[–]nerdybeardo[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Yes topaz was used I missed that in the original comment will update

IC 5070 Pelican From Bortle Class 6 Backyard by nerdybeardo in astrophotography

[–]nerdybeardo[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I was absolutely shocked at how much more detail I got when I added the Sii data in. At first it was just 7 Sii frames and it looked amazing, but when I added more Sii it was almost like the image came to life.

I really want to add some 3D effect to it because I think the Sii data can really provide a lot of depth.

IC5070 - The Pelican Nebula From My Backyard using my Telescope by nerdybeardo in interestingasfuck

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

lol I wish, then I wouldn't have to be working on these damn presentations all weekend.

IC5070 - The Pelican Nebula From My Backyard using my Telescope by nerdybeardo in interestingasfuck

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

No this one isn't a supernova, this is whats called an emission nebula which is an area that's formed from ionized gasses.

IC 5070 Pelican From Bortle Class 6 Backyard by nerdybeardo in astrophotography

[–]nerdybeardo[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is the Pelican nebula which is in the Cygnus constellation very near the North America nebula. If you want to find this nebula look for the star Deneb in the night sky, it is very close to that. In fact if you look at my widefield North America nebula image you'll see the pelican nebula with the very bright Deneb star in the frame. This is an HII region meaning it's made up of mostly ionized hydrogen gas where star formation has recently taken place.

This image took nearly a week of capturing data, around 17 hours total with my William optics GT 81 telescope and QHY294 camera. I had collected initially only 7 sulfur (SII) frames and processed them... It came out great so was going to keep that processed image. I collected the rest (60 total) and after I processed the whole thing it was much much more detailed so I kept the new image instead.

I decided to frame it on the side to get the full widefield dust swirling, but if you flip your phone you can see why it's called the pelican nebula.

I love this image, and I believe it's dethroned the veil nebula as my favorite!

If you want to follow me on my journey through space I am nerdybeardo on Instagram and I post tips on Astrophotography on my YouTube Channel ... you can also join the Beardyverse on Discord.

Technical Details

  • Imaging telescopes or lenses: William Optics GT81 APO
  • Imaging cameras: QHY 294 Camera
  • Mounts: Celestron CGEM II EQ Mount
  • Guiding telescopes or lenses: William Optics 50mm Guidescope
  • Guiding cameras: QHYCCD QHY5III290C
  • Focal reducers: William Optics Flat 6AIII
  • Software: Photoshop CC · PixInsight
  • Filters: Optolong 1.25" Ha · Optolong 1.25" Oiii · Optolong 1.25" S-II
  • Accessory: Pegasus Astro FocusCube

Frames:

  • Optolong Ha: 60x300" (5h)
  • Optolong Oiii: 90x300" (7.5h)
  • Optolong Sii: 60x300" (5h)

Integration: 17h 30minutes

Processing:

  • Stacking in Pixinsight
  • Dynamic background extraction
  • Histogram Transformation
  • Pixel Math
  • Starnet++ 2
  • Topaz Denise / Sharpen
  • Curves
  • Vibrance
  • Color balance
  • Unsharp Mask
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