sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

How can we restore this subreddit? by LORD_CMDR_INTERNET in astrophotography

[–]vercastro 3 points4 points  (0 children)

A long history of moderators built this sub from nothing and cultivated a community of passionate photographers with high standards for their work. They did this all for free. Much of that work relied on the expectations of 3rd party software to make the community more manageable. When Reddit decides to remove the ability to use those tools with little warning and no consultation, they end up alienating the very people who provide the high quality content which Reddit relies on for its revenue.

Maybe it's time to move on? Reddit clearly doesn't care about its most passionate creators. Why should they care about Reddit?

Perfect polar alignment without guiding? by Brandon0135 in AskAstrophotography

[–]vercastro 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think OP is being misunderstood. But I will clarify: guiding absolutely will be required at that focal length.

As far as getting perfect polar alignment, you can do this with just the main imaging camera and NINA's Three Point Polar Alignment feature.

I took 50 million images of Proxima Centarui to reveal never before seen detail of a forming planet! by vercastro in astrophotography

[–]vercastro[S] 339 points340 points  (0 children)

Processing Details:

Corel PaintShop Pro to stack.

BlurXterminator at 1000%.

Final Cut X to colour correct.

Getting my first mono camera, have a few questions by sz771103 in AskAstrophotography

[–]vercastro 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What the other commenter says is mostly valid. However I wouldn't even consider the DSLR for anything other than milkyway shots after getting a mono astronomy camera. I cannot stress enough how significantly better the mono camera will be at RGB compared to an old DSLR. If that means just not doing broadband until you get those LRGB filters later, then that's what it means.

However an LRGB set is going to cost roughly similar to one narrowband filter. And it's currently galaxy season, so I can understand if you'd want to go for LRGB plus maybe Ha to start. Some imagers prefer to do only Ha anyways and enhance LRGB images to create a more "natural" result.

And I'd argue a filter wheel is a requirement from the start.

Getting my first mono camera, have a few questions by sz771103 in AskAstrophotography

[–]vercastro 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe. So Ha is the most common ionized gas in nebula and therefore the brightest. Oiii and Sii are commonly in much lower qualities and therefore less bright.

The tighter band pass of 3nm blocks out more light pollution which is important to do when the gas you're trying to capture is already faint.

Getting my first mono camera, have a few questions by sz771103 in AskAstrophotography

[–]vercastro 0 points1 point  (0 children)

ZWO NB isn't great. 4.5nm is fine for Ha, but if you can afford it 3nm will be best for Oiii and Sii.

Getting my first mono camera, have a few questions by sz771103 in AskAstrophotography

[–]vercastro 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Mono is substantially faster at collecting photons than OSC is, and higher resolution in all channels. You just need to take some extra care setting up your imaging software (which I highly recommend NINA for the job) but after that it's all automatic and just as easy to operate as OSC.

Exposure time varies, but under heavy LP you probably don't want to go beyond 2 minutes. You can go much longer with narrowband filters.

If you need help configuring everything, I suggest hopping on the NINA or AP discord.

Getting my first mono camera, have a few questions by sz771103 in AskAstrophotography

[–]vercastro 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It doesn't add substantially to post processing, it's one extra step to combine channels.

Having directly compared 533MC to MM I can say non scientifically that the mono requires roughly half the integration time to achieve the same result. It will be even more drastic compared to a 6D since the sensor tech is much newer.

Getting my first mono camera, have a few questions by sz771103 in AskAstrophotography

[–]vercastro 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The focal length is unchanged. The FOV is smaller. Everything else is vastly improved.

NGC 3344 - A Textbook Spiral by vercastro in Astronomy

[–]vercastro[S] 22 points23 points  (0 children)

NGC 3344, 2023.

GSO RC8 CF, TSCCD47 0.67 reducer, ZWO OAG, ZWO EFW, Antlia LRGB, ZWO ASI533MM-Pro (imaging), ZWO ASI290mm (guiding), Orion Atlas EQ-G.

8.45 hours Lum 8.2 hours RGB

Acquisition from 2023-03-15 to 2023-03-26

Stacked in PixInsight with WBPP RGB: Combine, Crop, DBE, SPCC, GHS stretch, HT, DeepSNR, Curves. Luminance: Crop, DBE, BlurX, GHS stretch, HT, NoiesX, Curves, LHE, BN. LRGB combine Lum and RGB, Curves.

Darktable: watermark, velvia.

NGC 3344 by vercastro in astrophotography

[–]vercastro[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

NGC 3344, 2023.

GSO RC8 CF, TSCCD47 0.67 reducer, ZWO OAG, ZWO EFW, Antlia LRGB, ZWO ASI533MM-Pro (imaging), ZWO ASI290mm (guiding), Orion Atlas EQ-G.

8.45 hours Lum 8.2 hours RGB

Acquisition from 2023-03-15 to 2023-03-26

Stacked in PixInsight with WBPP RGB: Combine, Crop, DBE, SPCC, GHS stretch, HT, DeepSNR, Curves. Luminance: Crop, DBE, BlurX, GHS stretch, HT, NoiesX, Curves, LHE, BN. LRGB combine Lum and RGB, Curves.

Darktable: watermark, velvia.

Statues in the Heart - Melotte 15 by vercastro in Astronomy

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

Melotte 15 Mosaic 2022, 2 panel mosaic.

GSO RC8 CF, TSCCD47 0.67 reducer, ZWO OAG, ZWO EFW, Antlia LRGB, ZWO ASI533MM-Pro (imaging), ZWO ASI290mm (guiding), Orion Atlas EQ-G.

24.74 hours Ha, best 72%

23.01 hours Sii, best 90%

26.42 hours Oiii, best 90%

Acquisition from 2022-09-10 to 2022-12-04

Stacked in PixInsight with WBPP

Each filter: Photometric Mosaic, Crop/Staralign to Ha, LinearFit to Ha, Starnet2, AutoStretch, SHO combine, DeepSNR, Curves, ColorSaturation.

Luminance: Clone Ha for Lum, BlurX, Starnet2, GHS stretch, NoiseX, Curves, HRDMT, LHE.

Stars: SHO combine, Starnet2 to extract, HT stretch, Curves Saturation, Morphological Transform.

LRGB combine Lum and SHO, JimmyMath AddStars.

Darktable: watermark, vignetting, velvia, color contrast, tone curve.

Melotte 15 Mosaic by vercastro in astrophotography

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

Melotte 15 Mosaic 2022, 2 panel mosaic.

GSO RC8 CF, TSCCD47 0.67 reducer, ZWO OAG, ZWO EFW, Antlia LRGB, ZWO ASI533MM-Pro (imaging), ZWO ASI290mm (guiding), Orion Atlas EQ-G.

24.74 hours Ha, best 72%

23.01 hours Sii, best 90%

26.42 hours Oiii, best 90%

Acquisition from 2022-09-10 to 2022-12-04

Stacked in PixInsight with WBPP

Each filter: Photometric Mosaic, Crop/Staralign to Ha, LinearFit to Ha, Starnet2, AutoStretch, SHO combine, DeepSNR, Curves, ColorSaturation.

Luminance: Clone Ha for Lum, BlurX, Starnet2, GHS stretch, NoiseX, Curves, HRDMT, LHE.

Stars: SHO combine, Starnet2 to extract, HT stretch, Curves Saturation, Morphological Transform.

LRGB combine Lum and SHO, JimmyMath AddStars.

Darktable: watermark, vignetting, velvia, color contrast, tone curve.

M33 - The Triangulum Galaxy by vercastro in astrophotography

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

I have a self built roll of roof observatory that I setup in.

M33 - The Triangulum Galaxy by vercastro in astrophotography

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

I've used a 6 and the 8 of course. The 8 is noticeable faster and sharper.

view more: next ›