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Post by Deleted on Jul 4, 2014 19:53:38 GMT
Hi All: hopefully this is the right place to post. I've had my MC xtreme PC setup out a couple times now (120mm refractor, initial f-ratio f7.5, but using MFR5)..have had some great luck with planetary nebulae using an astronomik CLS CCD filter...trying to get detail on galaxy targets..I was racing to get some time in before fog reached me..and was a very wet dewy night despite dew heaters. No filter last night..was afraid to open and expose lenses to dew by the time I was out there Got some detail on M51 last night ..played with APC between 2-4, but liked the spiral arm detail using APC 4 best despite ringing of stars my issue is getting any detail at all on galaxies like M81 Bodes, or M63 Sunflower..have 2 shots of M63 from last night below..granted, was getting very foggy and dewy at that point, but even on the previous session I still had issue coaxing any detail beyond seeing the core and some fuzzy nebulosity. Any advice for this beginner would be greatly appreciated. All I did was crop away a black edge in PS ..otherwise these images are untouched, straight from Miloslick and then saved in jpeg format after crop. jeff M27: M51M63 attempts in need of some advice:
70 sec AGC 2, APC2 4-stacked, dark frame 45sec AGC3, APC1, 4-stacked, dark frame
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Post by Dragon Man on Jul 5, 2014 6:22:49 GMT
Jeff, I don't know what you are expecting but those images are great!!!
Remember, these cameras aren't imaging cameras. What you have captured is very very good. The only bad one is the last one because it looks like its out of focus. But the detail you have captured in the Galaxies is great. Better than many other Mallincam users because of their terrible skies.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 5, 2014 14:56:10 GMT
Jeff, I don't know what you are expecting but those images are great!!! Remember, these cameras aren't imaging cameras. What you have captured is very very good. The only bad one is the last one because it looks like its out of focus. But the detail you have captured in the Galaxies is great. Better than many other Mallincam users because of their terrible skies. thanks Ken!..I realize this is for live viewing, was just trying to see if there's a way to tease out a bit more arm detail in the M63 shots.....whether another combination of settings would help..or maybe it's the limit of the setup the fog was rolling in so not the best conditions, also I didn't have one of the LP filters in that may have helped with the reflected glow off the fog over the bay in the west
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Post by Dragon Man on Jul 5, 2014 15:19:56 GMT
A trick to get more detail out of galaxies is to NOT have any IR filter on the camera.
It make the stars bloat but certainly brings out more detail in galaxies. It doesn't make much of a difference with Nebs or Solar System, just galaxies because of the amount of IR in them. let it through to the camera.
I haven't used an IR or UV filter in about a year now since I found this out.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 5, 2014 17:00:35 GMT
A trick to get more detail out of galaxies is to NOT have any IR filter on the camera. It make the stars bloat but certainly brings out more detail in galaxies. It doesn't make much of a difference with Nebs or Solar System, just galaxies because of the amount of IR in them. let it through to the camera. I haven't used an IR or UV filter in about a year now since I found this out. thanks for the tip! I had used an astronomik CLS CCD filter in a previous session..great for the nebulae but definitely cuts IR I have a celestron LP (quasi UHC) filter and an astronomik UHC that let some IR through..not sure how the IR pass compares to lumicon deep sky..have seen folks use that
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Post by Dragon Man on Jul 5, 2014 17:19:33 GMT
Just as a test, try it with no filters at all. You may end up seeing more. If Light Pollution skyglow becomes a problem fiddle with Brightness/contrast/saturation rather than adding filters.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 10, 2014 7:13:42 GMT
I believe part of your issue is the short focal length you are using. Increasing the image scale will reveal more detail with the cost of longer integrations if using the same scope. Longer integrations regardless of F ratio will help bring outer regions of galaxies into view and improve the contrast of detail like spiral arms. M63's detail is there in your shot, just small. It is a galaxy with flocculent structure so the detail is rather small scale. Your focal length with MFR5 will be ideal for large galaxies like M 31 and 33. I look forward to your grabs of those with your setup.....Dwight
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Post by Deleted on Jul 10, 2014 7:20:00 GMT
Just an example for you of how dim the arms of M 81 are. This exposure was with a C14 at F3 using IDAS LPS filter, MCX, and 150 seconds. It is a frame grab from a recorded DVD. ......Dwight
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Post by davy on Jul 10, 2014 9:27:37 GMT
Brilliant image dwight
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Post by Dragon Man on Jul 10, 2014 11:25:21 GMT
Good example thanks Dwight. Good image too
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Post by Deleted on Jul 10, 2014 16:35:40 GMT
Thanks Davy and Ken. ....Dwight
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Post by Deleted on Jul 10, 2014 22:27:18 GMT
Just an example for you of how dim the arms of M 81 are. This exposure was with a C14 at F3 using IDAS LPS filter, MCX, and 150 seconds. It is a frame grab from a recorded DVD. ......Dwight Very Nice Dwight and yes this is a tricky target to get. I have had mixed results with this one but have not yet worked out what I did right when I managed to see it really well. It was one of the first targets I saw when I first tried out the Xtreme and it blew me away but I've never quite managed to see it so detailed since
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Post by Deleted on Jul 11, 2014 17:42:43 GMT
Very nice set of images Jeff!
Chris A Astrogate
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Post by Deleted on Jul 11, 2014 17:43:18 GMT
Awesome M81 image Dwight. You pulled out the arms nicely!
Chris A Astrogate
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Post by Deleted on Jul 12, 2014 17:35:16 GMT
Thanks Karl and Chris. The "live" image was fantastic with red H2 regions dotting the arms. It was a night of exceptional transparency which really helps with the dim outer regions. It was early spring as well with M 81 gliding overhead. Going for faint details is helped along when these two factors are present. ...Dwight
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Post by Rick in NWArk on Jul 25, 2014 3:46:07 GMT
Really nice images, Jeff!
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