M-27

Hi all,I am something of a newbie imager,around 4 monthes of experience now between a DSLR and a ST-2000xcm I purchased a little while back.I have admired a lot of great shots that have gone through this forum,you have all kept me inspired to get better

Here is my best shot so far.Taken with the ST-2000xcm and a Stellarvue SV80s at F12. 8O
A total of around 19 minutes.
Any comments welcome.

Attached Image:

Nice image Jason! Keep at it and keep on posting your results. It looks like you are well on your way.

Nice shot Jason,looks like your well on your way. A couple of hints for you caus I think you have more data in your shot: don't darken the background so much and also I think If you drop your saturation a bit you will reveal some more datil in the neb.

Cheers

Louie

Nicely done Jason... keep at it!
Looking forward to your next shots!

By the way, computer monitors are not calibrated equal, so some images will appear darker/lighter... it is hard to find the SWEET spot for all... but a NOT so dark background as some have mentioned could benefit your images... 8)

Thanks for sharing! and clear skies! 8)

Wow, fantastic image for 4 months experience. You are obviously a bright guy.

My only comments are: 1. frame the shot when doing your focusing. Use the move telescope buttons in your software (I use CCDSoft)so the object is framed exactly as you would like it to be. Also if you frame it well, then at a later night if you want to add more epxosures you can open the earlier shot and compare it to the focus downloads and adjust the framing using the software move buttons to line it up exactly the same which will make combining them later much easier.
2. I was told by Sbig the best results come from 30minute exposures. Go for 3 x 30 minute exposures was what I was told. That may be hard at F12 as your polar alignment and tracking will have to be very good.19 minutes is not enough for a relatively dim object like M27.
4. Take flats and use them as they will help bring out more detail in nebs.
5. Of course shooting at F12 is tough as it is so slow and it is hard on your tracking. Ideally a larger scope would make your job easier there but you've got to work with what gear you have. The SV80s will do stunning wide field shots and I found the image scale is very pleasant with the ST2000XM. I think you will find it easier to do and get very pleasing images from brighter objects that you can shoot at F4.8 with the Televue .8 flattener/reducer for TV85 that suits that scope and camera perfectly.
With that you would have one of the fastest, sharpest and easy to use imaging combos around! But of course, M27 would look very small with that setup. So large nebulas would make a good target for that setup.

Hope this is of some use.

Best,

Greg.

Nice! I must get me one of those color camera.

Joe