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Posts Made By: Larry Durst

May 30, 2006 05:14 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Deep Sky

M101 with color added

Posted By Larry Durst
Hi All,
A couple of good nights over the long weekend. Most of the time trying to figure out guiding of my LX90 with SXV guider. Not very successful. (I'll post questions once I go over my notes.) But here is RGB added to a lum from last week. MX716 camera and ZenithStar 66 SD at prime focus. 51/20/20/20 minutes each, one minute subs except red (two minutes while trying guiding). AstroArt3 plus final curves in GIMP. A bit dark due to covering up gradients.
Thanks for looking...and suggestions.
Larry

June 1, 2006 08:24 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Deep Sky

NGC7000-Southeast and Gulf Coast

Posted By Larry Durst
I was all finished around 2:00am last weekend with M101 when I saw Cygnus beginning to fly over my roof in the East. Just had to take aim. Here is a fast 22x60seconds (had to go to sleep!) in Ha with an MX716 through the ZenithStar 66 SD at prime. Sigma combined in AstroArt, some slight curves in GIMP. Nothing else. I was pleased for the short time, but I can't wait to go back longer and wider. It's one of the reasons I bought the telescope.
Thanks for looking,
Larry

June 12, 2006 07:59 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Deep Sky

First Guided Image--Yep, Another North America

Posted By Larry Durst
Finally got my LX90 to guide using an SXV Guider. Still much learning and tweaking to do, but did manage 9x240seconds Ha on the "Gulf" region of NGC7000.
Camera: MX716
Scope: ZS66SD with 6.3 FR
Mount/Guide Scope: LX90 at f/3.3
Acquired and guiding in AstroArt3, combined with Ray Gralak Sigma, Processing AA3 and some cleanup with GIMP2.
Definitely want to add more to this in the coming weeks. Quite exciting to see the difference between 4 minute subs and one minute (my previous post has an example).
Thanks for looking, and any suggestions always welcome.
Larry

June 18, 2006 01:09 AM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Deep Sky

Head of the Pelican

Posted By Larry Durst
A still, still night with clearing clouds and a chance to hone my guiding of my LX90. This is 22x240s plus one extra 600s (decided to stretch my limits at the end of the night to great results). Camera: MX716, Imaging scope: ZS66SD @f/3.7, Schuler Ha Filter, SXV Guider through LX90 @ f/3.3. Software was AA3 with a tweak of curves in GIMP. Thanks for looking.
Larry

June 19, 2006 01:15 AM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Deep Sky

A Softer, Gentler Pelican

Posted By Larry Durst
Hi All,
After some comments on another group I had another go at my recent Pelican head. This time I was much less agressive in the processing for far less contrast and noise, and to eliminate severe clipping in the previous version.
Comments always appreciated.
Larry

July 6, 2006 06:48 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Deep Sky

A report on PixInsight software

Posted By Larry Durst
With rain, rain, rain and clouds, clouds, clouds the past few weeks I've resorted to playing with old images in PixInsight from Pleiades-astrophoto. If you haven't downloaded the software (a free LE version and a free time-limited Beta Standard version with limited capabilities so far), I recommend checking it out. It has amazingly precise histogram and curves controls, plus excellent tutorials on how to use the other capabilities. It sure is helping me get more detail out of objects without blowing out the highlights that I've struggled with in other software. Here is a reworked Markarian's Chain image (95x60s). I'll repost the original image posted a while ago in the next message. I thought this one made for a good test.
Just thought I'd bring this up in case you haven't played with it yet.
Have fun,
Larry
PS: This is a jpeg of a jpeg since I didn't have immediate access to my original FITS files.

July 18, 2006 06:20 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Deep Sky

Another NGC7000--This time "Mexico"

Posted By Larry Durst
Hi All,
I'll join the "work in progress parade" and post this North America. My intent was to go two to three hours but guider problems (and sleep!) cut me back to about an hour. It's a combination of five minute (guided) and two minute (unguided) images. I hope to add more Ha and perhaps some color soon (and try and come somewhere near Tyler's recent amazing image of the area!). I tried dithering on the guided images which really did seem to help kill hot pixels when I did a Median combine in AstroArt3.
Camera: MX716
Scope: ZS66SD @ 3.7 (6.3FR)
Guide/mount:SXV Guider on LX90
Schuler Ha filter
Acquired, aligned and median combined in AA3
Histograms, curves and SGBNR noised reduction on the background (not enough probably) in PixInsight LE
Any suggestions are certainly appreciated (Should I raise the black point a bit? There is a hair's width of room.)
Thanks for looking,
Larry

August 7, 2006 03:10 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Deep Sky

Final NGC7000 of the season...promise!

Posted By Larry Durst
I shot about another hour of the North American Nebula, intending to add it to some data from a few weeks ago. This was my first time shooting over two nights and, unfortunately, I didn't align the second night with the first as well as I should have. So when I tried to co-register them in AA3 I wind up having to cut out an awful lot of the nebula. Therefore, I'm posting just the image from this weekend. It is my best effort of the season...now to move past Cygnus (I did spend a bit of time on M31 at the end of the night in LRGB...still need to process).
19x240s Ha
SX MX716
ZS 66 SD w/ Meade 6.3 FR (f/3.7)
Schuler Ha filter
SXV guider through an LX90
Acquired, aligned and median combined in AA3
Histogram, curves and some slight SBGN background smoothing in PixInsight LE
Thanks for looking,
Larry

August 14, 2006 01:54 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Deep Sky

Help burst my "bubble" or: just what did I shoot?

Posted By Larry Durst
Hello All,
I set out to shoot the Bubble, NGC7635, this weekend. Ecstatic to get my guiding going after some false starts, I centered a bright spot amid some nebulosity that I had in my FOV, thinking it was the "hot spot" in the Bubble. I then set 10 minute subs and walked away. Checking in now and then I could not resolve the bubble, but kept going. After 80 minutes my system had a hiccup so I packed it in for night. And now not only do I think I missed the bubble, but I can't locate what I did shoot. Or, if it is the Bubble, why can't I seem to bring it out which has not been a problem in the past? Any help with this embarrasing bit of mis-navigation would sure be appreciated!

http://www.freewebs.com/drivewayastronomy/latestimages.htm

Shot is 8x600s in Ha with MX716 through ZS66SD. I've processed it just to try and keep the center bright spot somewhat resolved--it actually appears to be a group of bright stars that acts a bit like the Trapezium in Orion.

Thanks in advance for any help,
Larry

August 16, 2006 01:05 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Deep Sky

LBN 536 (Follow-up to What Did I Shoot)

Posted By Larry Durst
Hi All,
Thought I'd repost this after finally identifying it and doing some more processing. It's LBN 536, from the Lynds Bright Nebula Catalog. An image, finder chart and the story of how I came to shoot it are here:

http://www.freewebs.com/drivewayastronomy/latestimages.htm

I've also attached the full-size image.

I must say this misadventure in navigation has opened my eyes to looking past the usual catalogs for new objects.

Larry


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