Shooting narrowband before astronomical twilight??

Acquisition Narrowband Deep Sky
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Jan Klíma avatar
Jan Klíma avatar
Hi Guys!

One silly question - is it worth taking pictures in narrowband before astronomical twilight when the sun is not yet 18 ° below the horizon?

Best Regards
Jan
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andrea tasselli avatar
andrea tasselli avatar
Define worth. Because for sure you can. I do it all the times in summer as there is no astronomical night for 2 months here.
Kevin Morefield avatar
Kevin Morefield avatar
Jan Klíma:
Hi Guys!

One silly question - is it worth taking pictures in narrowband before astronomical twilight when the sun is not yet 18 ° below the horizon?

Best Regards
Jan

Yes, and the amount of time before astronomical twilight will depend on your filter, latitude, and the season.  But generally 30 minutes is possible for narrowband.  Since there is no cost to throw away a sub, I'd start before that and check your background values.  If the background is still within a few ADUs of what you get later in the night the subs will definitely be useful.  

You can also start your RGB subs 10-15 before astronomical night in most cases.

Kevin
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Arnie avatar
Arnie avatar
Astrophotography Tool has a mobile app called Deep Sky Darkness Calculator. It uses your phone or tablet's time and location to give you exact times for when you can image from your location for broadband and for narrowband.

https://astrophotography.app/mobile_apps.php

Arnie
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