[RCC] Penny for your thoughts?

Processing Acquisition Request for feedback
3 replies•310 views
Oscar Echeverri avatar
Oscar Echeverri avatar
I've been working this project the last month or so, and acquired ~25hrs of data, so far I'm enjoying how it's turning out, but trying to figure out if I need more data, or just need to get better at processing.  

Originally I had been aiming for around 30hrs of data, and given the typical weather patterns where I live I thought it would take me into the fall... but we had a number of clear nights over the last month for imaging here and I managed to arrive near my goal integration time well ahead of schedule... I could probably sink another 20 hrs into it before it's impractical to image it, but not sure how much that would improve the result at this point.

https://www.astrobin.com/dazaju/

Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions on processing?
Jonny Bravo avatar
Jonny Bravo avatar
Some comments based on looking at the full size image…

1. There are residual artifacts over stars indicating you used something like Starnet++ or Star Xterminator to remove the stars, do some processing, then add them back. 

2. Everything looks soft. Not sure if you just applied way too much noise reduction.

3. 600 seconds seems to be an awfully long sub-exposure time for broadband imaging. You've got an f/7 scope with an 11" aperture. That's going to collect a lot of light, quickly. Maybe drop the exposures down, especially since you're shooting at unity gain.

4. Colors seem a bit… lackluster (trying to find a good word to describe it LOL). I think this might be due to the length of your subs causing a lot to clip, so you're losing the color in the capture.

Shape-wise, your stars look to be pretty round out to the corners. Impressive, given that you've got a full frame sensor and are shooting 10 minute subs. I know how much I struggle with the 8" Edge on a CEM40 to get round stars smile.

Anyway, those are a few of my thoughts. Overall, the image is quite nice. I think of the things I listed, number 2 stands out the most to me. It's what I first noticed.
Helpful Respectful Engaging Supportive
andrea tasselli avatar
andrea tasselli avatar
The image is so over-processed that is hard to say but I'd reckon adding additional data never hurts, if of good quality.
Blaine Gibby avatar
Blaine Gibby avatar
I agree I think the sub exposures are way too long for broad band, you are likely filling the well capacity of your camera causing loss of data, clipping to white. Or perhaps you shot to many subs with a bright moon. 

Also in regards to the exposure times, unless you have perfect guiding you are going to lose sharpness in your exposures, unless you are severely under sampled I suppose. This loss of sharpness is going to be similar to motion blur in regular photography or a Gaussian blur and will kill your signal to noise ratio. 

Also the black point is a bit dark for my personal taste. And I typically like smaller stars, which could be bloated due to the long exposures. 

Sounds like you have s fair amount of data collected. Maybe try an integration with with top 25 or 50%. 

I love the framing, in fact I was looking at this target and had an almost identical framing choice.
Helpful
Related discussions
Anyone like to join?
Hello folks. I started a new project - NGC 5907, it's a nice edge-on galaxy with a beautiful hard-to-achieve stardust ring around it. So I thought double efforts could do better than one. And then I thought I could grant my data and receive someb...
Similar long-exposure galaxy project with comparable data acquisition timeframe and goals.
Feb 8, 2021
The need for REAL signal - Thoughts on true image quality
Having just been getting back into the astrophotography fray lately, after having been largely out of the game for a few years, I thought I'd start a discussion on the need for real signal. I kind of landed here, in 2024, right in the middle of t...
Discusses signal quality and data requirements for astrophotography projects.
Mar 8, 2024
[RCC] How to make my Rosette Nebula to a Top Pic?
I am super happy that my Rosette Nebula got a Top Pic nomination: https://www.astrobin.com/nckrqs/?nc=user I love my Image, but I'm asking myself what is finally missing, or let's better say, what are the criterias to build a Top Pic? I mean,...
Long-term project feedback seeking to improve image quality.
Mar 24, 2021