[RCC] The Andromeda Galaxy - Forums

Topic starter

Nov 11, 2023 · Edited: Nov 12, 2023

Hello everyone,
I am still new to Astrophotography and still learning how to process images. I started to learn PixInsight about 3 weeks ago. I paid for the 3 RC Astro plug-ins. NoiseX, BlurX, and StarX. This was my 3rd try at processing Andromeda with PI.
I'm looking for help in my workflow and what I can do to make my images pop!! Of course CC on how I did with this image and what I can do to make it better.

The steps I used that I can remember, in PI (I should of written it down) are as follows:
WBPP, rotate/crop, PCC, DBE, SCNR, blurx, noisex, EZ Tools (soft stretch), Starx, CurvesTransformation, and some pixel-math stuff that I found online making a luminance layer. Also, HDRmultiScale Transformation, Boosted star saturation, and I think that was it. Then I put the stars back in with pixel math.

**Link to image** https://www.astrobin.com/0uijci/

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Blaine Gibby

Nov 11, 2023

You have great details. There is definitely more color in your data. What camera did you use? I am wondering if you washed out your color with how your generated luminance layer. Great job on the core

Dale Penkala

Nov 11, 2023 · Edited: Nov 11, 2023

Hello Jim,

1st, I think its a very nice image with a lot of detail in the galaxy as a whole, so congrats on that! But if it were me I would do a bit of work on your stars. For lack of a better word the are a bit crunchy at least for me anyway. When you separate your star layer from the galaxy use a very slight convolution to the stars. I like to use just .8-1.2 depending on how the layer looks to my eye.
2nd, I think you could add a bit of color to both the stars as well as the galaxy. This is more of a personal taste so this is up to your discretion of course. While there are several different ways to do this I like to add back a luminance layer at about 37-45% setting in the LRGB saturation setting. You can do this and it will add some “natural” color.
You will want to make sure that you have done SPCC on the image in the beginning of your processing.

Here is my general workflow to process an image like this. This is with the raw Fits integrated file regardless of what you use for your processing of the data.

Crop
Platesolve the image and then SPCC it.
BlurX
NoiseX
StarX
Once you’re done with the above, I’ll use the Histogram Transformation to stretch the image to my liking. I used to use the SoftStretch in DarkArcon but I’ve moved to manually stretching my data now. There are other ways to do this but this is my preferred method.
After the stars are removed from the image I like to move right to brining some color back into the image to my liking. I’ll also use a light HDRM on the Starless image along with masks to pull the detail out from the data.

Use the recommended PM formula from Russ’s website: ~((starless)*(stars))

Hope this helps!
Dale

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Dale Penkala

Nov 11, 2023

Dale Penkala:
Hello Jim,
It would be helpful if you put the image in your post or at the very least a link to the image on your profile. I when to your profile and looked for the image your referring to and have to assume that its the newest so thats where I’ll give you some of my comments.

1st, I think its a very nice image, so congrats on that! But if it were me I would do a bit of work on your stars. For lack of a better word the are a bit crunchy at least for me anyway. When you separate your star layer from the galaxy use a very slight convolution to the stars. I like to use just .8-1.2 depending on how the layer looks to my eye.
2nd, I think you could add a bit of color to both the stars as well as the galaxy. While there are several different ways to do this I like to add back a luminance layer at about 37-45% setting in the LRGB saturation setting. You can do this and it will add some “natural” color.
You will want to make sure that you have done SPCC on the image in the beginning of your processing.

Here is my general workflow to process an image like this. This is with the raw Fits integrated file regardless of what you use for your processing of the data.

Crop
Platesolve the image and then SPCC it.
BlurX
NoiseX
StarX
Once you’re done with the above, I’ll use the Histogram Transformation to stretch the image to my liking. I used to use the SoftStretch in DarkArcon but I’ve moved to manually stretching my data now. There are other ways to do this but this is my preferred method.
After the stars are removed from the image I like to move right to brining some color back into the image to my liking. I’ll also use a light HDRM on the Starless image along with masks to pull the detail out from the data.

Use the recommended PM formula from Russ’s website: ~((starless)*(stars))

Hope this helps!
Dale

I don’t know what happened but now your image is there LOL! It wasn’t when I looked at your post so forgive me for that 1st statement. 😊

Jim Starek

Topic starter

Nov 12, 2023

Dale Penkala:
Dale Penkala:
Hello Jim,
It would be helpful if you put the image in your post or at the very least a link to the image on your profile. I when to your profile and looked for the image your referring to and have to assume that its the newest so thats where I’ll give you some of my comments.

1st, I think its a very nice image, so congrats on that! But if it were me I would do a bit of work on your stars. For lack of a better word the are a bit crunchy at least for me anyway. When you separate your star layer from the galaxy use a very slight convolution to the stars. I like to use just .8-1.2 depending on how the layer looks to my eye.
2nd, I think you could add a bit of color to both the stars as well as the galaxy. While there are several different ways to do this I like to add back a luminance layer at about 37-45% setting in the LRGB saturation setting. You can do this and it will add some “natural” color.
You will want to make sure that you have done SPCC on the image in the beginning of your processing.

Here is my general workflow to process an image like this. This is with the raw Fits integrated file regardless of what you use for your processing of the data.

Crop
Platesolve the image and then SPCC it.
BlurX
NoiseX
StarX
Once you’re done with the above, I’ll use the Histogram Transformation to stretch the image to my liking. I used to use the SoftStretch in DarkArcon but I’ve moved to manually stretching my data now. There are other ways to do this but this is my preferred method.
After the stars are removed from the image I like to move right to brining some color back into the image to my liking. I’ll also use a light HDRM on the Starless image along with masks to pull the detail out from the data.

Use the recommended PM formula from Russ’s website: ~((starless)*(stars))

Hope this helps!
Dale

I don’t know what happened but now your image is there LOL! It wasn’t when I looked at your post so forgive me for that 1st statement. 😊

*** I can see the image and it is in my post. Are you not able to view it or see it for some reason? it is a PNG***

Jim Starek

Topic starter

Nov 12, 2023

Blaine Gibby:
You have great details. There is definitely more color in your data. What camera did you use? I am wondering if you washed out your color with how your generated luminance layer. Great job on the core

*** I used the ASI2600MC-P I think I went either very light on color or maybe I un-did it. I processed it a few times and kept oversaturating the image using color saturation ***

Dale Penkala

Nov 12, 2023 · Edited: Nov 12, 2023

Jim Starek:
Dale Penkala:
Dale Penkala:
Hello Jim,
It would be helpful if you put the image in your post or at the very least a link to the image on your profile. I when to your profile and looked for the image your referring to and have to assume that its the newest so thats where I’ll give you some of my comments.

1st, I think its a very nice image, so congrats on that! But if it were me I would do a bit of work on your stars. For lack of a better word the are a bit crunchy at least for me anyway. When you separate your star layer from the galaxy use a very slight convolution to the stars. I like to use just .8-1.2 depending on how the layer looks to my eye.
2nd, I think you could add a bit of color to both the stars as well as the galaxy. While there are several different ways to do this I like to add back a luminance layer at about 37-45% setting in the LRGB saturation setting. You can do this and it will add some “natural” color.
You will want to make sure that you have done SPCC on the image in the beginning of your processing.

Here is my general workflow to process an image like this. This is with the raw Fits integrated file regardless of what you use for your processing of the data.

Crop
Platesolve the image and then SPCC it.
BlurX
NoiseX
StarX
Once you’re done with the above, I’ll use the Histogram Transformation to stretch the image to my liking. I used to use the SoftStretch in DarkArcon but I’ve moved to manually stretching my data now. There are other ways to do this but this is my preferred method.
After the stars are removed from the image I like to move right to brining some color back into the image to my liking. I’ll also use a light HDRM on the Starless image along with masks to pull the detail out from the data.

Use the recommended PM formula from Russ’s website: ~((starless)*(stars))

Hope this helps!
Dale

I don’t know what happened but now your image is there LOL! It wasn’t when I looked at your post so forgive me for that 1st statement. 😊

*** I can see the image and it is in my post. Are you not able to view it or see it for some reason? it is a PNG***

When I first seen your post and clicked on it your image didn’t show up for some reason. I went to your profile and looked at your image thats where I seen what you had and made my first remarks. It was after I posted that comment and all of a sudden your image showed up so again not sure what actually happened so thats why I apologized to you.

Jim you have wonderful detail in your image, but if you would be willing to provide your integrated image in FITS format with nothing done to it I’d love to play with it provided you give me your permission to do so. Not saying I can do any better but I’d love to play with it. I have nothing but clouds for the next week or so and I’d have fun post processing your data.

Just an FYI I have a tendency to like color in my images so thats how I’d process your image to help bring out the “natural” color in your data.

Dale

Wei-Hao Wang

Nov 12, 2023

Nice image. When I click into this thread and look at your picture, the first impression (within the first two seconds) I got is that stars around the Andromeda Galaxy are more prominent than stars away from the galaxy. This looks very unnatural. Otherwise, under this resolution, the image looks fine to me.

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Die Launische Diva

Nov 12, 2023

@Wei-Hao Wang, the stars are more prominent at, and nearby the galaxy probably because simple addition was used to assemble the starry image. In that way, wherever there is some background signal in the starless image, the stars will be pushed more towards higher values and be more prominent at the resulting image.

One other thing I have noticed is that some bright stars have black holes

at their centers. And I feel that the image needs some more color saturation.

Dale Penkala

Nov 12, 2023 · Edited: Nov 12, 2023

Here is my result with you data Jim. Its far from perfect. I used pretty much everything I told you on post processing of your image except I forgot to tell you before I did any of the RC processes I did DBE on the image. I always do that but I just forgot to put that in the very 1st processing post, sorry on that one my bad.

Keep in mind color is a personal taste and I didn't spend a lot of time doing this with your data but it was fun. I'm not 100% happy on the color btw and I could do more work but there is some color to the galaxy now. I used a mask in the core area for some very suble work to help pull out the core detail but I could have done more. Because of the dust motes I used the clone tool to help remove them.

Anyway I hope you like this a little bit. BTW I didn't crop like you did I just used the full frame of the image.

Dale

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