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Orion Feb 23, 2022

Discussion in 'Astrophotography and Imaging' started by Ed D, Feb 24, 2022.

Orion Feb 23, 2022

Started by Ed D on Feb 24, 2022 at 7:59 PM

6 Replies 1319 Views 1 Likes

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  1. Ed D

    Ed D Well-Known Member

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    Ed D, Feb 24, 2022
    #1
    A few days ago I received a ZWO Duo-Band Filter that I bought from our sponsor, Agena Astro. This filter was designed specifically for One Shot Color (OSC) cameras, as well as DSLRs. It passes the O-III and Ha lines while blocking out everything else. These filters are heaven sent for those of us unfortunate enough to live in severe light pollution.

    This image is a wide field of the Orion Constellation, using my 55mm-250mm Canon kit lens, which is not exactly a stellar performer. It was simply a trial of the new filter to get a feel for it. At first I was a little bit disappointed, a casual glance at the light frames appearing no different than O-III images I have taken before. I was hoping to catch Barnard's Loop and other nebulosity in Orion, way too optimistic for a severe Bortle 9 area. Then, in post processing, I noticed that M42 looked pretty decent, as well as noticing a faint Flame and really faint Horsehead. I then realized the potential this filter has.

    2022 0-23 Orion Constellation.jpg

    I hope to get a few more good nights to image in and around Orion before it disappears into the muck to my West.

    Ed D
     
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  2. Ed D

    Ed D Well-Known Member

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    Ed D, Feb 25, 2022
    #2
    It has been cloudy, giving me a chance to play with the widefield data. I restacked my light and dark frames, using the 45 second and 60second exposures, along with the ISO 800 Bias frames from my library. Once Deep Sky Stacker finished, I adjusted the RGB channels in the histogram. I did a slight CURVES adjustment in GIMP, and sized the image in Photo Studio (really old program), saving TIFF and JPEG versions.

    2022 02-23 Orion Widefield Sized.jpg

    Not anything special, this revision shows the Horsehead and Flame nebulae a little better.

    Ed D
     
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  3. Mak the Night

    Mak the Night Well-Known Member

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    Mak the Night, Feb 26, 2022
    #3
    Looks pretty good Ed. Nice image of the 'Serpent Cluster' between Alnilam and Mintaka as well.

    serpent.jpg
     
  4. Orion25

    Orion25 Well-Known Member

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    Orion25, Feb 26, 2022
    #4
    Great image, Ed. I can see the Horsehead and Flame much better after your adjustments. Hope your skies clear real soon so you can get back out there ;)
     
  5. Ed D

    Ed D Well-Known Member

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    Ed D, Feb 27, 2022
    #5
    Mak, Reggie; thanks for the encouraging words.

    I believe I finally figured out how to image DSOs inside the light polluted nightmare I call home. Total exposure time is a must, but I was heading in the wrong direction by trying to do longer exposures. After watching a video by Nico Carver, where he explains a lot, I tried a new approach. These past few nights I have been imaging the Horsehead and Flame nebulae. What's different is that I have taken 10 second subs, 222 of them in the first night, which is 37 minutes of integration. I also took 200 Dark, Bias and Flat frames, which seems like a lot, but really isn't considering the short exposure times. I can actually do these calibration frames inside my home. The temperature inside is almost identical to the outdoor night time temperature.

    IMG_0359.jpg
    Taking Flat frames indoors - Bias and additional Dark frames were taken in a similar manner

    After organizing all of my data, I reprocessed what I have so far.

    Day 2 Integration.jpg
    Flame and Horsehead nebulae

    The Horsehead is faint, but the Flame Nebula stands out well. The image is red because I was using the Lumicon Ha filter (656.3nm). I'm ready for the next clear night to take more Light frames, hopefully several hundred more. This should make the nebulae pop out more.

    Because there are so many exposures involved, I opted to image with my ASI290MC planetary camera with the 55-250mm Canon kit lens @ 55mm. This saves my DSLR from a lot of wear and tear, especially while I'm experimenting. Let's see what I come up with.

    Ed
     
    Last edited: Feb 27, 2022
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  6. Mak the Night

    Mak the Night Well-Known Member

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    Mak the Night, Feb 27, 2022
    #6
    It all sounds very technical Ed (I'm strictly visual) but it sounds like you have a good plan.
     
  7. Orion25

    Orion25 Well-Known Member

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    Orion25, Feb 27, 2022
    #7
    What Mak said! :p
     
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