Thursday, September 13, 2012

M31 Andromeda Galaxy

















This is a so-so image - it has a long way to go but I thought I'd publish this iteration. I have a fair bit of image data but might go out and get some more this weekend, including some shorter exposures so that the core isn't so burnt out, as well as the stars in the foreground. I also feel I can be getting a lot more detail here. I'll work on a new iteration next week when I have time.

Image Details
  • Imaging Scope: William Optics 66mm Petzval Refractor
    Imaging Camera: Nikon D7000
    Guiding Scope: Astrotelescopes 80mm ED Refractor
    Guiding Camera: Meade DSI-C
    Exposures: 8 * 10 minute lights, 4 * 10 minute darks
    ISO 640
    Aligned and Stacked in Deep Sky Stacker
    HDR through Photomatix PRO
    Post-Processing in GIMP (contrast, saturation and unsharp mask)
    Noise Removal in Neat Image

10 comments:

  1. Wow! If that's an image you're not happy with, I can't wait to see one you are satisfied with! I think it looks great! ☺

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  2. Wow! If that's an image you're not happy with I can't wait to see one you are pleased about! I think it looks great! ☺

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  3. Nice one Phil, very bright object in the sky but not so easy to get details as one could expect. My same object last week and my first observing this winter, have a photo on my blog.
    Regards Jon Sig.

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  4. Thanks, guys. I appreciate it. I need to take some more exposures, and then get some with smaller time frames to merge so that the core and stars don't look so bright.

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  5. Just came across your blog - LOVELY work!

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  6. Thanks a lot, Hollie! Clear skies to you!

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  7. Chris P.5:19 PM

    Hey - great astrophotos. I recently picked up a D5100 for astrophotography, so I was curious about your camera settings.

    I recently switched Picture Control from Neutral to Standard, and am happier with Standard, but I'm still wondering about my White Balance (Direct Sunlight right now). Have you experimented at all with these settings?

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  8. Hi Chris,

    Thanks for visiting and nice to meet you. To be honest, I've never really messed with White Balance that much. I have left it on Auto and the results have typically been just fine. It's food for thought though. Sometimes I have trouble when processing and I wonder if this would make a difference. Hmmm...

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  9. Anonymous4:59 AM


    I can see why nasa uses spce telescopes to look into space. and you, with a nikon d7000 is photographing as good as hubble space telescope? IMPOSSIBLE

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  10. Thanks, Anonymous!

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Cheers,
Phil