Messier 5 - Globular Cluster

Messier 5 - Globular Cluster

 Interesting, globular cluster are easy to obtain but hard to image. It is easy to 'blow out the core' both in exposure and in processing. One of these I'll try and do some really good images. For now, here is M5:

The Cygnus Wall

The Cygnus Wall

Here is a wonderful section of Nebulosity in Cygnus. This is the Cygnus Wall which is part of the North America Nebula. This wall is actually a region of star formation. This cosmic ridge spans about 20 light-years and lies about 1,500 light years away.

The wide field view picture contains both the North America Nebula and the Pelican Nebula which I took earlier in May.

#cyguswall #ngc7000
#astrophotography #astrobackyard #losmandy #losmandygm8 #zwo #asi533mcpro #optolong #l-enhance

Technical Info:

Optics: SGO 6" f/4 Imaging Newtonian @ 610mm FL
Explore Scientific 2" HR Coma Corrector
Camera: ZWO ASI533MC Pro
Filter: 2" Optolong L-Enhance
Mount: Losmandy GM8
Guiding: QHY Mini Guide Scope + PHD2 Software
Acquisition: Sequence Generator Pro
Exposure: Light (Gain 300) - 58 exposures @ 240 Seconds (3 hours, 52 Minutes)
Calibration: 50 Bias, 30 Darks, 0 Flats
​Processing: Deep Sky Stacker, Adobe Photoshop, Topaz Denoise AI, Astronomy Action Set plug in for PS, Astro Flat Pro plug in for PS

Where it is in the North America Nebula

Starless Version

Elephant Trunk Nebula (Sh2-131)

Sh2-131

This was night 5 of a run of clear nights. VERY unusual in Illinois to say the least. Very happy that I can automate the capturing. SO, here is the Elephant Trunk Nebula or Sh2-131 from the Sharpless Catalog of Emission Nebula.

The Elephant Trunk Nebula winds through the emission nebula IC 1396, in the constellation of Cepheus. IC 1396 is a young star cluster.

The 'cosmic' elephant's trunk is over 20 light-years long!

Technical Info:

Optics: SGO 6" f/4 Imaging Newtonian @ 610mm FL
Explore Scientific 2" HR Coma Corrector
Camera: ZWO ASI533MC Pro
Filter: 2" Optolong L-Enhance
Mount: Losmandy GM8
Guiding: QHY Mini Guide Scope + PHD2 Software
Acquisition: Sequence Generator Pro
Exposure: Light (Gain 300) - 28 exposures @ 240 Seconds (112 Minutes)
Calibration: 50 Bias, 30 Darks, 0 Flats
​Processing: Deep Sky Stacker, Adobe Photoshop, Topaz Denoise AI, Astronomy Action Set plug in for PS, Astro Flat Pro plug in for PS

#SH2131 #elephantstrunk #ic1396
#astrophotography #astrobackyard #losmandy #losmandygm8 #zwo #asi533mcpro #optolong #lenhance

The Eastern Veil Nebula

the Eastern Veil Nebula

Finally finished up the Eastern Veil Nebula. This is a supernova remnant which is obviously just one side of it.

The veil complex is six times larger than the full moon! That translates to over 70 light-years at its estimated distance of 1,500 light-years. Amazing to me.

#C33 #easternveilnebula #ngc6992
#astrophotography #astrobackyard #losmandy #losmandygm8 #zwo #asi533mcpro #optolong #l-enhance

Technical Info:

Optics: SGO 6" f/4 Imaging Newtonian @ 610mm FL
Explore Scientific 2" HR Coma Corrector
Camera: ZWO ASI533MC Pro
Filter: 2" Optolong L-Enhance
Mount: Losmandy GM8
Guiding: QHY Mini Guide Scope + PHD2 Software
Acquisition: Sequence Generator Pro
Exposure: Light (Gain 300) - 25 subs @ 240 Seconds (100 Minutes)
Calibration: 50 Bias, 30 Darks, 50 Flats
​Processing: Deep Sky Stacker, Adobe Photoshop, Topaz Denoise AI, Astronomy Action Set plug in for PS, Astro Flat Pro plug in for PS

The Lion Nebula, (Sh2-132)

The Lion Nebula

The Lion Nebula, or Sh2-132 has an extended emission nebula visible in the constellation of Cepheus. My picture captures the mane and body but not the tail. That will be another day. It is located on the southern edge of Cepheus, at a distance of almost 10,400 light years.

Technical Info:

Optics: SGO 6" f/4 Imaging Newtonian @ 610mm FL
Explore Scientific 2" HR Coma Corrector
Camera: ZWO ASI533MC Pro
Filter: 2" Optolong L-Enhance
Mount: Losmandy GM8
Guiding: QHY Mini Guide Scope + PHD2 Software
Acquisition: Sequence Generator Pro
Exposure: Light (Gain 300) - 55 exposures @ 240 Seconds (220 Minutes)
Calibration: 50 Bias, 30 Darks, 50 Flats
​Processing: Deep Sky Stacker, Adobe Photoshop, Topaz Denoise AI, Astronomy Action Set plug in for PS, Astro Flat Pro plug in for PS

Supernova Remnant Abell 85

Supernova Remnant Abell 85

This target is probably beyond the capabilities of a One Shot Color camera. This represents just under 5 hours of data. I'm glad I tried as it tells me my limitations.

Technical Info:

Optics: SGO 6" f/4 Imaging Newtonian @ 610mm FL
Explore Scientific 2" HR Coma Corrector
Camera: ZWO ASI533MC Pro
Filter: 2" Optolong L-Enhance
Mount: Losmandy GM8
Guiding: QHY Mini Guide Scope + PHD2 Software
Acquisition: Sequence Generator Pro
Exposure: Light (Gain 300) - 240 subs @ 180 Seconds (4 hours, 45 minutes)
Calibration: 50 Bias, 30 Darks, 50 Flats
​Processing: Deep Sky Stacker, Adobe Photoshop, Topaz Denoise AI, Astronomy Action Set plug in for PS, Astro Flat Pro plug in for PS

A Quick Take on the Crescent Nebula

So while waiting for the Eastern Veil to rise last night above my roof line, I took this easy pickings object... The Crescent Nebula.

It formed by the fast stellar wind from the Wolf-Rayet star WR 136 (Bright star in the middle) colliding with and energizing the slower moving wind ejected by the star when it became a red giant.

18 minutes of 6 stacked, 3 minute exposures.

The Wizard Nebula (Sh2-142)

The Wizard Nebula

NGC 7380 (also known as the Wizard Nebula) is an open cluster discovered by Caroline Herschel in 1787. It is also known as 142 in the 1959 Sharpless catalog (Sh2-142).

Located 7200 light years away, the Wizard nebula, surrounds developing open star cluster NGC 7380.

The active star forming region spans about 100 light years, making it appear larger than the angular extent of the Moon.

Although the nebula may last only a few million years, some of the stars being formed may outlive our Sun.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_7380

#Sh2-171 #wizardnebula #ngc7380
#astrophotography #astrobackyard #losmandy #losmandygm8 #zwo #asi533mcpro #optolong #lenhance #womenpower

Technical Info:

Optics: SGO 6" f/4 Imaging Newtonian @ 610mm FL
Explore Scientific 2" HR Coma Corrector
Camera: ZWO ASI533MC Pro
Filter: 2" Optolong L-Enhance
Mount: Losmandy GM8
Guiding: QHY Mini Guide Scope + PHD2 Software
Acquisition: Sequence Generator Pro
Exposure: Light (Gain 200) - 25 subs @ 240 Seconds (100 Minutes)
Calibration: 50 Bias, 30 Darks, 50 Flats
​Processing: Deep Sky Stacker, Adobe Photoshop, Topaz Denoise AI, Astronomy Action Set plug in for PS, Astro Flat Pro plug in for PS

To see the outline of the 'wizard' see: http://www.guidescope.net/nebulae/ngc7380_20131103c.jpg

Sharpless 2-121

Sharpless Catalog 2-171

Sharpless Catalog 2-171, is a star forming nebula located in the constellation Cepheus, ~3,000 light years from the Earth.  A very young cluster of stars known as Berkeley 59, is located in the lower center right of the image.  

#sh2171 #ngc7822

#astrophotography #astrobackyard #losmandy #losmandygm8 #zwo #asi533mcpro #optolong #l-enhance

Technical Info:

Optics: SGO 6" f/4 Imaging Newtonian @ 610mm FL
Explore Scientific 2" HR Coma Corrector
Camera: ZWO ASI533MC Pro
Filter: 2" Optolong L-Enhance
Mount: Losmandy GM8
Guiding: QHY Mini Guide Scope + PHD2 Software
Acquisition: Sequence Generator Pro
Exposure: Light (Gain 200) - 23 subs @ 240 Seconds (92 Minutes)
Calibration: 50 Bias, 30 Darks, 50 Flats
​Processing: Deep Sky Stacker, Adobe Photoshop, Topaz Denoise AI, Astronomy Action Set plug in for PS, Astro Flat Pro plug in for PS

ASI533 Unity Gain vs. Gain 200 on Emission Nebula

Introduction

So, I thought I'd do a test to see results with the ZWO 533MC Pro camera using different gains on the same object. The goal was to see what the Signal to Noise (SNR) would look like comparing unity gain (100 for the 533) versus gain 200. Unity gain for this camera is 100.

The test was on the Elephant Trunk nebula using an Optolong L-Enhance filter. The L-Enhance is a duo band filter letting in Ha, Hb/Oiii. 

The telescope I used is an f/4 Newtonian. 

Objective

Test to see how much SNR degrades or improves when using a higher gain with the ASI533MC Pro.

Data Used

Sensor Temperature: -10 C

Ambient Temperature: 16.5 C

Dark Frames: 30

Bias Frames: 50

Flat Frames: None

Light Frames: (26) four minute exposures

Gain: 100 or 200

Processing Steps

For processing I used the same steps in both Deep Sky Stacker and Photoshop.

DSS Methods:

• Stacking Mode: Standard
• Drizzle: 3x
• Cosmetic: Remove hot and cold pixels
• Calibration: Per channel
• Light Frame alignment method: Kappa-Sigma, 5 iterations 

Photoshop Processing Steps:

1. Set  image to 16 bit mode

2. Adjust Levels: RGB dark level to the left of the histogram spike

3. Adjust Levels: Green dark to the left of the histogram spike

4. Adjust Levels: Blue to the left of the histogram spike

5. Adjust Curves: using standard preset dropdown: Lighter (repeated 10 times )

6. Adjust Levels: RGB dark level to the right of the histogram spike

7. Camera Raw Filter: Auto

8. Camera Raw Filter: Split Toning - Shadows to 20

9. Camera Raw Filter: Split Toning - Highlights to 20

10. Adjust Levels to 0, 1, 221

11. Topaz Noise AI - Auto detect settings; Low Light Mode to On; Color Noise reduction to 0.25

12. Set image size to 2000 x 2000

13. Save a JPG

Direct Results

Here is a side by side comparison of the two gains with the same processing applied. Personally I think they both are beautiful in their own ways. The gain 100 photo has more detail but far less nebulosity. To be fair, the gain 200 photo is hardly a final product while the gain 100 is closer to final.

One other note, is for the gain 200 process, I'd modify step 5 above to not be 10 steps.

Full sized images:

SNR Comparison before applying Topaz Noise AI:

So there are three conclusions that I take from comparing the images before noise reduction is applied.

1. The SNR 'seems' to be worse in the unity gain photo. I say seems because gain 200 brings in more nebulosity and might be hiding noise.

2. A proper SNR test would be on a galaxy or non-emission nebula object.

3. Using Topaz Noise AI renders the noise comparison irrelevant! This really is a marvelous product. You can try it free for 30 days.

Adjusting the Gain 200 Photo

Of course the comparison photo of the gain 200 photo was over-processed but was necessary for a one to one comparison. The image below represents something more like a finished product.

Conclusion

When it comes to photographing emission nebula with the ZWO ASI533MC Pro while using the Optolong L-Enhance filter, gain 200 is better than unity gain. I'll likely be sticking with gain 200 going forward on emission nebula but need to do another similar test on a bright galaxy or a bright reflection nebula. Maybe M45 would be a good target to test on using my Optolong L-Pro filter. What else could I do under Bortle 7 skies but use a LP filter?

Pelican Nebula with Optolong L-Enhance Filter

The Pelican Nebula has been on my bucket list since I've been in my 20s. I'm delighted to have finally captured it! 

The Pelican is an emission nebula close to the bright star Deneb in Cygnus, the Swan. Named for its resemblance to a pelican, (although my wife says it looks like a pterodactyl!) the nebula is associated with the neighboring North America Nebula.  It is a particularly active mix of star formation and evolving gas clouds. 

https://www.constellation-guide.com/pelican-nebula/

#pelicannebula #Sh2-117 #IC5070 

#astrophotography #astroeverywhere #astrobackyard #losmandy #losmandygm8 #zwo #asi533mcpro #optolong #l-enhance 

Technical Info:

Optics: SGO 6" f/4 Imaging Newtonian @ 610mm FL
             Explore Scientific 2" HR Coma Corrector

Camera: ZWO ASI533MC Pro

Filter: 2" Optolong L-Enhance

Mount: Losmandy GM8

Guiding: QHY Mini Guide Scope + PHD2 Software

Acquisition: Sequence Generator Pro 

Exposure: Light (Gain 300) - 33 subs @ 180 Seconds

Calibration: 50 Bias, 30 Darks, 50 Flats

​Processing: Deep Sky Stacker, Adobe Photoshop, Topaz Denoise AI, Astronomy Action Set plug in for PS