Southern DSO Astrophotography

CCD vs Film? Lots of time vs no patience? Alright, this is your place to discuss all the astrophotography what's and what's not. You can discuss about techniques, accessories, cameras, whatever....just make sure you also post some nice photos here too!
rifleman175
Posts: 81
Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2018 5:16 pm
Favourite scope: Skywatcher Esprit 100ED

Southern DSO Astrophotography

Post by rifleman175 »

Having recently moved house, I have been blessed with a balcony with a good view to the south. The skies from 20-60 degrees altitude are clear from any obstructions.

That means it's time to set-up my rig and shoot some targets deep south on the celestial sphere!

Stay tuned for some pictures of the southern skies!

Note that unless otherwise stated, the equipment used are as follows:

Telescope: Skywatcher Esprit 100ED
Main Imaging Camera: ASI2600MM Pro
Mount: iOptron CEM40
Guiding Setup: ZWO OAG + 290MM Mini

Processing is done in PixInsight.
rifleman175
Posts: 81
Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2018 5:16 pm
Favourite scope: Skywatcher Esprit 100ED

Re: Southern DSO Astrophotography

Post by rifleman175 »

The first target is definitely everyone's favourite: the Carina Nebula

This photo is taken in a 1x2 mosaic with my setup so as to capture it in all its glory in the Hubble Palette. It was a struggle to get the 2 mosaics to stitch together due to the gradients and the distorted stars in the corners, but well, it was worth the pain with the final image:

Image

It took me almost 2 months to capture the data, as I was a bit too much of a perfectionist to substitute the magenta stars from the SHO combination with natural colour RGB stars. Even though it's far from perfect, I am still very happy with the results!
akdwivedi
Posts: 141
Joined: Sat May 06, 2017 1:01 am
Favourite scope: celestron C6

Re: Southern DSO Astrophotography

Post by akdwivedi »

thats amazing.
hhzhang
Posts: 730
Joined: Sun May 10, 2020 4:11 pm
Favourite scope: 115mm APO

Re: Southern DSO Astrophotography

Post by hhzhang »

Classic! I clicked in and behold the glorious sight on my 27in 4K display. I guess I need an 8K monitor now!
rifleman175
Posts: 81
Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2018 5:16 pm
Favourite scope: Skywatcher Esprit 100ED

Re: Southern DSO Astrophotography

Post by rifleman175 »

akdwivedi wrote: Tue May 17, 2022 10:29 am thats amazing.
Thanks mate!
hhzhang wrote: Tue May 17, 2022 1:32 pm Classic! I clicked in and behold the glorious sight on my 27in 4K display. I guess I need an 8K monitor now!
Haha just don't look too much up close, or else the noise will start to show :mryellow:
rss1234
Posts: 18
Joined: Sat May 22, 2021 1:46 pm
Favourite scope: William Optics GT71

Re: Southern DSO Astrophotography

Post by rss1234 »

Beautiful image. SHO on such dynamic targets never fails to impress
rifleman175
Posts: 81
Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2018 5:16 pm
Favourite scope: Skywatcher Esprit 100ED

Re: Southern DSO Astrophotography

Post by rifleman175 »

Next target is the Rim Nebula (NGC 6188), aptly nicknamed also as the Fighting Dragons in Ara.

It took about 40 hours of total exposure to capture this stunning section of the southern Milky Way, and I am quite pleased with the details captured especially in the dark dust.

Image

Enjoy!
rifleman175
Posts: 81
Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2018 5:16 pm
Favourite scope: Skywatcher Esprit 100ED

Re: Southern DSO Astrophotography

Post by rifleman175 »

Here is a 20 hour total exposure image of the Running Chicken Nebula.

Image
rifleman175
Posts: 81
Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2018 5:16 pm
Favourite scope: Skywatcher Esprit 100ED

Re: Southern DSO Astrophotography

Post by rifleman175 »

LookingForScope wrote: Fri May 27, 2022 9:05 pm WOW that looks very good!! How did you manage to find 20 hours of good weather?!
With my set-up on the balcony, I pretty much just shoot every single night now as long as there is clear weather. No more lugging the heavy scope + tripod + mount around in the night, battling the mosquitoes and the heat to assemble everything. Now I just leave everything set up and open the telescope cover when dusk falls, switch on the mount and the mini PC, and I'm good to go!

Every night of photon accumulation really adds up!
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PETER LOO
Posts: 316
Joined: Mon Sep 20, 2010 9:05 pm
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Re: Southern DSO Astrophotography

Post by PETER LOO »

Excellent !
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