M27 - The Dumbbell Nebula (Wouter Cazaux)

M27 - The Dumbbell Nebula

Revision title: Re-processed, trying to make non-cooled ‘old data’ come to life again, after 6 months

20210718 - (VUL) The Dumbbell Nebula - ‘Second Light’ with the TS-94EDPH APO + CEM70G, processing straight into PixInsight

What was the experience
The ‘First Light’ of the Crescent Nebula could do with a lot more data, but first wanted to capture another DSO on the bucket list.
Setting up the iOptron CEM70G, and pointing/guiding with the ASIAIR Pro is easy. What took me the best of half an hour to do all this with manually the SkyGuider Pro, now takes me just a minute, and I’m always ‘bang’ on target 🤩
Didn’t want to do the quick and easy processing, but opted to do this straight into PixInsight. First had to get the darks sorted out, to remove the amp glow. Still not 100% perfect, but bearing in made this is a non-cooled camera that is better suited for planetary , I’m happy with the result this second Rig is giving me 👍.

What’s in the picture(s)M27 - The Dumbbell Nebula - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dumbbell_Nebula
Quote: “The Dumbbell Nebula (also known as the Apple Core Nebula, Messier 27, and NGC 6853) is a planetary nebula (nebulosity surrounding a white dwarf) in the constellation Vulpecula, at a distance of about 1360 light-years”

How it was done
Mount: iOptron CEM70G
Guiding: ZWO OAG, ZWO ASI290MM, ASIAIR Pro
Scope: TS-94EDPH APO
Camera: ASI178MC (non-cooled)
Resolution: 1,19”/pixel, FoV 74’
Filter: Optolong L-Extreme
Moon: 66%(+) but already set, Bortle 5/6 SQM 19.60
Photons: Gain 125, cooling -10, 300s, 60x (15 rejected)
Darks 25x
Processing: PixInsight, Adobe Photoshop (Mac)
Astrobin:
IG: @astrowaut

What have I learned from this
Building up the set of darks to remove the amp-glow of the camera in the processing remains time-consuming 🙄
Still need to build up a bit more fluency in PixInsight, but the practice and re-processing helps 😎

Clear Skies everybody! 🤩✨🔭

#astrophotography #astrophoto #astrophotos#backyardastronomy #astronomy#backyardastrophotography#astrography #astrography_ #backyard#deepsky #nightsky#universe #sky#Nebula #galaxy#deepskyphotography#photographingspace #photooftheday#zwo#natgeospace#longexposure#nightphotography#universetoday#nightimages#yourESA#skyphoto#telescope#ASIWEEK

Original
B
C
D
Final
E

B

Description: Daytime processing on the terrace in the glaring sun, isn’t helpful 😳🙄. Fixing the background slightly.

Uploaded: ...

C

Description: 20210730 - Re-processing - Corrected the darks-processing to better remove the amp-glow. Improved background noise

Uploaded: ...

D

Description: 20210730-2 - Re-processing - Adjusting black-point after visual check

Uploaded: ...

E

Title: Re-processed, trying to make non-cooled ‘old data’ come to life again, after 6 months

Description: 20220123 - Cloudy Nights = Education time 🤩 - Re-processing ‘old data’ in a new way, trying to make something more decent out of data from a non-cooled OSC, that is very noisy, originally slightly over-exposed to my taste, made by a camera that is more intended for planetary instead of for nebula, now 6 months later.
Straight processing in PixInsight, but applying the new processing techniques gained since the original capture and processing.
I worked mainly on the background, making it less noisy, less grainy. Re-worked the colours of the dumbell. The only pity is that a lot of the faint nebulosity is lost in the noise of the non-cooled camera.
But, I consider this an improvement ….

Uploaded: ...

Constructive Critique Requested
Beginners AP
Narrowband imaging
Optolong L-eXtreme filter
Duo-band, Tri-band, and Quad-band Imaging
ZWO ASIAIR PRO USERS
The OSC Club (One Shot Camera)
Astrophotographers of Belgium
TS-Optics or SharpStar 94EDPH
Cloudy Nights
Suburban Astrophotography
The refractors!
PixInsight Addicts
FriendlyCosmos
AAA : Astronomes et Astrographes Amateurs

	Distinct awarded users	Total awarded images
Image of the day
Top picks
Top pick nominations

	Image of the day	Top pick	Top pick nominations	Total submitted
Deep sky
Solar system
Extremely wide field
Star trails
Northern lights
Noctilucent clouds
Landscape

	Image of the day	Top pick	Top pick nominations	Total submitted
Backyard
Traveller
Own remote observatory
Amateur hosting facility
Public amaeteur data
Professional, scientific grade data
Mix of multiple sources
Other
Unknown

Submitted The date and time when you submitted this image for IOTD/TP consideration.	...
Views by Submitters (available since September 19th, 2023) Every image is assigned to 50% of available Submitters. In the event that at least 80% of them don't view the image before its time in the IOTD/TP process expires, it's assigned to the other 50% of Submitters and the process begins anew.
Promotions by Submitters When 3 distinct Submitters promote the image, it moves on to the next stage of the process: evaluation for Top Pick status. This requirement, in addition to anonymization of images and distribution to only a subset of them, prevents biases and ensures that the best images are selected.
Promotions by Reviewers When 3 distinct Reviewers promote the image, it moves on to the next stage of the process: evaluation for IOTD status.
Early dismissal Staff members have a lot of images to inspect on a daily basis, and they can dismiss images if they believe they don't meet the requirements for IOTD/TP selection. If an image is dismissed 5 times, it's removed from the process. This streamlines the process and ensures that any bias present in promotions could be overruled by other staff members.

Status	Advanced success
Started	...
Astrometry.net job	5423772
PixInsight job	ZKZHDMSSCQ4VXNJGX1NCJ0M9II7KOPUZ
PixInsight queue size	n/a
PixInsight stage	TASK_LOG

RA (center)	19h59m35s.76
RA (top/left)	19h59m22s.52
RA (top/right)	19h57m13s.75
RA (bottom/right)	19h59m48s.81
RA (bottom/left)	20h01m58s.54

Dec (center)	+22°43′46″.5
Dec (top/left)	+23°20′30″.5
Dec (top/right)	+22°26′59″.9
Dec (bottom/right)	+22°07′00″.2
Dec (bottom/left)	+23°00′25″.4

Image Index:

Contribution Index (beta):