Rian-Pascal Bergen
Psalm 111:1-10The Orion Constellation, Taken 20220301-20220304
4H13M30S (507F) - Reduced Size.jpg "20220301-20220304 Orion Constellation")
4H13M30S (507F) - Full Size.png){kind=link}
This was my last chance at seriously taking images of the Winter Constellations. My weather this Winter has truly been "wonderful" to say the least... Anyways, since I was a little rusty, I decided to take another shot at the Orion Constellation. I had 3 nights of no moon, and no clouds. Perfect weather to get some serious time on a subject. I was pretty happy with the way this turned out. Especially with the star colors as well as with the amount of hydrogen-alpha emissions that I managed to collect. This is my best Orion Image to date.
Equipment
Telescope/Lens: AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G
Imaging Camera: NIKON D3300
Guiding Scope: N/A
Guiding Camera: N/A
Mounts: Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer 21 Pro, Radian Telescopes Quick-Release Carbon Fiber Tripod
Filters: N/A
Accessories: JJC Intervalometer, Universal Lens Defogger, ANKER PowerCore+ Battery Bank
Software: Deep Sky Stacker, SiriL-1.0.0-rc2, Adobe Photoshop 2022, StarNet++
Storage Devices and Computers used are not mentioned here.
Location, Weather, and Acquisition
All data was taken from my Bortel 4 backyard over a total of 3 nights between March 1st (2nd) and March 3rd (4th). Location was within a 15-mile radius of Comer, Georgia (USA) (34.0637° N, 83.1254° W).
| Date | Temperature | Humidity | Average Moon Phase |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-03-01 - 2022-03-02 |  |  | Waning Crescent (1.0%) |
| 2022-03-02 - 2022-03-03 |  |  | New Moon (0.0%) |
| 2022-03-03 - 2022-03-04 |  |  | Waxing Crescent (1.5%) |
| Date | Filter | F-Ratio | Gain/ISO | Exposure Time | Number of Exposures |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-03-01 - 2022-03-02 | RGGB | f/3.2 | ISO-1600 | 30 seconds | 32 |
| 2022-03-01 - 2022-03-02 | FLATS | f/3.2 | ISO-1600 | 1/100 second | 60 |
| 2022-03-01 - 2022-03-02 | BIAS | f/3.2 | ISO-1600 | 1/4000 second | 64 |
| 2022-03-01 - 2022-03-02 | DARKS | f/3.2 | ISO-1600 | 30 seconds | 60 |
| 2022-03-02 - 2022-03-03 | RGGB | f/3.2 | ISO-1600 | 30 seconds | 276 |
| 2022-03-02 - 2022-03-03 | FLATS | f/3.2 | ISO-1600 | 1/2000 second | 60 |
| 2022-03-03 - 2022-03-04 | RGGB | f/3.2 | ISO-1600 | 30 seconds | 256 |
| 2022-03-03 - 2022-03-04 | FLATS | f/3.2 | ISO-1600 | 1/2500 second | 60 |
| TOTAL EXPOSURES | RGGB | N/A | N/A | 4H 42M 00S | 564 |
| TOTAL INTEGRATION | RGGB | N/A | N/A | 4H 13M 30S | 507 |
Download Stacked Files (TIF 98.1 MB COMPRESSED)(GOOGLE DRIVE)
Processing Steps
- Deep Sky Stacker
- Stacked 90% of LIGHTS
- SiriL-1.0.0-rc2
- Photometric Color Calibration
- Adobe Photoshop 2022
- Levels Adjustment to bring out the Background
- Crop
- RC-Astro GradientXTerminator Medium X Medium - Balance Background Color
- Levels Adjustment to lower Background
- Selective Curves, Exposure, and Vibrance Adjustment to bring out Nebulosity
- Created Starless Image Using StarNet++
- Cleaned Up Starless Image to Remove Artifacts (Spot Healing Brush)
- Subtracted Stars to create a Star-Only and a Starless Image
- Starless Image
- Curves Adjustment
- RC-Astro GradientXTerminator Medium X High - Balance Background Color
- Levels Adjustment
- Curves Adjustment
- Astronomy Tools Local Contrast Enhancement
- Star-Only Image
- Star Reduction Using Minimum Filter
- Linear Dodge (Add) Star-Only Image on to the Starless Image
- Final Crop and Rotate
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