Processing the Stars | M31

Processing the Stars | M31

PREFACE My favorite forum I am on these days is Cloudy Nights (CN). It has a lot of fantastic people all working together to enjoy the stars and learn together. I mostly spend my time learning and helping where I can at the Beginning Deep Sky Imaging section. So what...
ZWO EAF / RedCat 51

ZWO EAF / RedCat 51

So I recently popped for the ZWO EAF (Electronic Auto Focuser) and paired it with my RedCat 51 using an amazing mounting bracket system developed by Deep Sky Dad!!! It took me roughly 15-20 minutes to tear it all down and put it together and man does it work fantastic...
Exposure Time

Exposure Time

So as I continue to take pictures of deep skies objects I have found the key to taking better photos with less noise is to dither but to get greater detail and colors you need to shoot longer. While I say longer which could mean longer exposures I also mean longer as...
Why Dithering and proper Flats matter

Why Dithering and proper Flats matter

So as I have been using my Astro rig more and I ran into an issue with significant noise in my images. Now, this is not to be confused with SNR (Signal to Noise Ratio) this is just straight noise in the image caused by hot or cold pixels on my camera sensor being in...
Shooting Stars M33

Shooting Stars M33

So I have been trying to shoot M33 for a while as it’s such a beautiful galaxy. In late October I went out and set up my EQM-35 mount, polar aligned, and then typed in M33 into the keypad and the telescope slewed into position. I took my test shots with my...