I recently received a new imaging scope (A Stellarvue SVX80T-3SV) and after a bit of set up time gave it a proper first light on M78 before it gets too late in the season for it.
This is 29 X 300 second subs with dark and flat frames, shot with Voyager using a simple sequence (Framed using the virtual FOV in the web dashboard and Roboclip) Integrated using Astro Pixel Processor and some post processing in Photoshop. It is not perfect processing wise (I am not happy with some of the brighter stars) and could use more data but I think it is a nice start with a new scope. High res on Astrobin here https://www.astrobin.com/full/stjvr9/0/
Nice version of M78! I think your processing looks great.
Congratulations on your new telescope. How do you like it? I have the Feather Touch version of the SVX80T and it looks and feels like a high quality instrument. Unfortunately, I haven’t had the opportunity to give it first light due to unrelenting bad weather.
Thanks Lorenzo, it is nice to have a scope which is really sharp, it makes the processing easy.
Glenn, so far I love it, I went with the -3SV version to open up the possibility of a full frame camera, which I am going to test using my wife’s Nikon D3 to see that I can get round stars in the corners, otherwise I will replace the ASI294 with an APS-C camera instead of full frame. The Stellarvue focuser is no bad thing in itself and I had it converted to automated focus via my ZWO EAF very quickly. It seems very consistant and repeatable. And the field is flat enough to use Robostar for focusing, I reckon the time lost to slewing for a focus star and back again is regained by how quick the Robostar routine is.
Processing wise there is a bit of noisy colour around some of the brighter stars, if the weather is nice to me I will shoot more subs as well which should help. I may be about to have a lot more time for this, I live in Australia and I feel that we are not far away from lockdowns due to COVID 19. I expect to be at least working from home in the next week.
My last iteration of this image for the season. I managed to take it up to 47 X 300 second subs, around half of what I would really have liked, but my new scope arrived too late to have a really good go at M78 for this season. Pushed any harder than this the image starts to become horribly noisy.
