The Carina Nebula, 12 x 10 minute shots, ISO800, f/4 and 5 x 5 minute shots at ISO200 for the stars and some of the core detail. Using the short time between moon set and morning to grab these shots. I had to keep re-focusing as the night cooled down. Stacked in DSS, this shot is a combination of 3 layers in Photoshop, a starless layer (from Starnet++) and two versions of the shorter exposures for the core and stars. Nikon D810A, Nikkor 600mm f/4 at f/4, Celestron CGEM2 mount, ZWO ASI220MM guide camera, Astro Photography Tools and PHD software for capture and guiding. No cooling or filters for this, Bortle 2 skys at HAwker, South Australia.

Tags:   carina nebula stars nikon astrophotography 600mm Astrometrydotnet:id=nova3859489 Astrometrydotnet:status=solved

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The Horsehead and Flame Nebula, a stack of 11 shots processed in Photoshop. 1 of the frames was 10 minutes at ISO800, the rest were 20 minutes per frame, ISO400. Uncooled Nikon D810A on a Celestron CGEM2 mount, APT controlling the camera, ZWO guide camera with 60mm Sbvony scope for guiding with PHD2. The main scope is a Nikkor 600mm f/4 VR lens, shot wide open here. I had to keep adjusting the focus about every 40 minutes as the temp dropped, which is a pain! When I tried to do the meridian flip I messed it up and the scope lost its aligment, which for some reason I couldn't re-establish. I lost so much time I gave up for the night! Something I have to work on!

Tags:   600mm horsehead nikon nebula Astrometrydotnet:id=nova3766179 Astrometrydotnet:status=solved

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A Southern Cross brand windmill under the Milky Way, Wilpena Pound in the background, illuminated by the moon. North of Hawker, South Australia. Tamron lens, processed with daylight white balance in Lightroom. As featured on ABC TV's Stargazing Live show on April 6, 2017!

Tags:   milkyway stars galaxy windmill wilpena flindersranges outback australia clouds

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During Astro twilight, the Zodiacal Light under the Milky Way. Taken north of Mallala, South Australia. Tamron lens, processed in Lightroom with daylight white balance.

Tags:   milkyway zodical light stars australia night galaxy astrophotography

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Okay, final experiment with channels (for now!) This one used the RGB unfiltered data for colour, but I made a grayscale luminance channel from the UHC data which has the effect of reducing the star size and increasing the nebulosity a bit, but over a broader range than the Ha data and with larger stars than the Ha as luminance but smaller than the RGB mixes. What do you think?
Nikon D810A, mostly 10 minute exposures, 600mm f/4 VR, Astronomik UHC filter, Celestron CGEM II EQ mount, ZWO guide camera, PHD2 guide software, Astrophotography Tool camera control, ASTAP plate solving, Astro Pixel Processor for stacking and registration, files combined and edited in Photoshop.
NGC6188, The Fighting Dragons in Ara.

Tags:   nikon stars ngc6188 dragons Astro deepsky d810a

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