Backyard Astrophotography: 53 hours of exposure on the Lobster Claw nebula!!

In this video I show the pixinsight processing workflow I used for my latest image, the Lobster Claw nebula!
Full resolution can be found on astrobin: astrob.in/c5qf77/0/
Equipment used for this shot:
Telescope: AT115EDT
Camera: ZWO ASI1600MM
Mount: SkyWatcher EQ6R Pro
Filters: Astrodon 5nm, Ha & Oiii
Music:
'Effervescence' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au
KZbin membership is available. Hit the join button and sign up!
There are also affiliate links. If you make any purchases using the links below, I get a small commission.
High Point Scientific
www.highpointscientific.com/?...
RC-Astro:
BlurXTerminator: www.rc-astro.com/software/bxt...
NoiseXTerminator: www.rc-astro.com/software/nxt...
StarXTerminator: www.rc-astro.com/software/sxt...
#astrophotography
#pixinsight
#hubbletelescope

[@dumpydalekobservatory]

Another outstanding image James love the colours.

[@DSOImager]

Thanks Tich!

[@avt_astro206]

Nice Workflow James!! Beautiful image

[@DSOImager]

Thanks Avanteesh! Appreciate it :)

[@Si-fp2ij]

Beautiful work James 👍 love the colours Cheers Si

[@DSOImager]

Thanks Si!

[@fotografiabymiguel]

James, you did fantastic work with, a great detailed workflow. I think it is a planetary nebula Sharpless157a, there is also a globular cluster NGC 7510.

[@DSOImager]

Thanks Miguel! I bet Sharpless157a would make a great target at longer FLs. :)

[@LogansAstro]

Amazing lobster Claw image James. I went straight to Astrobin to look at it in all it's glory where I think it is best enjoyed. You should put a link to the Astrobin version in your description so people can really appreciate the detail etc. Clear skies.

[@DSOImager]

Thank you Logan! That is a really good idea. I'll put that link in there now :)

[@sevenskiesastro]

Lovely final image James as always. 2 months of clear skies. I'm sure when the weather breaks you can get re taking your flats that can last another 5 months. Clear skies bud

[@DSOImager]

Thanks Rob! Looks like tonight will be the last clear night of this amazing run. I'll be getting those flats soon, lol.

[@sevenskiesastro]

@@DSOImager I'm hoping to make up for our lack of clear skies here by having a fantastic winter...jet stream willing. Clear skies bud

[@DSOImager]

@@sevenskiesastro Our fortunes could reverse. The El Niño that is hitting soon will mean cooler/wetter temps for us, yet warmer/drier for many. CS!

[@AstroSoundscape]

Nice colors in this James, I like how you left those greens and magentas in to work with. I'd say clear skies but not sure you need any help:)

[@DSOImager]

Thank you Ollie! Looking at the forecaster.. I think this amazing run is about to end. 🤣

[@Chris_NGC6188Ara]

Excellent as always James. I love the workflow of creating a starless DBE, I'll be having a crack at that first chance I get. Also removing the 2 star spots, I have been struggling with that as well. Hope the clear skies continue for you mate.

[@DSOImager]

Thanks Chris! Hopefully my technique for addressing those star spots helps you :) CS!

[@petesastrophotography]

Lovely image James, you don't see the claw in this much detail very often. I have started doing starless DBE on my images, I think it gives much better results. I was concerned that the star color might be off due to not having the background extracted, but color calibration seems to take care of it.

[@DSOImager]

Thanks Pete! I have found the same with the stars.

[@bhhb3238]

Hi, after selecting sample points on starless image, you can drag the triangle on DBE to the original image to apply DBE without worring about stars.

[@DSOImager]

The intention is to run DBE before BlurXterminator, so the stars are needed to be in the image for BlurXterminator. If it wasn't for that then I would keep the result of DBE on the starless image.

[@bhhb3238]

I mean you already made a starless copy of the original image and placed samples on the starless image for testing, after opening the process on the starless image you can the blue triangle of the process to the original image with stars. Adam Block made video about similar method few months ago. This isn't differrent than applying DBE directly.

[@DSOImager]

@@bhhb3238 If I do what you suggest.. then the reference points that were placed on the starless image may include stars when applied to the image with the stars. I don't want stars inside the reference box. In the Adam Block video.. did he say stars inside the reference points were not a problem?

[@bhhb3238]

I guess DBE creates background from starless image and normalizes that to applied image before applying substruction or division.

[@DSOImager]

@@bhhb3238 oh, that's interesting. Ill have to check that out. Thanks for sharing :)

[@MrDirtyRod]

Stunning. I’ve shot it but it doesn’t look like that!😢

[@DSOImager]

Thanks!

[@Boeingbmaster]

Greetings James, great work as always! Have you considered replacing the 1600mm? I think it would benefit you to have an IMX 571 based camera.

[@DSOImager]

Thanks! Yes.. I would love to pick up an imx 571 based camera. As you know, they are not cheap. I have already started collecting 36mm filters for an eventual purchase. I have astrodon RGB and a 5nm S2 filter I picked up on clearance. Hopefully by next spring I'll have one. :)

[@Boeingbmaster]

​@@DSOImagerIf you're looking for variants, perhaps you might want to look into the RisingCam IMX571. I've been using it and it works fairly well. It costs a few hundred less than the zwo 2600 and it works with my 36mm filter wheel.

[@DSOImager]

@@Boeingbmaster Yea.. I've been looking at a few different options. It's good that we have some choices now. The one thing that gives me pause on risingCam is I don't know how well their service is if the camera fails. Have you had any experience with their customer support? I've dealt with ZWO and have friends who have worked with QHY, both of which now have service centers in the U.S.

[@Boeingbmaster]

​@@DSOImagerI haven't had experience with their customer support yet as I only got the camera 2 months ago and so far it seems to work well. Would be worth looking around for more info on that though.

[@bryans9552]

Fantastic result! Did you shoot this at the native f/7 of the AT115?

[@DSOImager]

Thanks Bryan! I am using the .8 reducer with mine.

[@bboynewsboy991]

I know it's a conspiracy suggesting question, with all due respect, you might scoff, and that first instinct is to trust mainstream assertions memorized from school, I'm really into astronomy, I think it's unbelievable and strikingly awesome, but what is the possibility, in your opinion, that what we see through our backyard telescope isn't what it appears to be, but that we're making assumptions based on NASA's computer animated images and scaling, and doing so would theoretically give NASA the ability to determine whether you and I see, for example, a giant and distant Sun vs a smaller, closer Sun? Could you please humor me? I surely, genuinely hope my concerns are in vain, because I hope space is as Impressive as I've seen it to be so that I can be amazed by the Creator of it. (And tbh, who trusts NASA ). Summarize question is: Do we really know for sure, pertaining to flat Earth, distant stars, numerous galaxies, all that conspiracy stuff, or are we funneling all that we know through NASA? thank you. As you could guess, I'm an amateur.

[@DSOImager]

To set you at ease about NASA, much of what we know in astronomy has a foundation in discoveries and knowledge gained that far predate NASA. For example, Eratosthenes who was born in 276 BC accurately calculated the circumference of the Earth using sticks, Shadows, measured distance (From Alexandria to Syene) and some math. We had the knowledge available to us over 2000 years ago that the Earth is not flat. Today light pollution has robbed us of a clear view of the night sky. Many of these objects that we can take pictures of are visible to the naked eye in dark skies. A very popular catalog of deep sky objects that astrophotographers use as a target list is the Messier catalog. This catalog was made by an astronomer, Charles Messier who was born in 1730. When you get a chance, look up the discovery of Neptune, made in 1846. Neptune was the first planet discovered by math rather than observation. Meaning the calculations were done, and the data sent to an observatory, they pointed the telescope where the math said it would be and they found it! Measuring distance in space is a very interesting topic. There are several different ways based on how far the object being observed is. One method is to use Parallax. This is a well know method to calculate distance on Earth (see battleships and Tanks). We learned that we can take measurements of objects from Earth on opposite sides of the sun (thanks to the Earths Orbit) to increase the distance we can measure. To measure objects that are further out than what can be measured with Parallax with the Earths orbit, we can use a certain type of star known as Cepheid variables. Their luminosity and pulses are very consistent which makes them good landmarks. The distances to many discovered galaxies was done by detecting Cepheids in these other galaxies. Cepheid stars were discovered in 1908.. again, far predating NASA. I do understand the mistrust in government. But we need to be careful with how far we carry that mistrust. By dismissing all academics and then filling in the gaps of knowledge with conspiracies leads to a path of ignorance. We forget/miss the lessons learned hundreds.. even thousands of years ago. I appreciate your post. No scoffing at all. I saw in your post that your interest is genuine. I hope my words helped. -James