Newbie - First Galaxy - M83

[akiil]

Hi Pixinsight Guys and Girls !

Just finished processing my first ever Galaxy with my first scope, and first DSLR.
It was far from ideal conditions, super windy (so FAT stars), and seeing wasnt the best..   and i only got 5 (barely) use-able subs
My scope is Slow ~ f/12.5    Im thinking of getting a Focal Reducer to lower sub times and thus get better guiding

Never the less..   I love PI big time and am hooked.  I cant wait for better imaging conditions to improve on this Poor Start

M83 - 8"Saxon Maksutov - 60Da DSLR - PHD Guiding - BYEos - 5x550subs

Adam, in the middle of Perth, Aus

[Geoff]

Hi Adam
First shots are always nice to get. M83 is a great galaxy, worth returning  to time and time again. You'll get a better shot each time you try it. Meanwhile, some constructive criticism--focus is off and there are some guiding errors. I suspect there is also some hidden detail that a bigger stretch may reveal.
Geoff

[akiil]

Thanks Geoff.
I think i need to make a Bahtinov mask right??
And as far as PHD..  I have no clue.  Some nights it seems to require entirely different settings.

[dayers]

Adam, thanks for sharing your beginnings with imaging and PI. Geoff is so right. It only gets better and more fun from this point. (At least that has been my experience.)

Clear skies,

Dave

[Lex]

Hi Adam,

I do agree with Dave and Geoff, there are some points you can improve; as always, at every stare of our beautiful hobby... 
Btw; i really like your first picture; back in time my first tries where not as good as yours!

For a quick good focussing; you can rely on the FWHM dialog in your capturing software; which on are you using?
A simple cross out of small carbon sticks or even wood; painted in black in front of your optics generate diffraction spikes. The spikes are doubled when out of focus and show up as gentle cross when the focal point is reached.

Easy 

Welcome to PI

Best

[akiil]

Thanks for all the help guys..
Just finished my second Galaxy  NGC4945.   This was 6x200sec subs but with no calibration files.

I got the Bahtinov Mask working, so i know my focussing was spot on, but i still got radial - blur in most periphery stars.
Im pretty sure the Guiding was good, because the small stars are sharp.
Im at a loss as to whats causing this? Maybe the Camera was not sitting perfectly square in the focusser?
It did have the slight weight of my DIY coolbox on it..

Adam

[Geoff]

Hi Adam,
If you compare the bottom left and bottom right corners of your pic, you'll notice that the blur have different directions.  This indicates an optical error, rather than a guiding error.  There is also very little (if any) directional blur in the top corners. I suspect that the camera was indeed not square to the focuser. I also think that focusing is still a bit off. Even with a BM, you still have to be very critical in getting it right.
Geoff

[akiil]

My first Nebula :  Orion Neb.         25 x 70sec subs   No Cal frames
I bought a telecompressor and so sub time with this slow scope could come down alot.
I still have Severe abberation and maybe a little focus problems..  will have to work on that.
Im loving finally being able to use Pixinsight !!!