u/SteakRehkitz634

Acquisition

• Date: 12 September 2026
• Location: Pragelpass, Switzerland, Bortle 4
• Camera: Sony A7III (Ha-modified), ISO 640
• Lens: Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM II @ 200mm f/2.8
• Mount: Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer GTi, unguided
• Lights: 138 × 88s + 82 × 13s (for the core), ~3h 40min total
• Calibration: 69 flats, 76 bias

Processing

• Siril 1.4: calibration (bias + flats), registration, stacking with FWHM-based rejection, background extraction, BlurXTerminator, photometric colour calibration, NoiseXTerminator, stretch
• Photoshop: HDR blend of both stacks (short subs for the core), colour adjustments, curves, light local contrast, crop

This is a reprocess of my first M31. Biggest gains came from BlurXTerminator and from not clipping the shadows, which brought out the faint outer disc. Next time: better focus and fresh calibration frames. Feedback welcome!

First time capturing M31 in all of its glory!

Acquisition — 12 September 2026

Camera: Sony A7III, Ha-modified
Lens: Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II at 200mm, f/2.8
Mount: Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer GTi, unguided
Tripod: Leofoto LM-364C with levelling base
Lights: 151 × 88s and 92 × 13s, ISO 640
Calibration: darks, flats, bias
Total integration: roughly 4 hours

Processing: Siril (calibration, registration, stacking, background extraction, photometric colour calibration, histogram stretch), Photoshop (HDR blend of the two exposure sets, selective colour)

First attempt at a nebula. Shot from Amden, Switzerland (~1100m, Bortle 4) on the night of 14/15 August.

Acquisition

- Sony A7III, H-alpha modified
- Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM II @ 194mm (plate solved), f/2.8, ISO 640
- 163 × 88s = 3h 59m total integration
- Star Adventurer 2i, unguided
- 47 flats, 22 darks

Processing

- Siril: stacking, background extraction, SPCC, GHS stretch
- Photoshop: star reduction, curves, selective colour, high-pass local contrast

Acquisition details:

Body: Sony Alpha 7R IV
Lens: Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS + 1.4x TC

No. of images: 609 (best 25% stacked)
Settings: f/9 • ISO 100 • 1/250s at 840mm focal length

Stacked using AutoStakkert and edited using Registax and Adobe Photoshop

Edit: Still experimenting with stacking percentages and wavelet settings — open to feedback.