r/amateurastronomy

Askar 71F - ASI678MC (bin2) - 80x60s
APP - PS

After my previous posts I received some critiques to my processing. So I collected a bit more data and changed it.

27500s / 20s subs eq seestar s50
processed with siril and lightroom:
-2x drizzle stack
-bge
-graxpert denoise and deconv
-spectrophotometric color calibration
-veralux stretches
-starnet

Starless:
-HDR multiscale
-channel split
-each channel:
--syqon denoise
--light HDR multiscale
-recomposition with slightly tweaked colours

Starmask:
-abberation remover

Veralux recomposition: (star surgery)
-a bit more saturation

Lightroom:
-slight crop
-mask bg: desaturate and a little bit down the expo
-mask DSO: remove green and lit the saturation
-color calibration

🌌 M63 — The Sunflower Galaxy

Tonight, I captured another beautiful galaxy in the night sky — M63, also known as the Sunflower Galaxy.

Located in the constellation Canes Venatici, M63 is a fascinating spiral galaxy known for its bright central core and its complex, textured spiral structure that resembles the petals of a sunflower. Its delicate dust lanes and faint outer details make it a challenging but rewarding target for deep-sky astrophotography.

During the processing stage, more and more subtle structures of the galaxy slowly began to appear, especially the fine details within the spiral arms and the soft glow surrounding the galaxy. Capturing distant galaxies like M63 is always an incredible experience, reminding me of the immense scale and beauty of the universe.

📸 Imaging Details:

• 624 Light Frames

• 30 seconds exposure for each frame

• Total Integration Time: Approximately 5 hours and 12 minutes

🔭 Equipment Used:

• Sky-Watcher 200mm

• EQ6-R Pro Mount

• ToupTek ATR 585 Camera

• RGM Focus Motor

💻 Software Used:

• N.I.N.A for acquisition and telescope control

• Siril for stacking and image processing

✨ Final adjustments to the background and lighting were enhanced with the help of AI tools while preserving the natural appearance and fine details of the galaxy.

Captured with my Canon eos m6 mark ii and ef 100-300mm usm

I’m sure they could be better but pleasantly surprised for first attempt. First image is raw and unedited result of one 30s exposure in night mode with an iPhone 14 x pro max on a tripod at bortle 2 site. Was taken earlier this morning. Viewing conditions were suffice but hazy. Second image is same image mindlessly tweaked for just a minute playing with the native iphone editing parameters. Got many more Milky Way shots but mostly they are all similar. I didn’t have a remote shutter release. I wonder how much if at all that may have impacted the results

Also got a satellite photobombing whirlpool galaxy on smart telescope which was fun to try too for first time though shot doesn’t belong here.

A Venus–Jupiter–Moon conjunction is an astronomical event where the Moon, Venus, and Jupiter appear close together in the sky from Earth’s point of view. People are telling that this conjunction is going to happen between 18 to 20 may is it real or just a rumour.

Let us know your pov

Hi I took this photo of M16 eagle nebula last night from bortle 6-7 area with 130/650 telescope and aps-c mirrorless camera how can I improve this photo? thanks.

My goal was capture pillars of creation clearly

the equipment that I use:

Astromaster 130 EQ

Sony A6300

bortle 6-7

236 photo X 2 second exposure 3200 ISO (about 7-8 minute integration time)

21 flat frame

20 dark frame

for stack I use sequator, for processing I use Siril

Captured with my new Canon ef 100-300mm usm and m6 mark ii the wide shots with all 3 were taken with my nifty fifty and m6 mark ii

6 hours 20s subs eq s50

processed in siril + photoshop + lightroom

x3 drizzle, HDR, heavy denoising

Selling my 10in Orion SkyQuest™ XT10g GoTo Dobsonian with accessories. Controller and movement work great. Hoping to sell it all together. How much do you think I should sell it for and is Facebook Marketplace the best place to do so? I was thinking it is all worth about $1000. There is just a small blemish on the primary mirror but is not noticeable when viewing.

Dates: 2026-04-18, 2026-04-19, 2026-04-21, 2026-04-24, 2026-05-09, 2026-05-10, and 2026-05-13

Taken from Bortle 6 Location

Equipment and Imaging Details:

• ZWO ASI2600MC Air
• ZWO Electronic Automatic Focuser (2025)
• William Optics RedCat 51 Gen 3 APO f/4.9 Refracting Telescope with WIFD
• ZWO AM5N
• ZWO CAA
• Gain 100
• -15° C cooling
• 73 x 300" light exposures (9 + 8 + 8 + 9 + 8 + 15 + 16), 30 x biases, 210 x flats (30 each night)

PixInsight Processing:

• WeightedBatchPreprocessing
• BlurXTerminator (Correct Only)
• SpectrophotometricFluxCalibration
• MultiscaleGradientCorrection
• SpectrophotometricColorCalibration
• BlurXTerminator
• StarXTerminator
• MultiscaleAdaptiveStretch (separate HistogramTransformation and ScreenTransferFunction for star image)
• CurvesTransformation
• SCNR (slight green removal only)
• NoiseXTerminator
• PixelMath (recombine stars and nebula)

Full resolution: https://app.astrobin.com/i/lwugwi