Jagged Little Pill
The last night of 2011 presented a beautiful clear sky and cool temperatures – perfect for a little astrophotography! Since I really had no plans other than to watch the ball drop in Times Square at midnight I decided to take advantage of the free time and setup the smaller of my two telescopes and give the Canon 60D its first light.
I severely neglected my astro-gear during 2011 taking it out only one or two times very early in the year. This is something that I plan to remedy throughout 2012. I am lucky to live far enough out in the country to have only moderate light pollution and most of that is in a small portion of the sky.
I shot several hundred frames during the four hour session targeting the Moon, the Pleiades (M45), the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) and the Orion Nebula (M42). It can take several hours to compile and stack 50-100 18MP frames into a single image and then you still have to tackle processing so it could be some time before I’m ready to post any other results. Also, it’s been so long since I processed an astro-image that I really need to relearn the entire workflow. However, my processing skills have increased tenfold during 2011 and the tools that I now have at my disposal dwarf anything that I was using in 2010. I fully expect to process quite a few throwaways before I get my head back around it but I’ll get there!
I thought I would start off by sharing a 20-image stack of the Moon. The telescope I used is a 100mm diameter Refractor that has an effective focal length of 600mm with the camera attached directly to it using a T-Mount ring. The original RAW files were first converted to TIF images so I could import them into a free lunar and planetary stacking software called RegiStax. It works a lot like Photomatix Pro in that it automatically aligns and stacks multiple images to bring out extreme detail. I converted the image to monochrome using Topaz Black and White Effects then performed some masking, rotation, cropping and additional sharpening in Photoshop. I did a slight bit of noise reduction in Lightroom and voila!
Gear: Canon EOS 60D, Orion 100mm Refractor Telescope, Celestron CG5 Equatorial Mount
Settings: 20 frames @ ISO100, f11, 1/40 second
Processing: RegiStax6, Topaz Black and White Effects, Adobe Photoshop CS5, Adobe Lightroom 3
Beautiful image of the moon!
James recently posted..Shelly | Austin Portrait Photographer | James Griffith Photography
Beautiful shot! Just off center (on the dark side) works. Thank you for sharing the technique and process.
Marius recently posted..Fireplace
WOW fantastic shot Curt. What a way to start the New Year.
Edith Levy recently posted..The Print Shop
Very nice Curt. I can’t wait to see the other images and how they turn out! Especially the Orion Nebula. I am a cloud fan whether that be in space or on earth!
Mike Victorino recently posted..Black and White
wow Curt that is incredible, lots of work but a wonderful result, well done!
Jim Nix recently posted..Winter shine
Love the details.
Darcy Michaelchuk recently posted..Train Station Siesta
Nice moon shot. Love the crisp details you captured. That seems like a pretty cool program for lunar photography! Awesome work.
Adam Allegro recently posted..St Ames’ Cathedral – Part 2
Great image, I have been fascinated by astro photography for a long time, but never managed to get results. Since then I have learnt image stacking is the way and am itching to have a go. I’d love to produce something this good.
Chris Maskell recently posted..Winter Wonderland 2011
Sounds a complicated process but this is a fantastic shot of the moon – so sharp. Hard work rewarded.
LensScaper recently posted..Sundown over Ivinghoe Beacon
Cracking job Curt. Well worth the effort!
Marc Collins recently posted..A common sight
With this title I wondered what I was in for. What a great shot with outstanding details, Curt. Awesome work in pulling this all together. The image is fantastic!
Jimi Jones recently posted..Federal Hill Morning
I love this shot! Beautiful!!
Wow, that is stunning! Love the detail in the moon. Would love to hear some more about your astrophotography workflow. It’s something I’d very much like to try out!
Not a bad idea for a future blog post
After I get my bearings again I’ll see if I can’t put something together. Thanks Zach!
Sweet shot. That telescope really pulled it in. I will have to look at the software you mentioned for stacking.
Chris Frailey recently posted..20 Years In The Making
Excellent image! Can’t wait to see the other shots. Did you happen to catch any of the Quadrantid Meteor Shower? I was too lazy to get up at midnight to capture it.
Rick Louie recently posted..The Leaf
No, I missed it but bigger showers are just around the corner! Thanks Rick!
Super cool shot Curt! Great composition
Just incredible Curt.
Steven Perlmutter recently posted..Blustery
Wow Curt, I mean WOW! This is amazing! I love the details here! Incredible lunar photography!
Dave DiCello recently posted..Counting the days – January Desktop Calendar
Wow Curt this is an excellent shot. Great details. I had no idea how much work went into a shot like this but well worth it.
Len Saltiel recently posted..Iconic Pemaquid
Wow..really nice image Curt! Excellent shot sir!