Posts Made By: dan kowall

Tom Osterholt said:
.....It consists of 90 mins Lum binned 1X and 15 min ea. R,G, B 2X binned...... Thanks for any advise

I would go longer on the RGB, Tom. There's no way to pull the rabbit out of the hat if the data just isn't there.
Processing is so much easier when you have good data to work with. Sharpening good data, for instance, makes details pop out. Sharpening noisy data gives you things like mottling and artifacts.
There is a point of diminishing returns when gathering exposures, but it's going to be on the order of hours for each master sub.

dan

I don't know why we don't see more images of this one, it certainly is colorful and unusual.
That's wonderful processing, Dietmar.

dan

That's really well done, Jason, there's color in the stars and dust around the galaxy.
What camera were you using?

dan

You got fine detail on the galaxy, Jim, and the color looks good to this eye, too.
I don't think one can have too many images of M51; Have you ever heard a man say "A picture of Brooke Burke in a bikini? No thanks, I've already seen one."?
My regards,

dan

Thanks for the comments, gentlemen!

dan

Wonderful!
I'm a big fan of natural processing and this is deftly done.
Very impressive, Jim.

dan kowall

I've seen some fine images from this scope. From the looks of your first light image, I'm guessing we'll be seeing much the same from you.
I'm curious about the rings that are holding your Borg. Are those commercially available? The whole mounting system for your Borg looks to be extremely solid. I'd like to turn my MiniBorg into a guider if I could mount it as solidly as you have done.

dan kowall

Hi Jon,
Baltic birch plywood does need protection since it will be subject to dewing and you don't want the plywood to delaminate.
There are two types of finishes: penetrating and surface finishes.
True tung oil, such as Watco, is a penetrating finish. It is easy to apply, actually hardens the wood, and the more coats that you apply the glossier the finish. Unfortunately, it is not a really good exterior finish as water will spot it.
There are products sold as exterior tung oils. These have UVI inhibitors. I have used these in exterior applications and they seem to work okay.
A more durable and more waterproof finish would be a spar varnish or spar urethane. These products are used to protect the woodwork on boats and they work very well. They are surface finishes, i.e. they don't penetrate the wood, but sit on the surface. Spraying these, rather than brushing, will give you a nice, even coat without drips or lumps. These can be purchased in spray cans.
If you like the look of a penetrating finish or don't feel comfortable spraying there is an alternative. As was mentioned in one of the links, you can make your own penetrating finish out of a spar varnish. You need boiled linseed oil (not regular linseed oil, it will never polymerize) and real turpentine (not the fake stuff). Mix these two with your spar urethane or spar varnish in a 1:1:1 ratio approximately. Apply to the wood, let it soak in for a while, and when it starts to get tacky, wipe it off. Let it dry overnight and reapply. Do at least three coats. The later coats can have a greater percentage of the varnish. The more coats, the thicker the finish and the greater the protection.
Whenever you're working with tung oil or this penetrating finish, make sure that you properly dispose of the soaked cloths. They can spontaneously combust.
Lacquer, as was suggested by some, is not an exterior finish and will peel off in time.

dan kowall

Nicely done, Stefan.

dan kowall

Even the full sized image looks good, Jim. Judicious use of selective sharpening and wonderful star colors.
I wasn't sure from your website how you blended in the Ha. Is it used as luminance and also blended with Red (and possibly Blue)?

dan