I reworked the North America Nebula, playing around with the channels in Siril and the colors in Photoshop to create a false SHO palette. I tried not to make th…
Good result for a tripod, just need to remove the bands.
In Siril, under the filters section, there is a filter that removes bands.
I don't know the exact name in English, but I think you'll understand.
Generally, I’d also advise that it’s not always good to make the background dark—sometimes it’s better to make it lighter.
But sometimes, a darker background will look better—just never make it completely black.
I understand that sometimes it just turns out that way, but still try not to make it fully black. In the US, for example, the background looks decent, though it’s a bit hard to tell because of the bands—but I wouldn’t make it much darker.
Well, I’m not the best person to advise, since for Bortle 7 I had way too little integration time, but I’d suggest making the background a bit brighter to bring out the spiral arms better. You could try to bring out the H-alpha regions, but I wouldn’t recommend it because your sub-exposures are too short, and I don’t know your total integration time.
Anyway, the main thing is that the core shouldn’t be overexposed.
The spiral arms should be blue, and the core slightly yellowish, more or less.
Well, you're using that lens, right?
Generally, expect it won't be as sharp due to the magnification, but I'm sure you'll be able to bring out the spiral arms.
Now let's see how well it turns out, and I'll go from there. I won't make the background completely black—honestly, that's not great. I think I'll make it moderately bright instead. Either way, I'll post it in about an hour.
Well, I didn't go with a very long focal length—I took 135mm to get longer exposures per frame, since the object is quite faint after all. I'm not expecting particularly good sharpness; I've looked at the spiral arms, and they show up reasonably well with just 1/5 of the total exposure time.
Overall, you're doing quite well with the tripod.
Much better than when I was shooting with a tripod.
When you get tracking, the first thing you'll notice isn't that it's 100 times better, but that the stars are sharper.
Over the session, you get more total integration and it's easier to capture details.
Thank you, I've been practicing for a long time, gaining knowledge. God willing, of course, I'll manage to buy at least a simple tracker—there's only a month left to rest, then it's back to duty and no time for astrophotography :(
For now, I'm thinking of making a homemade one, the kind made from boards and a curved threaded rod.
10 Jun, 2026
Reply
Comments are available only to registered users. Register or log in to leave a comment.
Comments
By the way, I'd also appreciate tips on M101))
Anyway, the main thing is that the core shouldn’t be overexposed.
The spiral arms should be blue, and the core slightly yellowish, more or less.
Much better than when I was shooting with a tripod.
When you get tracking, the first thing you'll notice isn't that it's 100 times better, but that the stars are sharper.
Over the session, you get more total integration and it's easier to capture details.
For now, I'm thinking of making a homemade one, the kind made from boards and a curved threaded rod.
Comments are available only to registered users. Register or log in to leave a comment.