This is the third and final in a series of posts on astronomy software. The first post covered mobile software and the second planning and imaging. This post deals with image processing software.

• MaximDL
  When I first started imaging, Maxim was my go-to program for data reduction (removing noise, optical train artifacts, and chip artifacts from an image) and image combination. It has a strong set of tools and a fairly easy workflow. It also has the advantage of not being another tool as it is a premier camera control and image capture tool as well. I used Ron Wodaski’s bloom removal tool as I have an ST-10 and blooms are an issue for me.
• CCD Stack 2
  CCD Stack 2 provides a very intuitive way to understand data reduction and statistical combination of images. You can easily browse through you stack of sub frames to identify bad frames. It has excellent bloom removal. The options for statistical noise removal are excellent. There are tools to automate the processing flow, but I have not used them.
• PixInsight
  PixInsight is simply an amazing piece of software. Coded from the ground up as an end-to-end astronomical image processing tool, the depth of functionality and tools available for images are excellent. I now do essentially all of my image processing in PixInsight. The data reduction and combination is a little labor intensive, but there are scripts (which I haven’t tried) that can help automate the flow. The tools for gradient removal, background neutralization, color balance, and contrast adjustment (HDR transformation in particular) are absolutely invaluable. I cannot say enough about the quality and capabilities of this tool. The learning curve is steep, but worth the effort. It is multi-platform, available on Windows, Max, and Linux 64-bit platforms.
• Photoshop
  No discussion of astronomical imaging programs could be complete without mentioning Photoshop. This highly-capable general purpose image editing tool is a professional standard. Many tutorials have been written on using Photoshop for astronomical image processing so there are many resources for learning how to use the tool. For my use, PixInsight, with its large array of astrophotography-specific capabilities, has replaced most of my use of Photoshop. But Photoshop is clearly a top-line tool.

After the rush of holiday activities subsided, I managed to get one night’s worth of imaging done on December 30th. My target was NGC 1530, a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Camelopardalis. It is located near the north celestial pole and only reaches 48° altitude at transit. I started imaging when it was about 43° altitude. It is fairly dim at magnitude 12.5 and small, with a major axis of 1.8 arc minutes.

The night was dry and cool. The temperature fell from about 45° F at sunset to about 29° F when I shut things down at 1:30am. The dew point was below 10° F so dew was not a problem. Set up and imaging was fairly uneventful. Thankfully everything worked (unlike the last time I was out, but that’s a different story).

The image was taken with a Planewave CDK 12.5 scope and an SBIG ST-10XME camera on an Astro-Physics AP1200 mount. I took 150 minutes of luminance and 45 minutes each of red, green, and blue in 5 minute sub-exposures. Data capture and camera control was done with Maxim DL. Automation from CCD Commander. (See my post on planning and imaging software.) I calibrated and processed the data in PixInsight.

With this dim object I could have used more exposure time. The color is a little noisy. Overall I think it is a nice image of an interesting galaxy. A full sized image is in the photo gallery.

I received an e-mail this morning asking for plans for my observatory.

I do have the plans and am willing to share them.

When I went to forward the email to my “real” e-mail account, I neglected to copy the sender. So I don’t have the e-mail address of the sender and cannot respond.

If you are that person, please contact me again and we can discuss sharing of the architectural drawings.

This is Part 2 of my write up on Astronomy Software. This post describes the software I use for planning and imaging. Image processing will be in Part 3. Most of the software I use for observing and imaging is PC-based, running on Windows.

Planning

• TheSkyX Pro
  For planning and executing observing and imaging runs, I use Software Bisque’s The Sky X Pro. To find imaging objects, with the planetarium software time set just after the start of my imaging time, I run an advanced query (from Manage Observing List) that selects NGC objects above 40 degress with a minor axis > 5. From that list I look at each item and select the best one for the night, both for how it looks and when it will transit. I also use TheSky to point the telescope when preparing for an imaging run.

Automation

• CCDCommander
  CCD Commander is an excellent script-based imaging automation tool. The learning curve is not steep. While there aren’t all the bells and whistles of other automation software, the software is quite capable and much less expensive. I don’t do remote imaging, but rather have the automation so I can sleep while my images are taken.
• PinPoint
  Pinpoint is an amazing plate solving tool. It quickly identifies the exact location in the sky where the scope is pointing. This is crucial for both automation and easy imaging even if you aren’t automated. The software is written by Bob Denny of DC3 Dreams, who also produces high-end automation software.
• FocusMax
  Focusing is not only crucial, without some form of automation it is tedious. Steve Brady and Larry Weber developed this excellent focusing tool using the idea that you can use the focus characteristics of your telescope and the size of an out of focus star to calculate the focus point. It is fast and accurate. As of this post, it is under active development. I’d recommend using the focus settle feature, it takes a bit longer but is more accurate. The “Find Star” capability got me introduced to how much plate solving and automation can increase your imaging throughput and reduce frustration.

Camera Control

• MaximDL 5
  MaximDL is the gold standard in image capture and camera control. It is well integrated with a wide variety of automation software and has extensive camera support.
• ASCOM
  ASCOM is a set of standards and a software framework for managing communications between sofware on your PC and your devices. It is the core of the mount / camera / focuser / rotator automation.
• AstroPhysics V2 Driver
  As an AP900 and AP1200 owner, I am a big fan of Ray Gralak’s AstroPhysics drivers. There are many useful features and the current release is rock solid. He is also the author of PEM Pro, a periodic error measurement and polar alignment tool.
• Planewave Telescope Control and Optec Pyxis Control software.
  Planewave’s control software for scope and focuser is crucial for any type of imaging. When I first bought the scope I had a couple of issues that were solved in the middle of the night on a Saturday – excellent customer service. I use a Pyxis 3″ rotator and driver software is critical. All of this software is ASCOM compliant.

Most, if not all, of this software can be used on a trial basis. That gives you a chance to see if it will work for you before you buy.

It has been quite a while since I have posted about astronomy and astrophotography. With yet another – holiday this time – weekend near the new Moon with cloudy skies, I thought it would be a good idea to write about the astronomy software I use for planning, general viewing, and imaging.

This first software post will focus on iOS applications. Future ones will cover the PC software I use. There are several iOS applications that I find very useful.

Darkness is a great app that gives you Sun and Moon rise/set times, Moon phase, and all the key twilight numbers. It is good to know astronomical twilight as that is when you can really start observing or imaging.

SkySafari is a very high-quality planetarium app for the iPad and iPhone / iPod. I use the standard version for basic object location but they also have enhanced versions that have features like telescope control. They also have Andriod versions.

Star Walk is very cool planetarium program that you can hold up to the sky and it will orient the image to show what you are looking at.

Emerald Sequoia has many interesting time-related apps. I find Observatory interesting for seeing where the Sun, Moon, and planets are on any day and time and Time which gives you exactly accurate time by contacting NTP servers.

As I said in my post at the end of August, a road trip was coming. There have been several more trips (one ongoing now) that have not allowed me the time to write a proper post.

When all this traveling is done, I will have a proper update.

It has been a busy August. We traveled to Upper Michigan to see my parents for a week. Getting there was an adventure, and not of the good kind.

There were thunderstorms south of Chicago so incoming flights were delayed. our flight was scheduled to leave at 6:50 pm and we boarded the plane at about 10:15pm. We sat for quite a while. They finally closed the doors, but then informed us that there was a mechanical issue with the cargo door. We then learned that that final delay pushed the crew beyond their maximum working hours under FAA regulations. So we all got off the plane.

The airline booked us into a hotel in Skokie. We finally got to the room (smoking, not non-smoking and it reaked of tobacco) at 1:15 am. We were up early and at the airport around 9am. Our flight finally left after noon. It was delayed 19 hours. It took longer to fly from Los Angeles to Marquette than is does to fly from Los Angeles to Mumbai.

The visit with my parents was good. Pleasant weather, many cousins around, good fun for all.

After catching up at work, I am off next week to take my older daughter to college. She is attending Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. We are planning a nice, scenic drive up US-395. Our first night will be in Alturas, California and the next day we make it to Spokane.

I had planned to return on a slightly more eastern route through Nevada. Thankfully, I was told about the Burning Man festival being held at Black Rock City through Labor Day weekend. Apparently, the traffic from the end of the festival turned a seven hour drive from Reno to Los Angeles into a 10 hour drive. I have now planned a different route.

On the return, I’ll leave Spokane mid-day and drive to Bend, Oregon. From Bend, I’ll head south on US 97, joining I-5 at Weed, California. Then a long day driving south on I-5 to Los Angeles.

Keeping up with my pace of an image every nine months or so, I finally got some data worth processing over the 4th of July weekend. I had high hopes for the weekend because with the 4th being on a Thursday, it was a four-day weekend almost exactly at the new Moon. Mother Nature intervened to reduce my imaging time, but I got enough data for an image.

My target was the Ring Nebula, or Messier 57. I wanted to image the extended, faint nebulosity surrounding this fairly bright planetary nebula. The night of July 4th I got 2 hours of hydrogen alpha (Ha) data in 12 10-minute sub exposures unbinned. On July 5th I got 35 minutes each of red, green, and blue in 7 (each) 5-minute sub exposures binned 2×2.

I had planned to get some luminance data and more Ha on the 6th, but it was cloudy at dusk. It was probably going to clear, but with astronomical twilight at 9:45 PM and M57 transiting at 12:45 AM, I decided to take my calibration frames and call it a night. Perhaps I’ll get more data later this summer, but I decided to process what I had.

My initial approach was to create a synthetic luminance image from the RGB data, combine that with the Ha data for a final luminance, and then add color from the RGB. Note that my RGB data is binned 2×2, so I don’t have the full definition of my camera for anything but the Ha data. My second approach was to also add Ha to the red channel. That produced the best result.

Overall, the image is noisy because there is limited data and everything but the Ha was taken at 2×2. I was somewhat aggressive with ACDNR noise reduction. I admit up front this is far from a perfect image. But it is what I could get with the data I have.

Here is the final image

M57 HaRGB Version 2

Here is my initial pass at processing

M57 HaRGB Version 1

What follows is a more detailed description of the processing steps.

Continue reading →