Imaging the Moon: Capture and Process, Stack, Sharpen
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 ก.ค. 2024
- Equipment and set up for lunar imaging. Settings, guide, tutorial, how to.
00:47 High Resolution Imaging
01:26 Equipment and set up
06:29 Imaging the Moon
07:50 FireCapture settings
13:01 Stacking in AutoStakkert
20:51 Wavelet sharpening in Registax
32:43 High Pass Filter in Photoshop
Equipment:
Telescope: Celestron C11
Mount: Skywatcher EQ6
Camera: ZWO ASI224MC + IR-cut filter
x2 TAL barlow
Software:
FireCapture video capture
AutoStakkert stacking
Registax wavelet sharpening
Photoshop crop, B&W, high pass filter - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
Great video as always Mark :) Keep em coming!!
Thanks! Will do!
Very informative video. I learned a good deal from it. Thank you for taking the time and effort to produce it,
Glad it was helpful!
Great Video and thanks for taking time to explain each step in detail, it helps put all the pieces together. Must try the IR850 filter which came with my QHY462C
the next time I have clear skies to see if it makes any difference.
I find the IR filter makes a difference in nights of poor seeing, David. That being said 850nm is deep in the IR so the image will be dim so boost the settings (or use it as an excuse for a bigger scope?? 🙂)
Came here from your older video which I had watched a while back. Thanks for the update.
Glad you liked it! I hope the skies are clear with you!
Very informative, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge.
Glad it was helpful, Charles.
Amazing video, just enhanced my technique of processing moon surface image!
Glad it was useful Aryan.
Well done! Cool stuff!
Thank you - I hope the skies are clear in Ontario. I have fond memories of your beautiful country having worked in St Catharines for a year.
thankyou very much for this very informative video. It has and will also help me tremendously!
Glad it was helpful!
Very good video Mark, you made it sound simple but looks hard for me to understand.
Like anything it’s not hard when you’ve done it a few times. Give it a go and shout if you have any questions. It’s amazing what our amateur scopes can pull in.
Thank you very much for this guide. I have to do a project for school about lunar observation and imaging. You helped me out a lot with the imaging process. 😀
Glad you found it useful, Vinc and good luck with your school project. Post some pictures and link back to us on FB / Instagram - I'd love to see your efforts.
@@RefreshingViews Thank you i will share them 😄
Excellent walk through of the tools and processes. I just have to get a long focal length scope (again) so I can shoot the moon or planets. The 250 or 550 mm refractors I have not just aren't going to cut. I've thought about adding a 2 or 2.5x barlow to my Esprit 100 (550mm) in the interim. I'm definitely saving this video or later reference!
Glad it was of use. Let us know how you get on with the new setup.
Love the videos keep it up
Appreciate it!
Nice video, I hope to manage better on my next moon shot (especially the Registax part was quite enlightening)
So glad it was useful, Nick. Let us know how you get on.
Wow, learned a lot importants things here ! Thanks !
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you 🙏 keep up the great work
Thank you!
Thanks that was very interesting and informative. 37.18 minutes of my life well spent. I've just bought my first telescope (Celestron Nextar 8SE) which I've not yet used in anger, but hope to during December so some good info on some of the pitfalls to avoid.
Glad it was helpful, Patrick. Enjoy the C8 and let us know how you get on.
Great capture and video......enjoyed watching. greetings from Nottingham :)
Nice to meet you!
@@RefreshingViews cool 👌
Mighty nice!
Thank you!
Sublime. Thank you so much.
Our pleasure!
Thanks again . How nice, someone that is interested and can talk about the astronomical content of their studies and not just dumping more images on FB taken with some cookie cutter telescope
Thank you - and yes, you have to love what you're looking at and not just the grandeur of the image itself.
awesome video! I have the same camera, zwo asi 224mc and a 6 inch Newtonian, I dont use any filters though. this was very refreshing to watch. Learnt some new processing techniques. I Love shooting closups of moon myself :)
Thanks DSH! Glad you are enjoying the moon too.
you don't need to, you can just use the green channel which has double the information than the red or blue since the Bayer pattern is RGGB. added benefit is that green has no IR bleed since it's not anywhere near that wavelength.
@@mariusflorea1984 Cool Thanks for the Info! I was Thinking about buying a Green Filter
@@avt_astro206 no need to, again... if you own an OSC camera with a Bayer pattern, you just use the green channel and discard the red and blue. keep in mind that lower wavelengths are more forgiving to seeing conditions but can't resolve as fine details... tradeoff I guess... but if you own a mono camera, then yes, you need filters
Fascinating video. Well explained and engaging. Your enthusiasm is contagious. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it, Chris. I always love observing and imaging the moon as there is always something interesting to see.
Fantastic
Thank you!
nice showing of your workflow! When I shoot the terminator area for highres lunar I like to underexpose and capture quite dimly so as not to oversaturate the crater rims. Then later I use the shadows/highlights tool in PS to brighten the image as it usually looks very dim in the final stack.
That's a good idea, Mike. Thanks for the tip. Yes it is easy to blow out the bright rims isn't it. I will try that one next time. Thanks once again.
The moon has wonderful colors..you know.
It is wonderful isn’t it? Enjoy!
Hi Mark, I am a returning astronomer after a number of years looking to this time start with astro photography. I have been doing a lot of research on techniques to use and which scope/camera to go for etc.. over the last few months I have subscribed to a number of channels and I must say yours is the best I have found that connects with me on the right level of detail and how it is presented. Strangely I am not far from you being in Dorset, If you find yourself over this way and in need of a free pint let me know! Keep up the great work.
Hi Roman - thank you for your lovely message. I am so glad you are enjoying the content and always up for a pint! Where are you based? I go to Andover AS and Basingrad AS for their meetings.
@@RefreshingViews Hi Mark. I am based in Verwood which is Bournemouth side of Salisbury. I would be grateful if I could test your experience for some advice if not too much trouble? I see you are on FB if you would be happy to receive a friend request?!
@@romanchongy9353 of course - that would be lovely.
Subscribed :)
Thanks NB!
Thanks for this, very educational and explained well and patiently . May I ask you to go over the sensor size and f-ratio relationship again!?
Hi Geoff - it's all to do with Nyquiest sampling theory where you want the pixels to match the resolution of the telescope. The rule of thumb is to take the pixel size in micro-metres (um) - you can find these on the manufacturer's website - and then multiply by 5 to give the ideal f-ratio. In my case, my ASI224MC has 3.75um pixels. So 3.75 x 5 = 18.75. The nearest barlow for my f10 Celestron C11 is a x2 barlow which gives me f20.
I hope that helps!
@@RefreshingViews
Hi, many thanks - I guessed it was, then I tried to work backwards with my f6.9 apo which divided by 5 gives a needed pixel size of 1.38 which according to astronomy tools calculators would over-sample. Same calculator suggests 2.4 to 6.4 under OK seeing - slightly breaking down that rule of thumb. Unless I'm missing something! Currently I use a ZWO 174 or a 178. I guess, again, it's what works!
Many thanks and cheers for your time and patience.
@@geoffc1862 so a ZWO174 has 5.86um pixels according to the ASI website. 5.86 x 5 = 29. So with an f7 app you want a x4 Barlow to give f28 which is near enough for government work.
This is by far the most educational high res moon workflow I've seen to date. Never even occurred to me to use a 685nm filter. In the older version of this video I believe you said you also have a C6 scope or similar as your travel scope? Would love to see a "lite" version of this video using that and any differences to approach you might take for acquisition and post processing.
Hi Dominic - yes I used to have a 6-inch Mak as my travel scope. What set up do you have?
As for a lite version, the principals are the same no matter what telescope you use. Select the appropriate focal ratio around f15-f20 using a barlow (or undersample with a wider field of view if you prefer); set the histogram to 2/3 or so with gain around 350-400; focus-focus-focus and capture thousands of frames when tracking. Stack the best 1-2,000 or so in AutoStakkert and then use the linked wavelets to sharpen in Registax, adjusting the sharpen and denoise to taste.
Let us know how you get on!
@@RefreshingViews I currently have a Sky Watcher Star Adventurer 2i on which I use a combination of a C90 MAK with a Panasonic GX85 mirrorless and ASI120MM (which I just got). I had been toying with getting a 2x Barlow for this, probably pushing it a bit though.
As an upgrade I am currently looking at getting an iOptron CEM26 mount with a Celestron Edge HD 8 if I can hold out on the saving front, or a C6 of I can't.
I'll certainly be giving your workflow a go on my next lunar night out.
Apols - just noticed I did not reply. I know what you mean about the high powers of the Mak. When I had the Skywatcher f12 Mak, I unscrewed the x2 barlow lens and stuck it on the camera thread to try and reduce the magnification to 1.5x.
Your planned setup will be pretty good. It sounds awesome. Let us know how you get on.
A great set up, please show us your best ufo shots.
Ha - I’ve only ever seen one UFO and that was a group of very reflective seagulls reflecting the streetlight!
@@RefreshingViews I've seen a few but didn't have a camera at the time.
0:35 the Alps valley. My favourite object to spot.
Stunning aren't they?
thanks! I had a problem with my images not getting sorted correctly in autostakkert, so I am going to play with noise robustness.
Glad it helped!
Hello Mark,
Great vids,
Can you tell me how you mounted your Autofocuser to your crayford focuser.I have a dual speed GSO focuser on a Meade 12"SCT.
Appreciate your time,
William
Hi William I had to 3D print a bracket to hold the motor and that drives the focus wheel by means of a small belt from a 3D printer.
Brilliant tutorial! Absolutely brilliant. Thank you for your patient explanations and instruction. One question, I’m not clear why you use 1000 frames in one box and 2000 (can’t remember the exact number) in the second box. If you stack 1000 why the second box (or the third and fourth box)? And if you use a percentage….do you just, for example, say 25% in the first box?
Thank you for your kind words Joseph. Autostackert will allow you to do multiple stacks so I often stack 1,000 and 2,000 frames and compare the two. If we stack fewer frames they’ll be sharper but noisier so it’s a bit of a trade off. For simplicity I set it and then leave it processing.
🛸🛸🛸🛸
Wonderful video, just what I was looking for. A question: With the Baader685 filter cutting out most of the visible spectrum, can you still get enough light through to focus and frame the video in your capture software? You do show this, but was that with the Baader in place? Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it! Yes the IR filter remains in place. The good thing about this CMOS cameras and the 224 in particular is that they are still quite sensitive into the red end of the spectrum - where the better seeing is.
Thank you very much. I am a beginner and this video gave me all the information I was looking for. I have one question. Which mount do you have that helps you track the moon ? Thanks in advance.
Glad it was useful. I am using an EQ6 but have since upgraded to an AZEQ6. It’s great but I am now admiring the new harmonic mounts. Tracking, goto and no need for a counterweight. What have you got?
Hi, very useful tutorial, thanks. One question though. Could I take multiple videos of the exact same area then load and stack them in AS3? Or stacking already stacked and processed images to get one final image?
You could do but what would gain? You need to build good signal to noise ratio and you’ve already done that with original video stack.
wow fantastic again i need you to be my mentor..i put the iphone on the eyepiece the other night on me 10 inch i will be trying that again for sure any advice like can i make a vid on the phone and use that in stacker ....i need a 2x Barlow to use the dslr ...but after a guide scope first to get me tracking sorted i use a eq6 pro and only get 30s exposure ...and will need to look into the processing ..thank you for sharing your content cracking watch once again
...
Glad you enjoyed it Kevicus. I would recommend a dedicated astronomy camera for best results although people do get great results with camera phones and DSLRs. From memory, Autostakkert can read avi and ser so make sure your camera can output in the correct format (or take loads of stills). One of those eyepiece-phone clamps will be invaluable too.
Volcanoes on the moon? I thought it was inactive! Anyway what Id really like to see are some pics of the Lunar Landing Module bases? Got any?
There are many volcanoes on the moon - although you are right, they are extinct now. I'll pop some images in the Community tab for you!
Great tutorial- two questions if i can ask 1) do you just stick to Sidereal tracking or go over to Lunar tracking with your mount? And 2) does the video zoom mode simply “blow up” the image you are taking but has no effect on the sharpness (ie it just reduces the field of view for the camera for data collection purposes) as i find using my AsiAir Pro that my frame rates sent over to my USB are not as high as yours in Firecapture/laptop so i need to track across the surface for longer periods to capture a decent number of images? Thanks
Yes I track in lunar mode otherwise it slowly wanders off. Not sure about video zoom mode as my ASI is fixed. I imagine you are zooming in digitally unless you are adding more optics to increase the focal length?
PS are you using USB3? That makes a difference over the usual usb2.
@@RefreshingViews oh yes, using USB3 but the astropi is a slow “pc” vs a laptop for these transfer rates i believe…
You can sparphen in Autostakkert too
Thanks!
Thanks for the informative video just a quick question what balow element do you have and screwed into your ADC? I also notice you don't have an all threaded imaging train any reason why not? Thanks Rob.
Hi Rob - it is the x2 barlow. As for threading it all together, that is a fair point. This cheap model simply does not have any threads so I bought a new flippety flap with my first TH-cam payment. The imaging train barlow-flip-ADC-camera is now threaded together - plus being a 2" model, it is far more robust.
@@RefreshingViews Flippety flap? Not sure I have seen something like that?
@@robbromynach5242 ha ha! Apologies - it’s a flip mirror.
Thank you for sharing your great video and images! However, I would like to clarify that 685nm is actually red light, not IR. If it were IR, it wouldn't be logical to block it and then allow it to pass through. Despite this, your results are still amazing and it seems like you are actually shooting in red light.
You’re right but don’t forget the filter passes light above 685nm so, with the ASI224 being sensitive into the IR technically it is red + IR.
What electronic focuser do you use on your C-11? Do you have a link?
It's just a bog standard Skywatcher AutoFocuser with a 12-9V converter so I can run it off my 12V supply.
As a way of capturing a wider dynamic range and not blow out the highlights, can you capture some photos at a reduced exposure time (darker) and then merge them together? In the [non-astro] photography world we call this bracketing. I feel like it should work with astrophotography as well.
Yes you can do that and combine them with either a layer mask or HDR software.
I love the way you explain everything! What is your first name? mine is Steve. I have been a visual observer for 50 years but now want to learn to capture images. My current setup is an Equatorial mount with a Ra drive. The telescope is a Skywatcher Skymax 180 Mac Cass.Electronic focuser.Svbony 205 cam
Thank you for your kind words, Steve. My name is Mark Radice and I’m based near Salisbury England. Where are you?
Your scope and camera must provide amazing views! Wishing you clear skies.
@@RefreshingViews Thanks Mark. I,m Based in Pembroke Dock (home of the Millenium Falcon) Pembrokeshire Wales!
@@TheStevecas9860 Awesome - we love Pembroke, Broad Haven & Little Haven in particular. You must have some lovely skies on the coast (once you are out of Pembroke Dock that is!). Oh and I did not know that the Millennium Falcon was built in Pembroke Dock. That's brilliant!
@@RefreshingViews I go to a dark sky site at St Govan's right next to Broad haven South!
Most important thing... or MIT. money. I couldn't afford your jacket. But nonetheless a brilliant video. I'm glad there's ordinary ish people, that can do this astronomy. I'll stick with my 15x70s binoculars.(I've got no choice) I'm just joking and jealous btw 😁
Thank you for your kind words. I started with 10x50 binos when I was at school and couldn’t afford anything better. Loads to see and very pleasing views.Enjoy your clear skies.
I would like to see on the computer what I see from my celestron NexStar 127 SLT telescope, is it possible?
Pretty much! Give it a go!
I'm assuming I can take any 5 minute video (10,000/30fps=apx5min) of a static scene, with heat wave distortion, put it through these two softwares, and get sharper images?
You got it! The software rejects the blurry frames and you sharpen the clear ones. Note the moon rotates so slowly the scene won’t change in a few minutes. You have only 2 minutes,however, on Jupiter before the rotation starts smearing the image.
Btw. Cauchy is spelled Koshee. He was a French mathematician and physicist.
Ah thank you! Tomasz. What an amazing place to be named for.
Are you shooting 8 bit or 16? ❤
Shoot in 8 bit to improve data rate and process in highest quality you can.
Contrast this with FUZZY nasa images from apollo! Their technology wasn't that basic either considering how long photography existed and PARTICULARLY motion pictures but " valid " reasons crop up....😏
Dunno - the NASA Apollo imagery / photography looks pretty sharp to me. Broadcast TV was pretty low quality though but not surprising with a lightweight lander from the lunar surface.
hav you tried stacking frames instead of video ,
Sure you can stack individual frames. Just load them into AutoStakkert - although you have to tell it to open individual image files from the drop down list under the open window. I did exactly that with some DSLR snaps in the colour surface video: th-cam.com/video/3dc-y4vc4Z8/w-d-xo.html
Am I the only one that keeps expecting Jerry Seinfeld’s voice to come out at any moment?
DONT TALK SO MICH
Can’t help it! It just comes naturally.