This is my second target since starting this hobby, and it’s still an ongoing project. So far, I’ve captured a little over 10 hours of data with the L-Extreme (Ha & OIII), and I’m starting to shoot with the L-Synergy today. While waiting to collect the L-Synergy (SII & OIII) data, I stacked and processed the L-Extreme data first just to see how it was looking.
I tried background/gradient removal in a few different ways (GraXpert, ADBE, and DBE), but they all left some color cast that I wasn’t really happy with. Then I came across a PixInsight tutorial on Multiscale Gradient Correction. I gave MGC a try, and it completely surprised me. No color cast, a really nice even background, and the strongest, most saturated Ha compared to the other methods. It honestly did wonders, and I’m really happy I learned this 🙂
After stretching with GHS, I finished up with some post-processing in Photoshop. I actually had to dial the Ha back a bit because it was so strong and bright. Can’t wait to incorporate SII & OIII!
- Gear used: WO SpaceCat61, WO 32mm guide scope, SI2600MC pro (2025 ver.), Optolong L-extreme 2'' filter (gen2), AM5N mount, ASIair plus, anti-due heater strips.
- The data was captured over two imaging sessions from my front yard (bortle7). One under 70% moonlight and the other under 80% moonlight using 300second subframes.
- Toal integration time : a bit over 5 hours for each imaging session. Total 10.5 hours.
by boramgreen