Chasing Cosmic Clouds: My First Look at the North American Nebula

It's always an exciting moment when new gear arrives, especially when that gear promises to unlock new vistas of the night sky. Recently, I welcomed a Canon R6 mirrorless camera into my astrophotography arsenal, and what better way to test its mettle than by targeting a well-known celestial landmark: the magnificent North American Nebula.

Gear and Configuration

My setup for this session was a blend of new and familiar:

Camera: Canon R6 (a brand new addition!)
Lens: Sigma 150-600mm, zoomed to 250mm at f/5.6
Mount: Sky Watcher Star Adventurer 2i. I have to admit, this little guy was pushed to its limits with the weight of the R6 and Sigma lens. I ended up using two counterweights to ensure perfectly round stars – a testament to its solid engineering!

Acquisition Details

The night was a Bortle 5, offering a decent canvas for deep-sky imaging. Here's how I gathered the data:

ISO: 1600
Exposures: 60 frames, each 40 seconds long.
Interval: I had a 20-second gap between exposures.

Processing Journey

Post-capture processing is where the magic truly happens, and this image was no exception. I used a combination of software to bring out the details:

Siril: This powerhouse handled the initial stacking and alignment. I also performed background extraction and initial color correction here. A histogram stretch was applied to reveal more of the subtle details.
Photoshop: For the final touches, I used Photoshop to refine the curves, boost saturation where appropriate, and apply noise reduction.

First Impressions and a Question

Overall, I'm really pleased with how the North American Nebula turned out. The Canon R6 performed admirably, and the Sigma lens delivered sharp results. However, I noticed that this image required significantly more denoising than I'm accustomed to, even after stacking. This has led me to wonder:

Should I extend the delay between exposures? Perhaps a longer interval might allow the camera's sensor to cool slightly, reducing thermal noise?
Or should I consider lowering my ISO? Lowering the ISO might reduce the signal-to-noise ratio, but could it also lead to cleaner data overall?

I'm keen to hear any thoughts or suggestions from fellow astrophotographers!

Here's the result:

North American Nebula

I wish I could have posted a 'before denoising' comparison, but unfortunately, the platform wouldn't allow a second image upload. This image is the result after the denoising process.

Let me know what you think in the comments!