First Light, Take Two! M29 Revealed
Sometimes, the journey to a stunning astrophoto is as rewarding as the final image itself. This is certainly the case for this incredible shot of the M29 star cluster, which the photographer affectionately calls "First Light, Take Two!"
The original attempt at capturing M29 was, as the photographer put it, "horrendous." A key stumbling block was an issue with calibration frames, specifically biases, which prevented the use of essential calibration data in Siril. However, after some troubleshooting and a revised stacking script in Siril (specifically switching to "NoBiases"), the results are dramatically improved.
This image was captured using the following equipment:
- Camera: Canon R6
- Lens: EF 70-200 2.8 II
- Filter: Astronomik UHC clip-in filter for Canon R
- Mount: ExploreScientific iEXOS 100-2-PMC8
The acquisition details are as follows:
- Lights: 13 minutes (26 frames x 30 seconds each)
- Flats: 50 frames
- Darks: 7 frames (a slight hiccup in the dark frame acquisition process was noted!)
Processing this image was an "several hours of suffering in Siril," but the final output speaks for itself. The improved stacking and calibration have brought out the details and colors within the M29 cluster beautifully. A starless version of this stunning image is planned to be shared next, so keep an eye out for that!
This is a fantastic example of perseverance in astrophotography. Well done!
