M16 Eagle Nebula - My First Light with the ASI 585MC Pro!
It's a momentous occasion in my amateur astronomy journey – my first light with a dedicated astrophotography camera, the ZWO ASI 585MC Pro! This also marks my maiden voyage into the world of dedicated astro cams, and I've learned a veritable ton from this initial experience. Despite my setup still being on the beginner side, I've discovered some ingenious, simple solutions to ensure a smooth imaging process.
My trusty iOptron Sky Guider Pro requires manual adjustments for aligning with targets, a process I've refined. To aid in framing, I'm using ASTAP for plate-solving short exposures, and then manually inputting the coordinates into Stellarium. It's a dance of technology and manual effort, but it gets the job done!
Acquisition Details:
- Camera: ZWO ASI 585MC Pro
- Mount: iOptron Skyguider Pro
- Telescope: Redcat 51
- Guide Camera: ASI 120MM
- Guiding Software: PHD2
Acquisition Information:
- 20 Flats
- 20 Dark Flats
- 20 Darks
- 60 Lights at 60 seconds of exposure each
- Gain: 152
Processing:
All images were stacked and processed using Siril. For those finishing touches and star recomposition, I relied on Photoshop.
It's incredibly rewarding to see these results after learning the intricacies of a new camera and workflow. The ASI 585MC Pro is proving to be a fantastic first astro camera, and I'm excited to explore its capabilities further. A big thank you to the community for the advice, especially regarding gain settings – experimenting with higher gain values, like 252, is definitely on my agenda for future sessions!
