M33 V1: Pushing the Limits of the Seestar S50

This past week, I had the opportunity to capture M33, also known as the Triangulum Galaxy, with my Seestar S50. I'm sharing the details of my capture and processing workflow, and I'm hoping to get some community feedback on how to improve the final result.

Acquisition Details:

Telescope/Camera: Seestar S50
Exposure Time: 11.5 hours (2047 x 10-second frames)
Bortle Scale: 4

Processing Workflow:

My current processing pipeline involves:

Stacking: Siril
Denoising/Stretching: Graxpert
Color & Final Adjustments: Lightroom

The Challenge: Lack of Detail

Despite investing over 11 hours into acquiring frames for M33, and given the galaxy's relatively large apparent size, I'm a bit underwhelmed by the level of detail I've managed to extract. I'm questioning whether my expectations are too high for my current setup or if there's more potential locked within the data that I'm not accessing.

My primary concern is whether I'm truly maximizing the stretching capabilities within Siril. I'm seeking advice on how to improve my processing to reveal more of the subtle structures within the Triangulum Galaxy.

M33 V1

Community Insights and Tips:

I've received some excellent advice on potential workflow improvements. One suggestion that stands out is to leverage statistical stretching scripts in Siril for a pre-stretch, followed by a Generalized Hyperbolic Stretch (GHS). Another crucial tip involves using Starnet to remove stars, allowing for more granular control over the stretching process on the starless image.

A more detailed proposed workflow includes:

Stacking and performing astrometry.
Background extraction using RBF (smoothing 1.0, samples 100, tolerance 0.3) with dither enabled.
Graxpert denoising (smoothing 1.0).
Spectrophotometric or Photometric color calibration.
Removing green noise.
Using Starnet to remove stars and applying a statistical stretch to the starless layer, followed by GHS (perhaps in two steps, going gently).
Combining the starless image with a star mask, stretching only the star mask (around 7 iterations with highlight protection) to bring down stars without blowing them out.

Further recommendations include exploring the Seti Astro Suite and its associated Cosmic Clarity Suite for their statistical stretch and GHS capabilities on starless images.

I'm eager to try these techniques and see if they unlock the hidden details in my M33 capture. Stay tuned for updates!