Image processing help. ZWO Seestar S50 · Ari · ... · 14 · 425 · 6

Stari2318 1.20
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I recently bought a Seestar s50, and I was wondering if any of you out there could have a go with processing my images. I do have photoshop, but I am still a beginner at processing and I want to see what is possible with my images! Thank you so much!
Stacked_15_M 17_10.0s_LP_20240822-222627.jpegStacked_60_M 27_10.0s_IRCUT_20240815-224443.jpegStacked_20_M 13_10.0s_IRCUT_20240814-230609.jpeg
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lsintampa 0.00
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If you have the individual fits files or the stacked fits files, I can give it a go.
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astrophotography_ivan 0.00
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Hey Ari. I use Siril to stack my images with their Seestar script. Really makes a great difference and it's free
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Sozen 0.00
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Id suggest saving all the subframes then using Siril which is free that can facilitate the pre/processing .  The creator of Siril even wrote a stacking script specifically for the seestar.  From there you can process the image with Siril alone or use other free software such as Graxpert or GIMP.  All the images on my page are using free software *using data from either seestar or dwarf2*.  Takes a little practice (and obviously im no expert) but for me, processing is half the fun.

*edit
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Stari2318 1.20
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If you have the individual fits files or the stacked fits files, I can give it a go.

Sorry, I just saved the images from the app. Would you still be able to give it a go? Thanks.
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Thommy78 0.00
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Dear Ari,

there are no informations about your images. I think you have used the live stacking mode for some amount of time.

Honestly with this you won't get good results. You have to save the raw fits files and only do one object per night.
With this I have made the eagle under bad sky conditions. I got 806 subframes and stacked them manually with
pixinsight. I have spent one night but I should have spent one or two more. This is imho the only way to get something
nice out of this little piece of equipment. 
So you have to look some yt-videos on processing/stacking seestar images wit siril (no cost) or better pixinsight
(with add. costs). There are good videos to find.
Your images need much much more integration time. They are so much noisy and the signal is very weak. 

M16 under bortle 5 sky

Here is processing with Siril: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syCVl1fDLTk

And you should look for Cuiv the lazy geek, very smart guy and very good videos 
with seestar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMoSAHOgbD4&t=138s

CS and best for you
Thomas
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lsintampa 0.00
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Image04.jpg

Used Pixinsight, blurxterminator, noisexterminator, minor curves adjust from  your image.  The S50 is very capable of providing good images, but you need to save the fits files or at least the stacked fits file and the process it.  Processing is another whole ball game.  The PI software with addons runs around $500.00 USD.  Then the learning curve.  I'm just a novice but I enjoy it and for me I get decent results.  Best of luck to you.

As mentioned SIRIL is free and does a very good job as well.  Personally I find that blurXterminator and noiseXterminator are worth the investment.  I have them as plugins for Pixinsight, not sure if they can work with Siril, but I think they may.
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bengii 0.90
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Hi Ari,

welcome to the rest of your life! I too am relatively new to seestar and patience is the most important thing - for me the post-processing is a large part of the enjoyment...
At first I captured several targets each night as I learned how everything worked. The idea was to use Seestar as a robot expert to help me find good targets that were 'in view' for me, and that was excellent fun, as well has helping me find where objects actually reside above my balcony, instead of just on Stellarium. Once I got the hang of this I settled down and realised that with a small aperture I do need several hours of capture to really build up detail. This time is definately time well spent. My own, personal 'see'-3PO. I also use a 135mm Rokinon lens+ Sony a7Rii and an ED80 apo refractor. They are my buddies each evening.
For Seestar
- As I live on the edge of a populated area I learned that many, many 10" exposures are far better than a few 20" exposures so this is now my default.
- I always check that the individual exposures are saved.
- I started by using Siril and now I am on an extended trial of PixInsight which I use for stacking the frames captured overnight. I will be investing in PixInsight as it is pure magic once you climb the learning curve, but I do realise that it is an additional expense, so take your time and find what process suits you best.
- I have a decent PC setup with 12cores and a graphics card so the initial stacking of 100 frames takes less than 8mins of processing time for Seestar frames.
- After getting used to this process it becomes easier, my 'to do' list of imaging is now getting shorter and shorter as a result, and the more automatic my process steps the more images I tend to take
- In my folders I store by image name and exposure length, I seperate out the 10" exposures from very clear nigts when I do longer exposure times.
- Other plugins like noiseExterminator and blurExterminator are witchcraft to me - the results are fantastic and inspire me again and again to just pick up my SeeStar buddy whenever I go out, nothing to lose!

For me it is not a case of either/or - it is a case of AND. What I also do now is to access the Hubble and Nasa archives to get images from the observatory itself, which I also find to be like sorcery - it never fails to make me shake my head in wonder that we live in such amazing times. The process and techniques used to squeeze the best of of seeStar will go a long way to develop your skills with these images also.

This video by Cuiv convinced me to go the archive route when the clouds ruin my evening, I watch it often and find it really inspirational: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgklkUPwPNA&t=4s


Also, filter astrobin images on camera type and see what wonders this community delivers eachday, reach out and ask - it is such a joy to improve ones craft while also building connections with a great group of individuals.

Clear skies!!!
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Thommy78 0.00
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bengii
I can recommend the video courses from Adam Block about PI. These will push you beyond the limit. But you have to spend some more money.  You may have a look on YT there you can find some appetisers of him. It is definitely worth the money.
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Sozen 0.00
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Cuiv (the lazy geeks) patreon has a really user/noob friendly PI video.  Walks you through installation including modules and provides some data to work along with him.
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bengii 0.90
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Alan M:
Cuiv (the lazy geeks) patreon has a really user/noob friendly PI video.  Walks you through installation including modules and provides some data to work along with him.

Absolutely! Plus it is nearly two hours long and has sample data if I remember right. The folks at Galactic Hunter also have some great courses. BTW Ari - go to Alan's page to see some super examples of what can be achieved with the SeeStar. Also, search for things like "How to Download Images from the Hubble Legacy Archive" on youtube as that shows where to get images directly from the satellite!!!! What a world we live in
I use these images to help me improve processing and help me to add more euro to the piggy bank jar to save up for larger telescopes so I can catch those photons in real time myself some night in the future
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wvbirder 1.20
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Hi Ari... All good suggestions above! I just took a screenshot of M17 and worked it in Photoshop for 10 mins. I have a couple of the astro plugins from RCAstro (Star Shrink and Noise Xterminator). image.png
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schwerdt 0.00
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Hey, I agree with the answers. For me Siril with a special script is just fine. Sometimes I use Deep sky stacker but in most cases Siril. Nebulaphotos has some nice YT-videos as well.
I save all the raw data (fits) and stack them and I process background and stars as different layers by using statnet++ ( as siril plugin). The fine tuning can be done in PS or .... I use luminar.
One of the advantages to process the data (stacking) in a separate software like siril is that you get rid of the satellite trails (median filter or similar). Here is a picture with only ca. 30min integration time:
https://www.astrotreff.de/gallery/index.php?raw-image/15408-m17-omeganebel/
Clear skies - Ralph
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John59 1.81
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I took your Dumbbell cropped and edited just to bring out more of the nebulosity.
Not great by any means but shows more of the structure and color.
Could use better noise reduction.
Processed with affinity Photo V2.
Ring Screenshot 2024-08-24 104143 CNPOST.png
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skybob727 6.67
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Since you say you have Photoshop, this is a quick process using just from the image you show here. I did crop it square.

image.png
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