After I got my imaging telescope (AstroTech AT6-RC), I started targeting deep-sky targets. It took a while to get the whole process dialed in properly. Things like proper load balancing, polar alignment, calibration, getting all the cables hooked up, calibrating the guider, setting the focus (quite a complicated task when you cannot see your target through the viewfinder or LiveView), finding your target, framing, determining each frame parameter (e.g. required exposure length, ISO), and then hoping no clouds come in and ruin it all. Then there’s the additional task of making sure you have a library of dark and flat frames built up for processing. And processing itself is quite lengthy. The initial calibration and stacking of the frames is a pretty automated process but can take anywhere from 2-6 hours, depending on the amount of data. Then comes the actual processing, which requires painstaking attention to each part of the final image. But when you realize that the final product is of an object thousands or millions of light-years away in space, it’s all worth it.
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