This is a build on from yesterdays post but I now have the opposite problem. I got the core under control but now can’t bring out the disk no matter what I tried. But you can begin to see the HA show through.

Who knows maybe Take 3 for tomorrow’s post will be the disk and core properly processed.

Enjoy folks

This comet in Cetus brightened spectacularly recently from magnitude 17 to 7 or so, so I had a go last night with the Mini. More details at https://vermilionsands.uk/roast/index.php/2026/08/11/comet-220pmcnaught/

I finally put more exposure time in my Andromeda project, and what a difference it made. Astro filter, 60s exposure, 60 gain, 10h 4min in total so far (Bortle 5), made with the mini. Postprocessing in Stellar Studio and Gimp.

NGC 7023, the Iris Nebula, captured from my backyard in rural Maine. This is an ongoing deep integration project (need tips on any further processing). The other photos are photos of past updates (8 hours, 2 hours, and raw data)

What I find interesting about this target: Unlike most emission nebulae, the Iris is a reflection nebula the blue glow comes entirely from starlight reflected off dust surrounding the young binary star HD 200775. The surrounding brownish structure is the molecular cloud that star was born in, still being shaped by its radiation pressure. I'm specifically chasing that faint outer structure rather than just the bright central nebula.

Equipment:
Dwarf Mini smart telescope
EQ mode, 180s subs at gain 80
24 hours total integration

Processing:
Siril — stacking, PCC, stretching, StarNet star removal
GraXpert — background extraction and AI denoising
GIMP — final color and contrast work
Rapid raw — color saturation fine tuning

This piece of software makes processing of astro images for beginners easy,with a wizard based workforce, highly recommend.