Astrophotography has been an enjoyable hobby that provides lots of learning experiences. This past week I worked on imaging the last quarter Moon during the morning hours from 9AM-11AM. Why during the day? Parents of small children know that getting a good night's rest can be quite the challenging at times. As a result, I have very few pictures of the Moon after the full Moon. This is because..
The Last quarter Moon rises after midnight and sets at Noon
The Waning crescent Moon rises at 3AM and sets at 3PM.
So what are the challenges to daytime astrophotography?
TELESCOPE ALIGNMENT
During the evening hours, I always to a polar alignment on my telescope so the telescope software has the ability to find any stellar object in the sky. During the day, this is not possible. I do my best to align my telescope with true north and let the software slew my telescope to where it thinks the Moon is located. Then I have to eyeball it by finding the Moon in the sky visually.
The primary challenge of daytime astrophotography is the brightness of the sky, making it difficult to get enough contrast in your images of the Moon. Second, it is really hard to get a sharp focus on the Moon because of the daytime brightness and various atmospheric conditions. Poor atmospheric conditions blur your image and creates distortions in your images. Finally, weather conditions can always mess up an imaging session. Depending on your season and location, clouds can ruin an imaging session.
Once I have found the Moon visually, I use the lowest magnification eyepiece with my telescope to help me located the Moon in the sky. Once located, I center up the Moon in the eyepiece and use the tracking feature of the telescope. For these images, I used my ZWO ASIAIR Mini Wi-Fi Camera Controller to track the Moon.
LUCKY IMAGING
For this project, I mainly used the lucky imaging technique. Lucky Imaging is where you take hundreds or thousands of images over a short timespan with short exposures to minimize poor seeing conditions in the atmosphere. In short, I took videos of the Moon. I took two minutes videos that created around 1000 images (the camera took around 8.5 high-resolution frames per second).
Using AutoStakkert! software on my computer, I am able to take best images from those video files to produce a high-resolution image. By combining multiple images and making some modification in the contrast, sharpness, orientation, and color through Adobe Photoshop, I am able to get some descent daytime images of our Moon in its last Quarter.
I hope this has been a good explainer on how to take daytime images of the Moon with a telescope. Until next time, clear skies.
The Sun on July 31, 2024, Image Taken with my Lunt 40mm Solar Telesope
The Sun has been very active this year, reaching the near peak of its solar cycle. On July 31st, I finally had a break in the non-stop clouds and rain over the past month and took the above image of the Sun. 261 Sunspots were visible on the face of the Sun. So, what exactly are sunspots?
SUNSPOTS
Sunspots are dark, planet-sized regions that appear on the surface of the Sun. They are formed due to the complex magnetic activities happening inside the Sun. Here's a more detailed explanation:
1. **Magnetic Fields**: Sunspots are formed when concentrations of magnetic fields from deep within the sun well up to the surface. These magnetic fields are like loops of rubber bands, with one end attached to the north pole and the other to the south pole.
Image of prominence. Earth added to give perspective. Taken June 24, 2024 with my Lunt 40mm Solar Telescope
2. **Differential Rotation**: As the sun rotates at different speeds, with the equator rotating faster than the poles, a "differential rotation" is created. This causes these magnetic loop "rubber bands" to get more wound up (both tighter and more complicated).
3. **Formation of Sunspots**: Eventually, the magnetic fields "snap," rise and break the surface. This disturbance in the sun's magnetic field forms pores that can grow and join together to form larger pores, or proto-spots, that eventually become sunspots.
4. **Appearance**: Sunspots consist of a central darker region, known as the umbra, and a surrounding region, known as the penumbra. They appear dark because the magnetic fields get in the way of energy and heat being transported from inside the Sun to its surface.
5. **Temperature**: The central dark region, the umbra, is about **6,300 degrees Fahrenheit (3,500 degrees Celsius)**, whereas the surrounding photosphere is about **10,000 F (5,500 C)**.
6. **Solar Cycle**: The frequency and intensity of sunspots visible on the surface indicate the level of solar activity during the 11-year solar cycle that is driven by the sun's magnetic field.
261 Sunspots on July 31, 2024. Image taken with my Lunt 40mm Solar Telescope
It's important to note that while this is the generally accepted theory, scientists still don't fully understand how sunspots form.
Interested in looking at some sunspots? Grab those solar eclipse glasses before gazing at the Sun. You might be able to spot a few if you are lucky!
The Moon is the easiest object in the day and night sky to gaze upon. When the moon is fully illuminated, it is called the "Full Moon". The Full moon takes place every 29.5 days, or roughly once a month.
Each Full Moon has been given a name. The names of the full moon has its origins rooted in human cultures around the world. Here in North America, the names of the moon come from Native American culture, Colonial America, and other traditional sources. These names were used to track the seasons and reflect nature’s signs. Here are the commonly used full moon names for each month:
January: Wolf Moon - Named after the howling of wolves during this time of year.
February: Snow Moon - Reflects the heavy snowfall typically seen in February.
March: Worm Moon - Named after the earthworms that appear as the ground thaws.
April: Pink Moon - Named after the pink wildflowers that bloom in early spring.
May: Flower Moon - Represents the abundance of flowers during this month.
June: Strawberry Moon - Named after the strawberry harvest in June.
July: Buck Moon - Named for the time when male deer grow new antlers.
August: Sturgeon Moon - Named after the sturgeon fish that were abundant during this time.
September: Harvest Moon - Reflects the time of the main harvest.
October: Hunter’s Moon - Named for the time when hunting was easier under the bright moonlight.
November: Beaver Moon - Named after the time when beavers are active in preparation for winter.
December: Cold Moon - Reflects the cold winter nights.
STURGEON MOON - AUGUST 19, 2024
On August 19th 2024,, we will experience the Sturgeon Moon. This name originates from Native American tribes, particularly those around the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain, where the sturgeon fish were most abundant during this time of year.
Sturgeon at Night - AI Generated by Adobe Firefly
The sturgeon is a large freshwater fish, often referred to as a "living fossil" due to its ancient lineage. The Sturgeon Moon is also known by other names such as the **Grain Moon**, **Corn Moon**, **Lynx Moon**, and **Lightning Moon**, reflecting various cultural and seasonal aspects.
This year, the Sturgeon Moon will peak on August 19, 2024, and it also be a supermoon. A supermoon is when the Moon is closest to the Earth in its orbit and can appear brighter and larger in the night sky.
HARVEST MOON - SEPTEMBER 16, 2024
Harvesting at Night under Full Moon - AI Generated by Adobe Firefly
The Harvest Moon is the full moon that occurs closest to the autumnal equinox, which falls this year on September 22nd, 2024. Unlike other full moon names, the Harvest Moon is not tied to a specific month but rather to the timing of the equinox. This means it can occur in either September or October, depending on the lunar cycle.
One of the unique features of the Harvest Moon is that it rises soon after sunset for several consecutive nights, providing an abundance of bright moonlight early in the evening. This extended period of moonlight was historically beneficial to farmers, allowing them to work longer hours harvesting their crops, hence the name "Harvest Moon".
This year, the Harvest Moon will appear on September 16, 2024, and will reach its peak illumination at 10:34 PM EDT on September 17, 2024.
So, if you get a chance, check out the full moon and snaps some pictures! Until next time, happy moon observing! Take care, -Erik
Congratulations on getting your new telescope! Or maybe you are about to get a new telescope? You are about to discover and explore the hidden treasures in the night sky up close.
You probably have a few questions like how do I set up a telescope? In this blog update, lets review some basic terms that you need to know, and some general steps on how to to set up a telescope. My name is Erik, and I am an amateur astrophotographer.
Before we get started, a good place to start is with the manufacture's instruction manual or any videos they may provide online.
ALTITUDE AND AZIMUTH
So let's start first with some general terms. Altitude and Azimuth.
ALTITUDE and AZIMUTH are part of a local coordinate system on how we find the apparent location of celestial objects in the night sky. All measurements are expressed in degrees.
ALTITUDE, or ALT for short, stands for the altitude or elevation axis. On the horizon is the zero degrees altitude or elevation on the axis. Directly overhead is the zenith at 90 degrees altitude. Halfway in-between is 45 degrees.
AZIMUTH is "the direction of a celestial object from the observer, expressed as the angular distance from the north (Oxford Dictionary)."
In the northern hemisphere, we use Polaris to help find the celestial north pole, denoted as zero degrees north. Go clockwise 90 degrees from the celestial north, you will reach the 90 degree point, or East. Another 90 degrees clockwise is south at 180 degrees. Another 90 degrees clockwise is 270 degrees or West.
This coordinate system works best with Alt-Azimuth mounts. After initializing and star-aligning your mount, armed with your local position and time, you are able to slew your telescope to the apparent location of celestial objects that are potentially viewable from your location that is above the horizon.
For example, if the Moon is halfway up the horizon, by telling your APP or hand-controller to find the moon, its apparent position may be 210 degrees in azimuth and 45 degrees in altitude.
DEGREES
Before we move on, lets talk about degrees. It is helpful to know that degrees are further divided into arc-minutes. There are 60 arc-minutes to a degree.
And there are 60 arc seconds to a 1 arc-minute. So the apparent location of a celestial objects have a precise location that is always moving, due to the rotation of the Earth, or their own movement in space. So going back to our moon location, its apparent azimuth position tonight at this very moment might be 210 degrees, 30 minutes, and 29.5 seconds.
We also express the apparent width of objects in the night sky in degrees as well - like the Sun, Moon, planets, galaxies, nebulas, constellations, etc..
So far example, the Sun is approximately 1/2 degree apparent width or 32 arc minutes.
The moon has an apparent width of 29.4 and 33.5 arcminutes depending on its orbit, similarly at 1/2 a degree wide. As we just recently witnessed across North America, the moon was at the right spot in its orbit to give us a total eclipse on April 8th.
MORE ON CELESTRIAL NORTH
It is important to note that celestial north is not the same as true north or magnetic north. Celestial north is around 1 degree off of true north. However, magnetic north varies greatly due to your location on Earth due to magnetic declination. Magnetic declination is the angular difference between true north and magnetic north. Here just south of Atlanta, magnetic north is over 5 degrees west of true north.
CELESTRIAL SPHERE
Lets talk about another coordinate system that is used by astronomers and equatorial mounts. Let's start with the coordinate system we use here on Earth, Latitude and Longitude.
Latitude measures the distance north or south of the equator. It is expressed in degrees. 0 degrees latitude is equal to the equator. 90 degrees North is equal to the true north pole. 90 degrees South equals to the true South pole. The poles are where the Earth spins on it's axis.
Longitude measures distance east or west from the prime meridian. The prime meridian is an imaginary line from Greenwich, England, dividing the Earth into two hemispheres - West and East. It is measured in degrees, minutes, and seconds.
For astronomy, the sky has a similar coordinate system. There is a celestial north pole and a celestial south pole. Halfway in-between the north and south poles is the celestial equator.
DECLINATION
To help find objects in the night sky with this system, we describe celestial objects either north or south of the celestial equator in degrees. If the object is south, we use negative degrees. So for example, Antares is negative 26 degrees and 29 minutes, south of the celestial equator.
RIGHT ASCENSION
Right ascension is similar to longitude on Earth and the prime meridian and Greenwich, England. The "meridian" on the celestial sphere is determined on where the Sun falls on the celestial equator at the Spring equinox. The 360 degrees circle around the sphere is subdivided into 24 parts called hours. So as each hour passes, one hour advances on the celestial sphere. Actually slightly a little less at 10 seconds each hour. One solar days is 24 hours where one sidereal day is short 4 minutes of that. This is why the constellations are just a little further west at the same time each night, unless you live at the true north or south poles.
Equatorial mounts are polar aligned with the celestial poles. One the telescope has slewed to its declination location and right ascension location, the mount can track the object on one axis, adjusting for the rotation of the Earth.
So in astronomy, we use altitude (ALT) and azimuth to find objects in the sky. Based on your exact location and time, this coordinate system is used by your telescope mount to find objects in the night sky.
TELESCOPE MOUNTS
Telescope mounts fall in two categories. Alt-Azimuth (Alt-Azi) and Equatorial mounts (EQ).
ALT-AZIMUTH MOUNTS
Alt-Azimuth mounts are great for observation and planetary imaging. They are perfect for beginners. Some companies sell their telescopes that are attached with these types of mounts - like the Celestron Nexstar series. Some alt-azimuth mounts come with a hand controller. Others utilize an app from your mobile device. And still others like my Sky-Watcher SolarQuest alt-azimuth Solar Mount use both GPS and a HelioFind solar finder to locate and track the sun during the day. And more basic mounts are moved manually by adjusting knobs or through cables.
Setup is generally easy with an alt-azimuth mount. When setting up your equipment, ensure it is on stable ground. I normally get my equipment away from streetlights or the road. Next you want to extend the individual legs on your tripod to ensure your mount is level.
After providing power to your mount, go through the set-up process on your hand-controller or app. After performing a basic star alignment process, you are ready to go and explore the night sky.
If you are getting into this hobby, I recommend alt-azimuth mounts. They are mostly affordable and easy to setup. Strain-wave mounts like the ZWO AM3, AM5, the new Sky-Watcher Wave 100i and 150i and many others can operate in both alt-azimuth and equatorial modes.
EQUITORIAL MOUNTS
Equatorial mounts (and strain wave mounts operating in equatorial modes) are for both astronomers and astrophotographers. Once polar aligned, these mounts are able to track objects in the night sky for an extended period of time with higher accuracy. Depending on the mounts, they can also be moved through a app, hand-controller, or manually through knobs and/or cables.
I'd like to review my setup for my Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro Computerized Equatorial Mount. This equatorial mount has a 30 point payload capacity, hand-controller with a 42,900 object database, a built-in polar scope with an illuminator, two 11-pound counterweights, dovetail saddle.
Setting up these mounts have some common steps. However, your setup may vary. Please reference your instruction manual.
I normally set up my equipment one the sun is no longer shining on the spot where my telescope is going to be setup, but prior to complete darkness.
1. Find a good spot. Once again, look for dry, stable ground. Select an area that has a good view of the night sky while avoiding any unwanted lights.
2. Start with magnetic north (northern hemisphere). I use a compass to help me locate the approximate location of magnetic north. Since I know that my magnetic declination in my location is about 5 degrees to the west of true north, I'll point my mount and telescope about 5 degrees to the right (clockwise) to approximately true north. This is a great starting point.
3. Level the mount. My HEQ5 features a bubble level. I carefully extend or retract the tripod legs until the bubble is in the middle of the inner marked circle.
4. Assemble your support equipment. Since I am home, I run an electrical extension cord to my equipment. Otherwise, I would use a portable power supply. At this point, I usually set up a portable table and place my accessories there, like eyepieces, filters, covers, etc..
5. Attach your telescope. Be sure that all knobs are tightened, especially on the mount prior to placing your telescope on the saddle. You could not want your telescope optical tube coming lose or flopping unexpectedly.
6. Attached counterweights (if needed). If your telescope and attached accessories is going to strain the motors on the mount, or be unbalanced when moved, attach your counterweights. Be sure to tighten any screws so those weights do not move.
7. Balance your telescope. This is a two-step process. It involves positioning your telescope and counterweight rods horizontal the ground. You want to move your counterweights so that your rig is balanced. By releasing the RA lock lever, you can test to see if your rig is balanced.
The other test is whether your telescope is balanced in the saddle attachment. Carefully release the declination lock lever. If your telescope rig sags to one side of the other, relock the declination lock lever. Move your telescope forward or backwards and check the balance again.
8. Focus your telescope. If your eyepieces or imaging cameras have never been focused, I normally take this opportunity before complete darkness to focus my telescope. I'll try to find a radio antenna or other object in the distance to focus my telescope on. In my area, there is a communications antenna several miles away. I'll normally point the telescope at the top of the antenna on the red light. Once that is centered and focus, I'll ensure that any attached guidescopes, finderscopes, or starfinders are centered as well. Adjustments are normally made through screws and/or with hex wrenches.
WAIT FOR DARKNESS
Now I wait for darkness. Since my equipment was inside the house earlier, I like to my equipment some time to get acclimatized to the ambient air temperature. Once the night has hit nautical twilight, the brightest stars should be apparent in the night sky.
1. Focus. If my telescope needs to be focused, I'll take this opportunity to point the telescope to a bright star and focus. I'll cover Bahtinov mask and electronic focusers in another video.
2. Find Polaris (northern hemisphere). You can find the Polaris star in the northern hemisphere by using the end of the cup on the "Big Dipper". You are looking for the "Little Dipper" in Ursa Minor. Polaris is at a altitude that equals your latitude in the northern hemisphere. Atlanta is approximately 34° North in Latitude. Polaris for me is 34° in altitude near magnetic north. Using my hands, that is three fists and a half up the sky from level ground.
Photo Credit: NASA
3. Polar Align your Telescope. With my mount, I can utilize a polar scope reticule in the mount. By using the included hand-controller or any APP on my mobile phone, I will make manual adjustments to the mount by hand cranking both the Altitude Adjustment T-bolts and Azimuth Adjustment Knob to place Polaris in the exact location in the reticule.
When you have the ZWO ASIAIR Plus WiFi Camera Controller, polar alignment is even easier. Select the polar alignment (PA) tool in the app. The app plate solves the sky using your main imaging camera. Then it commands the mount to rotate and repeats the plate solving process. Once it is done, the app will tell you where Polaris. By manually adjusting the altitude and azimuth adjustment bolts and/or knobs, you can reach polar alignment. Never been easier to polar align.
Now that my equipment is setup, I am ready for the exciting part - observing and imaging the night sky. It takes some time to get used to this process. You may have challenges along the way. I know I did! Have patience. With repeated practice, it will get easier.
I hope this episode was helpful. If your interested in learning more about astronomy and astrophotography, be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel. Be sure to check out my video on this very topic.
Also, if your like me, there are no telescopes stores my area, not even in my state. I purchase all my astronomy gear and solar viewing gear from High Point Scientific. They have a huge inventory of astrophotography cameras, solar telescopes, solar eclipse viewing glasses, and more. By using the High Point Scientific link below in the description, you can help this channel. Thank you for your support.
Looking for a mount that is portable, lighter than your traditional equatorial mount? Look no further than the strain wave mounts. I just got the ZWO AM3. Let's unbox it!
WHAT IS A STRAIN WAVE MOUNT?
So what is a strain wave mount, also known as a harmonic mount? Traditional mounts use move your telescope through gears that are moved by small motors and gears. My Skywatcher HEQ5 equatorial mount has a worm drive turning a worm gear, connected to a middle gear, then a stepper move gear driven by a stepper motor.
Strain wave gearing uses a flexible spline with external teeth - that is deformed by a rotating elliptical plug to engage with the internal gear teeth of a an outer spline. Some advantages to this gearing system is that is suffers from no backlash, it is compact and light weight, has high gear ratios, and high torque capability.
According to the ZWO AM3 manual, this mount is great for astrophotography because the mount has low periodic error, stable transition, and a high torque output.
The AM3 features a large load capacity of 8 kilograms (a little over 17 lbs). My telescope and associated gear weighs about 6 kilograms or 13 lbs. Adequate for the AM3. The AM3 can handle up to 13 kilograms with a 5kg counterweight.
The AM3 can operate is two modes - equatorial mode and alt-azimuth modes for both visual observations and astrophotography.
You can operate the mount through the included hand controller, an APP, or through your computer.
UNBOX
1. Case x1
2. AM3 x1
3. 2-meter USB-B to USB-A 2.0 cable x1
4. AM3 Periodic Error Report x1
5. Quick Guide Brochure x1
6. Hand Controller x1
7. 2-meter Hand Controller Cable x1
8. M6 Allen key x1
9. M4 Allen key x1
They provide a light and portable option to their heavier counterparts. I just got my first one, the ZWO AM3. Check out my unboxing video below!
"Astronomy compels the soul to look upwards and leads us from this world to another". Until next time, take care.
We are quickly approaching what is being dubbed as the Great American Eclipse, with its path stretching from Mexico, the United States, and through to Canada on April 8, 2024.
In this episode, we will talk about how to get ready for this event of a lifetime!
IMAGE CREDIT: GreatAmericanEclipse.com
SOLAR ECLIPSE
What is a solar eclipse? A solar eclipse is when the moon is in a position to partially or totally block the light of the Sun. There are around two to five solar eclipses per year, with a total eclipse happening around every 18 months on our planet.
So let's talk about 5 TIPS you can do to get ready for the eclipse.
1. LEARN ABOUT ECLIPSES
Eclipses of the Sun and Moon are fascinating. Before our modern understanding, eclipses were viewed as bad omen of things to come, evoking fear in many. Eclipses are fascinating events to learn about. And so is astronomy! You can learn more about this eclipse by going to
So why can I not look at the Sun? Our eyes contains sensitive rod and cone photoreceptors in the retina. The Sun's ultraviolet light is absorbed in the retina and starts a process of destroying those photoreceptors. This all happens without you even sensing it. It can take up to 12 hours afterwards for you to notice symptoms. If this is the case, seek medical help.
Be sure to pick up solar eclipse glasses with the ISO 12312-2 certification. I purchased eclipse glasses in 2017 from the largest online retailer, and it turned out that the glasses that were purchased failed the certification standards. The ISO 12312-2 certification that applies to the glasses are for using the eclipses glasses with your eyes only, and not be to used in with camera lens, binoculars or a telescope.
Be sure to use my High Point Scientific link here to pick up some eclipse glasses before it is too late.
3. MAKE A DIY ECLIPSE VIEWER
Another fun DIY product you can do that is great with kids is making your own eclipse viewer. In the past, I've made eclipse viewers out of a MilkBone Dog treat box, and another time out of a LaQuinta hotel brochure. You can even make it out of a cardboard tube.
The idea is simple. Take the Sun end of the box or tube, a puncture a small hole in the middle with a thumb tack. The Sun end of the box or tube needs to be thick enough only to allow the light of the Sun through that end. Some DIY use aluminum foil.
On the projection end of the tube or box, have an area where the Sun's light will be cast in the color white. This is your "movie screen". You can use bright white notecards or paper taped on this side as your screen.
IMAGE CREDIT: NASA
Finally, you need a way to view your screen. You may need to cut an opening in the side of the box or tube to see the eclipsing sun.
4. USE A CAMERA TO TAKE ECLIPSE IMAGES
For this eclipse, I am planning on using my camera tripod, Canon R10 camera, a Canon RF 100-400mm Super telephoto zoom lens, an intervalometer and a Celestron – EclipSmart Safe Solar Eclipse Telescope filter, in order to take pictures throughout the event.
Once I set up my equipment, I'll use MANUAL mode on my camera. Focus in on the Sun by zooming in on a prominent feature like a high contrast feature, such as a Sunspot or the limb of the Moon.
I recommend going to Mr. Eclipse website and consult the chart that he has put together to work with your particular camera. The link is in the description of this video.
I'm practicing now with different settings to be sure I have everything down pat for the eclipse. Once totality takes place, I'll remove my Safe Solar Eclipse filter and take multiple shots using a faster shutter speed. Just be sure to get your filter back on before totality ends!
5. USE YOUR SOLAR TELESCOPE
I am also packing my Lunt 40mm dedicated Hydrogen-Alpha Solar telescope, and Sky-Watcher SolarQuest solar tracking mount for viewing this eclipse. I'm planning on using my ZWO 178MM monochrome camera to take images of the Sun with FireCapture software.
CONCLUSION
I'm really pumped for this day and really hope there are no clouds!! Otherwise, plan B is to enjoy the hotel pool with my family! If you haven't picked up your solar eclipse glasses, or are interested in telescopes, consider using my affiliate link in the description with High Point Scientific. I have purchased almost all my astrophotography and solar gear from them. They are amazing. By using my affiliate link, you are helping support this channel.
I'll leave you some words from the famous philosopher Plato.. "Astronomy compels the soul to look upwards and leads us from this world to another". Take care.
Enjoy learning more about Astronomy and Astrophotography? Come explore with me with my newsletters and YouTube channel.
Stacking is the process of importing your video files where the software selects your better images, aligns them, producing a final image should be sharp and impressive.
Hi, my name is Erik and I'm an amateur astrophotographer. In this episode, we will explore how to use ASIVideoStack and AutoStakkert Version 4.0 to stack your imaging session and try to determine which stacking software is better.
WHAT YOU NEED TO START
For this demo, we will need video files of the Sun, our stacking software ASIVideoStack and AutoStakkert!, and I will use Photoshop to make the final edits.
If your unfamiliar on how to image the Sun, please check out my GUIDE FOR SOLAR IMAGING for more details.
To get really clear and crisp images of the Sun, I recommend taking videos of the Sun (or Moon and planets) using the lucky imaging technique. Lucky imaging is where you use the video feature of your astrophotography camera to take a high number of short exposures so it minimizes the effect of Earth's atmosphere.
Video files can be recorded in the SER or AVI format. SER is preferred as it records the video file uncompressed in the highest possible quality. The files are written in the Bayer pattern of the camera while time stamping each frame.
Check the video output settings for your video capture software. If you are limited by memory or your computer processor is slow, consider the AVI format.
ASIVIDEOSTACK
First, lets stack our video in ASIVideoStack, which is a part of the ASIStudio software, available for download at ZWO. This software is free from ZWO and available on their website under their downloads section. It is very easy to use and understand. I will be using version 1.9.5 today. Open up the software and select ASIVideoStack.
You can either drag your video files in the right section of the window, or click the icon and load up the files. A pop-up window will be presented to select the Bayer pattern. Since I am using the ZWO 178MM Monochrome camera, I am selecting "They were captured by a mono camera".
Under Stack Type, I am going to select "Moon and Sun Surface"
Under Stack Percent, you can select how many of the images in the video file you want to stack. How much? Well, that is really hard to know. ASIVideoStack does not provide an analysis of the quality of your frames. If my seeing conditions were poor, or I imaged the Sun lower on the horizon, my stack percentage would be low. If my seeing conditions were excellent, and the Sun at a higher angle above the hozizon, my stacking percentage would be higher.
ASIVideoStack allows the minimum level of stacking at 20%. You can always run the stacking process multiple times and compare your results. I ran the stacking percentage at 20%, 50% and 75% and saw little difference. I likely had some good seeing conditions that day.
After stacking, ASIVideoStack gives you a number of actions available to modify your image by adjusting the Sharpness level, brightness, contract, saturation, noise reduction. You can select the Sun Color or Invert the Image.
You can use these features in ASIStudio and complete your imaging process. Click on your images and save them. You can always take your stacked images and make modifications in other image editing applications.
AUTOSTAKKERT
Autostakkert is another great freeware program to stack your images. Available for download at https://www.autostakkert.com/. It is a little bit more involved, but the finished product is better in my opinion. Once installed, open the Autostakkert application on your computer.
Once loaded, you want to load your video file. Click the button 1) OPEN. Find your video file and load it.
Once loaded, review the following options. In the Image Stabilization, you can check SURFACE or PLANET (Center of Gravity). Autostakkert recommends selecting surface for the Sun, Moon and deep-sky recordings.
On the Quality Estimator, I leave that in Automatic and Local (AP). I set the Reference Frame to Automatic. Next, click 2) Analyze.
Once the analysis is complete, look at the Quality Graph. I am going to select to stack the frames that meet or exceed the 50% horizontal line on the quality graph. Autostakkert designer Emil generally recommends discarding any images below the 50% quality line. He writes in September 2016 edition of Sky and Telescope magazine "to use more frames when seeing is good, and fewer when seeing is poor."
There are four columns in the stack options. You can run up to four stacking processing runs to get up to four different stacking results.
There are some great in-depth insights on Cloudy Nights that recommend other methods when selecting the percentage of images to stack. Be sure to check that out.
For "Super Resolution", I leave drizzle off. Drizzling is a technique that was developed for the Hubble Space telescope to get sharper image results images that are undersampled.
I go into more detail on proper sampling in my episode MISSING THE SUN IN MY LUNT TELESCOPE.
Next, go to the window of your image. You can explore the different frames, adjust the zoom to view your image, and get more details of your image in this window. We need to place an alignment point grid. Some tips here from Emil include:
Cover your entire subject with alignment points.
Large alignment points for areas with few details
Place AP Grid button can get good results
Manually placement of AP results can get better results.
For this video, I'm going to use place AP grid. Then press 3) Stack in the other window.
Results will be saved on your hard drive. From there, we are ready to edit the image.
IMAGE EDITOR
You can edit your image directly in Instagram, TikTok, and other social media applications. Here, lets edit them in Adobe Express and Adobe Photoshop.
Adobe Photoshop
Lets explore Adobe Photoshop. Load up your image. Next under IMAGE, I'll expand MODE in the dropdown menu, check RGB Color from Grayscale. This will allow me to assign a color to the Sun from my monochrome image.
Next under the FILTER selection, I'll click on CAMERA RAW FILTER. I have found that this is a powerful tool in Photoshop that allows me to make a lot of changes all in one spot. Since my image is still in the grayscale profile, the first thing I do is assign a color to the Sun. I expand COLOR GRADING, click the GLOBAL settings circle in the ADJUST area, and then bring the adjustment on the Global Color wheel to around the Hue 24 with saturation around 100. Hue 24 and Saturation 100 on the Color Wheel brings the Sun color to a mild orange color. From here, I press OK.
When I return back to the CAMERA RAW FILTER, you will notice that the color profile is now COLOR and not monochrome.
From here, I'll make adjustments in the CAMERA RAW FILTER to adjust the brightness, sharpen the image, and bring out the details that I think this image needs. Play around with the slides on the different adjustments and see how it impacts your overall image. If you don't like the adjustments, press CANCEL and start over.
Once you are satisfied with your work, goto FILE, click EXPORT, and QUICK EXPORT AS PNG.
HOW TO STITCH TWO IMAGES
You may find that your field of view is not large enough to take a whole image of the Sun. Or maybe the ZWO ASIAIR Wi-Fi Smart Camera Controller limits your region of interest (ROI) to 1080p, limiting your ability to get the whole Sun in your lucky image videos.
In this case, you can take two videos, stack them afterwards, and have to images. In this case, you will need to merge the images into one. Lets explore that process. Load up Adobe Photoshop.
Under FILE, expand AUTOMATE and click PHOTOMERGE. I keep the Layout in AUTO mode. Load your images of the Sun.
At the bottom of the window, I select BLEND IMAGES TOGETHER and CONTENT AWARE FILL TRANSPARENT AREAS. What this last selection does that in the event your images has some areas that are blank where outer space is at, it will make those areas black instead of transparent. A neat feature!
Once your images has been merge together, adjust the image as before. Once you are done, click FILE, click EXPORT, and QUICK EXPORT AS PNG.
CONCLUSION
All that is left is to share your discoveries and excitement with your family, friends, and followers! Hopefully this episode has given you some insights on how I process my solar images. I'm sure there are some better ways of doing it as I am still learning and growing in this hobby. Be sure to check out my video below on YouTube on Solar Stacking.
Also, if your like me, there are no telescopes stores my area, not even in my state. I purchase all my astronomy gear and solar viewing gear from High Point Scientific. They have a huge inventory of astrophotography cameras, solar telescopes, solar eclipse viewing glasses, and more. By using the High Point Scientific link below in the description, you can help this channel. Thank you for your support.
I'll leave you some words from the famous philosopher Plato.. "Astronomy compels the soul to look upwards and leads us from this world to another". Take care.
Enjoy learning more about Astronomy and Astrophotography? Come explore with me with my newsletters and YouTube channel.
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