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INDI Library v2.0.6 is Released (02 Feb 2024)

Bi-monthly release with minor bug fixes and improvements

Moon/planetary imaging workflow

  • Posts: 1029
  • Thank you received: 301
Recently I had very decent results imaging the Moon with Ekos, albeit with a manual procedure. It is probably overkill, but it might be interesting to package this into an automated method for other (non-sidereal eventually) relatively bright targets? Sun too, maybe, but I'm not in solar imaging.

First I aligned my eqmod mount in the area the Moon was. Too close would fail the alignment because of the brightness of sky glow, so I synced at a few degrees of the object.

Second, with the Moon centered, I switched the tracking rate to lunar tracking in the driver panel.

Third, I estimated the mean ADUs that provided a good exposure duration, with whites at 80%, using the flat frame calibration procedure. This is one of the "small features" I really love the best in Ekos, in the same vein as autofocus, it reduces configuration time a lot compared to manual fiddling.

Fourth, I took a small hundred of flat frames and stacked them using Registax. And I realize as I write this post I don't have the result at hand to attach :(

The first step can be nearly automated in Ekos, using specific stars as part of the planning session. One needs to select objects relatively close to the Moon.

The second step needs manual configuration, unless the field of view is large enough and tracking sidereal is not an issue. Having multiple schedule jobs with relatively low numbers of frames can help, but target must be recentered each time, and NOT aligned because it's not possible. Also, it's not easy to predefine a particular feature on such a big object with RA/DEC coordinates and lunar tracking.

The third step depends on the brightness of the object. The problem with the mean ADUs setting is of course the amount of object visible on the frame. Depending on focus length the same configuration could lead to a black frame with extended low-contrast features or a bright dot in the center of a black frame.

The fourth step is easy to automate using the capture panel, but only once the other configurations are evaluated.

-Eric
The following user(s) said Thank You: Jasem Mutlaq
6 years 5 months ago #20449

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Yes, planetary, moon (& solar) imaging could use improvements especially with setting of appropriate tracking rates. The tracking rate issue is probably easiest to implement now since most mounts support lunar & solar rates. Alignment shouldn't be a problem as well. It can go anywhere near the moon with some offset (e.g. 15 degrees)
6 years 5 months ago #20450

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