[Theme] Night sky shots

[Øivind Tøien]

I would not complain either . Worth investigating further.

Very true!

Thanks, Akira.

[Nasos Kosmas]

Excellent shot Oivid
I didn’t  understood how you used pixel shift, did you run all shots on this mode?

[Øivind Tøien]

Excellent shot Oivid
I didn’t  understood how you used pixel shift, did you run all shots on this mode?

Thanks, Nasos, in this case the pixel shift mode is mostly just used to automate sequences of 32 exposures without gaps between them. Each sequence has to be started manually or by careful use of an intervalometer. (With further testing I have found that with 30 sec exposures, which in reality is 32 seconds, and a 2 second release delay set in the pixel shift menu, an interval of 17min and 15 seconds with a one second "exposure time" work OK to continue the next sequence.) Pixel shift mode is limited upwards to max 30 sec exposures. As the tracking is not accurate enough it is unlikely to increase resolution, but the slight shifts might contribute to place noisy pixels at different positions, reducing walking noise etc. The proper process of manual dithering is to slightly shift the framing at intervals to randomly distribute fixed pattern noise on different pixels, but the shifts of the current pixel shift mode is probably too small to accomplish too much in this respect. (One could wish for Nikon to introduce proper astro dithering with larger shifts as an alternative in firmware).  I sometimes do micro-adjustments of polar alignment at 20 min intervals as an imperfect substitute for this, that may help a little in combination with inaccurate tracking.

[Akira]

Is there anyone on the southern hemisphere shot this Comet G3?

https://petapixel.com/2025/02/07/the-great-comet-of-2025-g3-atlas-lights-up-the-skies-in-stunning-photos/

[Nasos Kosmas]

Very good explanation Oivid that’s what I thought   
Akira very nice comet unfortunately I can’t see It from here

[Øivind Tøien]

Thanks, Nasos, glad it helped.

Is there anyone on the southern hemisphere shot this Comet G3?

https://petapixel.com/2025/02/07/the-great-comet-of-2025-g3-atlas-lights-up-the-skies-in-stunning-photos/

In lack of any of our members in the southern hemisphere that made it, you could check out one of the dedicated threads at Cloudy Nights:
https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/949391-comet-2024-g3-atlas-new-daylight-comet/page-7#entry13952649

The link points to one of the last excellent posts (make sure to click image for larger version). Based on posted images on the next page it looks like it is fading to a bleak version of what it was - not surprising considering that it lost its head and is heading away from the sun towards deep space.

[Akira]

Akira very nice comet unfortunately I can’t see It from here

Nasos, let's enjoy the link provided by Øivind!

In lack of any of our members in the southern hemisphere that made it, you could check out one of the dedicated threads at Cloudy Nights:
https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/949391-comet-2024-g3-atlas-new-daylight-comet/page-7#entry13952649

The link points to one of the last excellent posts (make sure to click image for larger version). Based on posted images on the next page it looks like it is fading to a bleak version of what it was - not surprising considering that it lost its head and is heading away from the sun towards deep space.

Øivind, thank you for the link!  The image you are referring to looks really beautiful, especially the delicate texture of the tail.

[Bruno Schroder]

Better late than never, what I could get from the October 2024 comet. D500 500/5.6PF untracked.

I should buy a tracker ...

[Bruno Schroder]

I should really buy a tracker

[Akira]

I should really buy a tracker

Bruno, this looks like a beautifully panned CIF (comet in flight) image!

[Bruno Schroder]

CIF, that’s funny, Akira. I’ll reuse it Thank you!

[Akira]

The great triangle in summer.

In Tokyo, there have been little opportunities for the night sky shot, because it tends to be cloudy in the night even if it is clear during the daytime.  Tonight (June 30) we finally had clear sky.

Shot with SIGMA fp@ISO3200 and 1.6sec., 45mm f2.8 wide open, Kenko Starry Night (colored light pollution reduction) and Pro Softon B filters stacked.  In Adobe ACR, both Contrast and Clarity sliders are raised to 100%.