How to process AMAZING Solar images
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- Опубликовано: 26 июл 2024
- The definitive detailed tutorial on how to create breathtaking solar images from your raw data capture.
I have captured and processed thousands of solar images since my prior tutorial, and interviewed many of the world's top solar imagers to learn their tricks and tips. I have poured all of this experience and knowledge into this video.
I discuss best practices for Autostakkert, ImPPG, NAFE, Topaz denoise AI and Affinity Photo.
All images and video were taken by me. All hydrogen alpha photos were taken with my Lunt 100MT universal telescope. Broadband photos were taken with either the Lunt100MT or my TEC160FL with a herschel wedge.
I use a variety of solar cameras, more information on choosing a solar camera can be found here: • How to Choose a Solar ...
If you found this video helpful, and are considering investing in a solar telescope or equipment, I would appreciate you using one of my affiliate links. If you make a qualifying purchase it will cost you nothing, but I will receive a small commission. Thanks!
Agena Astro: bit.ly/3qfWaZS
Highpoint Scientific: www.highpointscientific.com/?...
Lunt 100MT solar telescope: tidd.ly/3V5zPYC
#sun #solarimaging #astrophotography
Links to software used in this video:
Autostakkert www.autostakkert.com/
ImPPG greatattractor.github.io/imppg/
NAFE www.zam.fme.vutbr.cz/~druck/Nafe/
Topaz denoise AI www.topazlabs.com/denoise-ai
Affinity Photo
affinity.serif.com/en-us/phot...
Affinity Photo astrophotography macros
jamesritson.gumroad.com/l/jr_... 
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I've been a Photoshop user for 20 years. Now thanks to you I am considering Affinity! I do all types of photography and glad you are showing solar! Thanks!
Great content thank you so much! I processed my latest halpha images seamlessly thanks to you 🎉
Fantastic! Glad it helped!
Mark, great video! Thanks for posting it...
Thanks Christine!
I had pretty good seeing this morning and thought I'd attempt to capture some good data and then try and learn how to make one of those WOW images. My image gradually gradually "POPPED" out as I followed your tutorial one step (go back, watch, and listen again) at a time. I'm blown away!
Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I promise to do the same.
D - Northampton, Western Australia
So glad you got a great result!
Nice detailed, Solar processing tutorial. I picked up some new tips from your video I will implement on my future images. Always trying to improve. Thanks!
Thanks!
I have learned so much from your videos. Thank you for taking the time and sharing your knowledge.
Thanks
Super video, thanks for sharing.
Thanks!
Outstanding detailed how-to guide! Thank you for your hard work.
Very nice explanation. Thanks for your effort.
Very nice tutorial.
Thanks
excellent job. great pacing, and examples. perfect, thanks.
Glad you liked it!
Super video, thanks!
Vey timely.
Just as the season starts to open up and my rigs are being dusted off after winter. I valued the previous solar processing video, and this continues the journey.
Thanks.
I've been experimenting with astrosurface but miss the tone curve of imppg.
Thanks for the videos they are a huge help for me to get H-alpha solar images and edit them!
Glad they are helpful!
Your videos are well-organized and very efficient, thanks for all this work. One small detail: Autostakkert doesn't re-order your video frames by quality. You can do that with PIPP but it will likely produce different results from Autostakkert.
Hi Scott. Thanks. If you check the Autostakkert page, one of the features listed is "Frame viewer to quickly scan through all the frames (sorted by quality)"
Your work is amazing if I could I would crown you the Solar Image King lol
Haha thanks Frank!
Thanks for sharing your knowledge. My question: how do you dial in good focus with your solar scope before capturing? Do you use Sharpcap to capture? Thanks.
Hi Andy, Now that this video is done my next project is updating my "how to capture" solar video, which will include a section on focusing because it's tougher with solar than planetary or night time. In summary there are several options with Sharpcap. 1) Find a contrasty surface feature like a filament and increase zoom to 2-300%. Rock the fine focus back and forth 3 or 4 times until you can settle on the sharpest image, and tighten down the focus. Since I’m an experienced imager, this is what I do most times 2) Use the histogram to adjust the sliders for maximum contrast (I'll have to show this, hard to explain) 3) Use Sharpcap Edge stabilization method under Tools. The other thing to keep in mind is focus will slightly change as the OTA heats up, so every 15 minutes you should check it.
Great tips, thanks! Looking forward to your how to capture video.@@AZASTROGUY
This is really great, thanks.
This is a new domain for me and I need help! :)
I am pretty good with deep-sky objects using my 73mm refractor and Ha/Oiii/Sii filters. Can I use my Ha filter (plus the solar filter, of course) to get the quality detail you get with that Lunt? I think my focus is ok and am using gain of 230 and 5 ms frames in the video. I usually capture 30 sec avi files.
I run them through AS and ImPPG, just as you've shown. My final image is alright but lacks the detail in the disc...I usually see several sunspots but little else.
Thanks!
No. Your Ha filter is in the range of 12-3nm. You need a notch 0.07 or narrower to see the Suns chromosphere. You need a Lunt or Quark or Coronado or Solar spectrum
@@AZASTROGUY
Thanks. I will have to revise my astro budget priorities now.
When you take multiple photos to merge into a panorama, do you make a masterflat for each panel or do you use the same masterflat for all panels? After you shoot flats in Sharpcap, is the masterflat set automatically at the start of shooting the sun or do you have to set it manually in Preprocessing? When I set it in Preprocessing the result is a disaster. Many thanks and congratulations for your videos which are very useful and well done.
In sharpcap, flats are specific to a particular camera, and a region of interest. Once that is set, expand the view of the sun, so it covers the entire surface, using zoom, and then take your flats. All subsequent photos will have the same flat applied. All subsequent photos should look uniform in brightness and will combine in a mosaic well.
When I try to use tone mapping, Affinity wants me to select an RGB pixel layer. I don't know how to do that. Can you help? Great video!! Thanks!
You need to first create a new pixel layer. Cntl-alt-shift-e
@@AZASTROGUY Thank you for the quick reply!
Hi Mark,
I just downloaded one of your images from Telescope Live. There were 3 files included as part of the download and I am not sure which one I should process.
I provided the raw file which appears to have the lowest detail, a file after I used, ImPPG, and a fully processed file. So, if you want to do the entire process, you should start with the file that appears to have the least detail.
I see the image size is below 3MB . Is it possible to have larger file sizes available on Telescope Live?
@@davidstearn1342 that’s probably the size of the TIFF. Remember it’s monochrome
I see, is the more detailed image inverted?
@@davidstearn1342 yes, as I explained in the video, inverting the image makes the filaments stand out better and the image more “3D”
New to all this Solar imaging… all my planetary cameras are one shot color…can they be used, or do I have to go and buy another camera?
You will only get good results with a mono camera
I do have a Lodestar that I had been using as a guide camera for the deep sky stuff…would that work at all? Thanks for the quick reply. Michael
@@AZASTROGUYif not, can u recommend a reasonable mono camera? 33:27
@@mtcosta111 The Lodestar might be a great guide camera, but from looking at the specs it has a 8.4 um pixel size and very slow frames per second. To recommend a camera I really need to know the focal ratio you will be shooting at. For example, a Lunt at F7, or an apochromat in white light at F9, or a Quark on an F7 at F30? You should at my 'how to choose a solar camera' tutorial which explains all this. Also depends upon your aperture and whether you really want to see a full disk or whether you want to zoom in on prominences. Check out the video then let me know if you still have questions. Good luck!
Should the imaging be done only with a solar telescope OR can it be done with using a white solar filter too
I show examples of how to process both. You can image in white light with a normal refractor using either an over-the-objective broadband filter or a herschel wedge (from Lunt or Baader), or, you can use a dedicated Hydrogen set like Lunt, Coronado, Daystar/Quark, or solar spectrum
@@AZASTROGUY Thanks for the response. I have a white light solar filter custom fit for my 60mm.
@@AZASTROGUY Have the Baader Ceramic Herschel prism, with a solar filter and a green filter and shooting with ASI 432MM, but getting only sun spots. Anyway I can use what I have to capture details you've shown in this video? Thanks!
@@TrevorSimington82 That set up will give you great details of the photosphere (depending upon the aperture of your refractor) but you are are looking at a broadband view of the photosphere. In order to see the Chromosphere (which shows all the solar flares, prominences, filaments, etc) you need a VERY narrowband hydrogen alpha setup. Essentially this means you must use equipment from Lunt, Coronado, Solar Spectrum or Daystar/Quark.
When getting flats in sharpcap for a full disc and a cereal bag, does one need to increase gain or change anything else?
When taking solar flats do not adjust the gain. Only the exposure. I typically have to move to 3-500 milliseconds to get a centered histogram
@@AZASTROGUY I saw lots "how to" info on full screen images but nothing on full dusk/filling part if the screen. Do the same principles apply?
@@hael8680 My comments here are related to maximizing image quality. You need to figure out based on your aperture and focal ratio whether a particular camera will fill the screen or not.
@@AZASTROGUY my hope is getting best image quality. I don't get your last comment. Thanks anyway for your time. Much appreciated.
Where can I find the 2024 version of NAFE - thanks
I got an evaluation copy. I have asked the author to release it but it’s up to him. You should ask him too
Amazing tutorial! I did mix it with my old technic and it give so much more details now.
But for Denoise AI, its now discontinued and its now merge into Photo AI. I took Photo AI, it work fine but they don't have the Soft light anymore (like i could see in the tutorial version).
So i m wondering, how could we adjust in the Photo AI?
Have a great day!
Wouldn't know they change the product right after I endorse it?? I'm in contact with them to find out the equivalent PhotoAI denoise settings to reproduce the 'low light' function of DeNoise AI. Will update this tread as soon I get and confirm the answer.
@@AZASTROGUY thx :)
I was suprise too. I asked them why there was only the trial version and thats what they said:"
The features of DeNoise AI were merged into Photo AI, and we discontinued the individual app DeNoise AI (and Sharpen AI)."
Then i asked how to reproduce the same effect..."Photo AI has the same functionality! Some of the models have been renamed, although we don't have a model called soft light in either app. Feel free to end back a screenshot, so I can take a look to confirm.
I believe you may be referring to the Low Light model in DeNoise AI, and the equivalent in Topaz Photo AI is the Remove Noise - Normal model".
@@DenisineD2 Yes I'm in communication with them now. Their first response is that Remove Noise- Normal Model is like "low Light" in the prior version but more powerful. I need to download the software and check it against several sample images. There may be some back and forth with techsupport so give me a few days and I'll respond with my conclusions here.
@@AZASTROGUY oki perfect, well on my side, i was looking for the Denoise AI, and they did answer that in my emails.
It work but yes its more powerful
Thx for the quick answer :)
@@DenisineD2 OK here's what I found out. At the moment there is no exact analog to "low light" mode in DeNoiseAI when you use PhotoAI. However, you can reproduce a similar result with the following method. Open PhotoAI, delete whatever it guesses you want (Autopilot does not work well in this application). Then under Enhancements select DeNoise. You'll probably have to lower it from what it thinks you need. I found it too heavy handed on automatic. Once Denoise is adjusted, under Enhancements choose Sharpen and do the same thing making a light adjustment. You can also use the selection brush to highlight just a prom, or a filament etc for sharpening or denoising. I'm asking if there's a way to save a custom setting which would speed things up. Hope that helps.
Hi would be possible that you share a raw file to do some practice? I do not have a solar telescope. Best regards Fermin
Let me know if this works:
drive.google.com/file/d/1YL00y-IoLB2x9hm0BrhjeBQO78n1UFYU/view?usp=sharing
@@scottsdale90 thanks 😊 I will try it
Thanks it work very well