About

Hello, and welcome to Deep Sky Workflows! I picked this name because most of my images are deep sky objects (DSO) and I wanted a place to post what I learn as I gain experience with astrophotography and image-processing or workflows.

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It’s great to have a place to share my deep sky explorations and astrophotography journey with you. In the beginning of 2021, I purchased an observation station named Stellina. It is a fully automated system for capturing deep sky images. What intrigued me about the unit was the claim that it could handle light polluted areas and the ease of setup. I took a chance, purchased the scope and have not been disappointed.

Stellina pointed at the stars
Stellina pointed at the stars

My first observation was the popular M42 Orion Nebula. It is a bright nebula, so it photographs quite easily. Despite shooting from a deck next to a street lamp over the glow of downtown Monroe, WA, Stellina still pulled off an amazing image.

M42 Orion Nebula
M42 Orion Nebula

I quickly learned that the images are produced by stacking. Multiple 10-second exposures are combined to create the result. The average of the images helps reduce noise and increase signal. Some images like this picture of the bright star Arcturus only need a few subframes (referred to as “subs”).

A win for both of us
đź›’ Shop for canvas, metal, and paper astrophotography prints

Astrophotography is an expensive hobby, but very rewarding. I am blown away by what is possible with modern technology, knowledge, and patience. If you are a fan of space art, I propose a win for both of us. Click the link for my online astrophotography shop and find a picture (or pictures) you like. Have it printed on the medium of your choice (my favorite is metal) and you will receive beautiful piece of natural art to display while I receive a small profit that I will reinvest into astrophotography. If you see an image in the gallery that's not available in the shop, let me know and I'll have it added. Thanks for your time and attention and I hope you consider claiming a piece of art for yourself.

As an Amazon affiliate I may receive commission for purchases made from links on this site. Another way to help support this site is by visiting Amazon through my affiliate link to buy your items.

Arcturus
Arcturus

Other images, like the elusive Triangulum Galaxy, require far more subframes to draw out the detail. I learned I can pull the subframes from the telescope using a thumb drive and process them on my computer. That allows me to combine data from multiple observations (even different nights of the year) to produce a final result. This image was combined from 1,200 subframes for a total exposure time of over three hours!

M33 Triangulum Galaxy
M33 Triangulum Galaxy

Eventually, I purchased additional hardware and pieced together my own system. This is an image taken by a Celestron EdgeHD 9.25" Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope using a dedicated one shot color astrophotography camera called the ZWO ASI294MC Pro.

Running Man Nebula
Running Man Nebula

There are many tips and techniques involved with processing images and I’ll share them in this blog.

That’s it for the introduction. I’ll keep it short and sweet for now, and I look forward to sharing more!

Regards,

Jeremy Likness