Look! No Filters!

Last night provided an hour or so of cloud free skies for imaging. Sky glow was very faint and I decided to follow some advice I was given and to try imaging without a UHC filter. The results were interesting--exposures were a little more than half the length of those with the UHC filter. I had to adjust the histogram during capture to darken the sky background, but the results were interesting. Overall, contrast was improved, and detail, too, on very faint objects. Here is a "before and after" image of the Flame. The first image is a processed version of the second. The second is a 12-second integration with the histogram dark point adjusted to darken the sky.  I may try "filter free" imaging on clear, dark nights more often.

Compare these images with the 20-30 second integrations of the 1.27.16 post in this blog.

Equipments was VRC 6, DSm, and 0.5x focal reducer.

Processed 12-Second Integration of Flame Nebula

Original Capture with Histogram Adjustment