đ A Night of Firsts
This night marked several milestones â my first planetary imaging session using a modded webcam, and my first successful attempt at stacking DSLR shots without guiding. The targets: Mars, the Pleiades, the Orion Nebula (M42), and the Triangulum Galaxy (M33). Not exactly âone object per nightâ â but I couldnât help myself.
đŽ Mars â A New Frontier
Until this point, I had only captured planets using my old Canon PowerShot SX240 HS, handheld in front of an eyepiece. But this time, I wanted more control. So I picked up a cheap Logitech webcam, removed the built-in lens, disabled the status LED, and glued on a 35mm film canister â a perfect fit for a 1.25″ focuser. (Coincidence? Maybe. But it felt meant to be.)
With the webcam in prime focus and SharpCap running, I captured short .avi videos at around 30 fps using various exposure and gain settings. Seeing wasnât ideal â Mars danced around like a flame in the wind â but even in the unstacked video, I could spot some surface shading. That alone felt like a win.
đ· Pleiades â Wide-Field Simplicity
While the webcam did its work, I set up my Olympus E-510 DSLR on a basic tripod and pointed it at the Pleiades. Using a 14mm kit lens and the 1/400 rule, I limited exposures to 10 seconds at ISO 400. I managed 30 light frames and 10 darks â quick, clean, and surprisingly effective. No nebulosity due to the short exposures, but the wide field view and star density made for a satisfying result.
đ M42 â Orion Nebula
Later that night â or early morning, really â I spotted Orion rising. I couldnât resist. I swapped the DSLR onto my SkyWatcher 150/750 Newtonian and went for it: five unguided 120-second exposures at ISO 400. The result on the DSLR screen blew me away. For the first time, I didnât need heavy stretching to see structure. M42 just glows. Itâs one of those objects that gives instant gratification. It demands attention.
đ M33 â Triangulum Galaxy
Feeling ambitious, I slewed the scope toward M33 using Stellarium as my guide. It turned out to be much dimmer and harder to frame than expected. After 21 light frames (also 120 seconds), I called it a night. The results? Tricky. M33 is faint and widespread, meaning its surface brightness is low â which I learned later is what makes it such a challenging target. My polar alignment was also a bit off, so many subs had trails. Still, some structure and nebulosity are visible â not a bad first pass.
đ§Ș Processing Highlights
Mars:
Working with .avi files from SharpCap was a huge improvement over my old .mov to .jpeg workaround. I stacked 1%, 5%, 10%, and 30% of the frames using AutoStakkert! and experimented with drizzle (3Ă upscale) to enhance detail. While drizzle can add noise, it also brought out surface texture I had never seen before. I ended up with two versions: one clean and drizzle-free, one richer (and riskier) with 3Ă drizzle. For the first time, I could actually see surface detail on Mars â with a âŹ10 webcam from eBay.
Pleiades:
The wide-field shots were processed in DeepSkyStacker using darks, and then stretched in GIMP2. No nebulosity showed up due to the short exposure, but there was a definite boost in star count and contrast compared to a single frame. Simple, clean, and a great result for a portable setup.
M42 â Orion:
Only five lights at 120 seconds each â not ideal. The initial edit pushed the red channel too far and ended up noisy. Months later, I revisited the data with fresh eyes and a better grasp of noise control. The second version is far more balanced. Compare them side by side â itâs a clear sign of progress.
M33 â Triangulum:
Despite 21 frames, M33 proved stubborn. The galaxyâs low surface brightness, combined with light pollution, a modest sensor, and imperfect polar alignment, all worked against it. Still, faint arms and some internal structure made it through. Itâs a target that clearly deserves a proper, dedicated session under dark skies.
đ Light Pollution Realities
Even without clouds, the skies werenât truly dark. Local LED street lamps, glowing clouds, and city light domes left their mark on every frame. Thankfully, I can switch off the nearby lamps during sessions â but the red-orange glow of nearby towns is a more persistent curse.
Images like the ones from this night remind me: location matters, but effort and creativity matter more.
đ§ Key Takeaways
- The âone target per nightâ rule? Broken. But in a good way.
- First successful webcam capture of Mars â and with it, real planetary detail for the first time.
- DSLR stacking (even unguided!) brings obvious gains. A simple tripod can go a long way with the right settings.
- M42 and M33 are both worthy of return visits. Next time, Iâll give them the attention they deserve.
Exploring both planetary and deep-sky imaging brings out two sides of the same passion â fast frames versus long exposures, patience versus speed. And Iâm starting to enjoy both.
Clear skies,
Chris