Image Processing by Nik Szymanek

This series of tutorials guides us through image processing techniques developed by Nik Szymanek. You can practice these techniques with the associated images provided. Click on "Associated dataset" to download them.

SPECIFICATIONS

Tutor .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Nik Szymanek

Parts .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 9 videos

Duration .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 2h 13m

Image type .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Deep Sky Imaging

Difficulty level .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Intermediate

Category .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Techniques

Tier .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Premium

Software used .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... FITS Liberator , Photoshop , PixInsight

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PART 1

Data visualization with Pixinsight

PART 1

Data visualization with Pixinsight

Comments

Mohammed Al Sabah

You make it look so easy. Thank you for taking us through it so seemingly simply.

Nik Szymanek

Thanks very much Mohammed! It does get easier if you keep at it. :-)) Glad it was of use to you.

Viktor Tóth

Thank you for the detailed tutorial. Where can you get the red, green and blue filtered images? Pro Datasets include a variety of pictures but none is labelled as R, G or B.

Without these, I am unable to put together the RGB image in PS. Thank you.

Reply: 3

Nik Szymanek

Hi Viktor. Glad to hear that you like the tutorial. The Pro Datasets should include the full set of sub-exposures for the chosen target. Some datasets will consist of narrowband sub-exposures so they won't be labelled R, G, or B but you can still produce an excellent colour image using the 'Hubble' palette. Let me know which datasets are you interested in processing and I'll check the filter data for you. Regards, Nik

Viktor Tóth

Thank you for your intention to help me, Nik. I have just received my first One Click Observation. The package includes 3 files: one with SII, the other with Halpha, the third with OIII filter. They don't mean anything to me. When I generate the tiff files and want to merge channels in RGB in PS, I don't know which filter corresponds to the G, R, B filter.

I am totally new to AP, and have just little experience with PS therefore I am lost with filters and the various raw files one package may contain. Is there a tutorial which explains these filters and the way these images could be merged to a colored file?

Nik Szymanek

Hi Viktor. No problem...that's what we're here for! :-)) OK, your first One Click file is a narrowband set which is slightly different to RGB sets. In principle, you can create a colour image out of the data by doing the following: Copy the SII file to the RED channel, Copy the Ha file to the GREEN channel and then the OIII file to the BLUE channel. This is the Hubble palette that I referred to earlier. When you view the combined image the stars may be out of registration but you can move the channels independently to align them. I suggest you use the Ha channel as the main channel and align the other two to that. The image will look a bit green but that's perfectly usual. Use Photoshop's Selective Colour menu to change the colours to a view that you like. I do have have Photoshop tutorials on the Telescope Live website. Search for my name on the Tutorials page and then scroll through them to the tutorial titled 'Creating a Narrowband Image with Photoshop'. Let me know how you get on. Which object did you image with your One Click observation? Cheers. Nik

Yann Le Touze Le Touze

Thank You for this very instructive series :) learned a lot and now i understand why my images were so crappy lol

Nik Szymanek

Thanks for the positive feedback Yann,. Glad to hear it was of use. :-))