Gear
- Telescope – Meade 70mm Series 6000 Refractor
- Main Camera – ZWO ASI294MC Pro
- Filter –Radian Triad Ultra Quad-Band Narrowband Filter
- Mount – HEQ5
- Guide Scope – ZWO 30mm f/4 mini guide scope
- Guide Camera – ZWO ASI290MM
- Controller – ZWO ASIAir Pro
Acquisition
- 26 Light Images at 120 gain, 300s exposure
- 30 Dark Images
- 100 Bias Images
- 22 Flat Images
When I got the Optolong L-Enhance the first nebula I shot was the California Nebula. It’s the easiest nebula to capture in my backyard. I pretty much shoot from east to west. North is blocked mostly by the house and south has a bunch of trees. The California Nebula comes up at the perfect time in the east and I can focus on it all night. As my first capture of a nebula I was pretty blown away from my results even though it lacked some details.
After a month and half of waiting I finally just received the Radian Triad Ultra. So, here we are again first time shooting California Nebula. This filter really cuts light pollution. The L-Enhance is a dual-band narrowband filter while the Radian Triad Ultra is quad band. That allows for more emission details to come through which is really rad. I like the dust trail on the outer areas. I was also able to get cloud detail in the inner area. I really that last time.
Another difference between my first and second shot is exposure. Originally I shot 180 exposure. But with this filter and how clear the night was I went 300s exposure. I think it definitely helped in capturing more details.
Overall, results between Radian Triad and the L-Enhance are pretty drastic. L-Enhance got me really excited about the hobby I jumped into. But the Radian got me wanting to shoot and reshoot everything and anything. I really want to reshoot the Elephant Trunk Nebula. I got a lot a detail with the L-Enhance. I can’t imagine the amount I could capture with this awesome Radian Triad. Just excited and wanting more clear skies.