Pro tip: stacking 50 frames instead of 10 made my Andromeda shot way cleaner

I took two sets of the same target last month, one with 10 lights and one with 50. The extra frames cut the noise down so much you can actually see faint dust lanes now. What's the minimum number of subs you all aim for on a galaxy target?

3 comments

3 Comments

nguyen.tara27d ago

How long were your single shots? I found the sweet spot for my old DSLR was stacking at least 60 subs, each 90 seconds. My first try on the Triangulum Galaxy with only 20 frames looked like grainy soup, but pushing past 60 finally showed the faint structure. More data just lets the stacking software work its magic better.

elizabethhayes1mo ago

Yeah, that extra data from stacking more frames is a game changer. I did the same thing with M81 last season, went from 15 to 60 subs and the difference in the faint outer arms was crazy. I try to get at least 40-50 good ones for a decent galaxy shot now.

jana_fox501mo ago

What exposure length were you using for those M81 shots, @elizabethhayes? I pushed my Andromeda data from 30 to 90 two-minute subs last fall... the extra integration time really smoothed out the background and pulled in so much more dust lane detail.