I created the image from material that I captured with two different cameras. I collected the RGB data using the Canon color camera, while I captured the luminance data with the cooled ToupTek mono camera.
The combination was a bit of an experiment, as I am considering buying a SkyEye24AC camera in addition to my SkyEye62AM. The color camera has pixels similar in size to the Canon, so I was curious about the processing and the final result.
The Imaging Sessions
I created the image from data collected during three photo sessions.
The first session took place in my home garden. Time was limited, so I used the OSC camera — my Canon EOS R(a) with its large pixels. Since the session was supposed to continue for some time after the meridian flip and would eventually be shooting toward the city, I decided once again to use the Baader UHC-L Booster filter.
Sessions two and three were a first for me. By then I had already taken quite a few images under dark skies, but I had never brought my astrophotography equipment along on a family vacation. The weather forecast looked promising, so I packed my travel companion for the trip.
On the day before the first session — the arrival day — I had already tried to start imaging. Setup was quick and everything was ready fairly soon, but for some reason the Raspberry Pi’s Wi-Fi refused to work. At some point I gave up.
Temperatures were around –5 °C. My guess is that it was simply too cold for the Pi. On the following two evenings things went better, although the same startup issues repeated themselves.
Sessions two and three then ran more or less smoothly. Due to the surrounding buildings I had to stop around 1 a.m. each time, even though I would have liked to expose for longer.
High-resolution on Astrobin:
The annotated image:
Session Details:
| Telescope | Baader Apo 95 Travel Companion |
| Focal Length | 590mm |
| Erecting Lense | Baader M68 Field Flattener |
| Camera | ToupTek SkyEye62AM, Canon EOS R(a) |
| Filter | Baader LRGB (CMOS Optimized) 50.4mm Baader UHC-L Booster (CMOS Optimized) 50.4mm |
| Mount | Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro, Belt and Hypertuned |
| Guiding Equipment | William Optics Uniguide 50 |
| Guiding Camera | ToupTek GPM462M |
| Photography Date | RGB: 12/25/2025 Lum: 12/27/2025, 12/28/2025 |
| Exposure-Time Lights | Lum: 80 x 300s RGB: 45 x 300s |
| Correction frames | FLATS, DARKS |
| Sensitivity | GAIN 100 / Offset 125, ISO 1600 |
| Processing Date | 01/23/2025 |
| Software Stack | Stellarmate OS, PixInsight, Affinity Photo |
| Capture Place | RGB: Koblenz, Germany Lum: Rinchnach, Germany |
