NG's amateur astronomy and astrophotography

NG's amateur astronomy and astrophotography Images and videos of my attempts to image the skies with my gear. I am Dr. Natarajan Ganesan. I have been interested in Skywatching since I was young.

This page is also to share some useful information in regards to amateur astronomy and astrophotography, in general. A Biomedical Researcher by training and an amateur astronomer and astrophotographer by passion (among others). This page is my journey into the world of Amateur Astronomy and Astrophotography. My Dad introduced me to the wonders of the sky. Eclipses, identifying stars and constellat

ions, and much more. Even today when I look to the skies, I think of him being out there somewhere. My progress, from then on, has been in streaks and spurts over the decades. Initially, it was getting the monthly sky chart in the local newspaper and using a handheld torch under the skies. My interest in Optics pulled me further into the field. My research background helped a bit. My real interest started in the last few years when I started out with my DSLR and a tripod. Gradually moved on to an EQ-1 motorized mount. Recently I got a good tracker with Polar alignment ability. My latest addition is a 4-inch Maksutov with GoTo capabilities. I also have a dedicated 2MP Astro camera. The software that I use is all free and open source. https://www.linkedin.com/in/natarajanganesan/

A photomosaic of the Milky Way from the DWARF LAB Mini setup.Captured 3 panels of 10s shots. Each panel was a 5-minute i...
07/12/2026

A photomosaic of the Milky Way from the DWARF LAB Mini setup.

Captured 3 panels of 10s shots. Each panel was a 5-minute integration at Gain 40.

Used Photomerge in Photoshop. Minor curve touchup in GIMP.

Capturing the intricate filaments of the Swan Nebula (M17) turned into a tense game of peek-a-boo with fickle summer clo...
07/12/2026

Capturing the intricate filaments of the Swan Nebula (M17) turned into a tense game of peek-a-boo with fickle summer clouds, but managed to pull this off from 58 min data. Even an initial Graxpert without star removal gave some clean output.

Data Acquisition:

Target: Swan Nebula (M17)

Optics/Camera: DWARF LAB Mini

Mount: Equatorial (EQ) Mode on tripod

Filter: Built-in Duo-Band (H-alpha / O-III)

Sub-Exposures: 116 x 30 seconds (58 minutes total integration)

Camera Settings: Gain 50

Processing Workflow:
The raw FITS data underwent a modern starless/recomposed pipeline to isolate the delicate emission structures:

Calibration & Pre-processing: Initial calibration and SCNR cleanup in SIRIL.

Gradient Removal: Linear background extraction via GraXpert.

Star Separation: Starnet within SIRIL. Recomposed from within SIRIL.

Stretching & Recomposition: SIRIL - Used Generalized Hyperbolic Stretch for first time. Maybe regular stretch would work as well.

One day ...
07/11/2026

One day ...

07/04/2026

For centuries, lenses have worked the same way: curved glass or plastic bending light to bring images into focus. But traditional lenses have a major drawback—the more powerful they need to be, the bulkier and heavier they become.

Hunting the Crescent Under a Full Moon 🌙✨Today's target was the Crescent Nebula (NGC 6888) in Cygnus. The catch?  The fu...
06/30/2026

Hunting the Crescent Under a Full Moon 🌙✨

Today's target was the Crescent Nebula (NGC 6888) in Cygnus. The catch? The full moon nearby was casting a gradient across the sky as time went by. The duo band was only so effective. Else I could have hoped to get the O III colors as well, for the integration time.

After a 2 hour and 20 minute integration in EQ mode using the DWARF mini, I stacked the raw data in Stellar Studio, followed by a few default adjustments on my phone.

I’m thrilled by how much of the surrounding, swirling background nebulosity came through despite the heavy moonlight! 🔭☄️

Acquisition Details:
Target: Crescent Nebula (NGC 6888)
Gear: DWARF mini (EQ Mode) + Duo-Band Filter
Exposure: 30s | Gain 100
Total Integration: 2 hours 20 minutes
Processing: Stellar Studio & Mobile tweaks

How to tell if your subexposures are long enough? Check this link out ...
06/30/2026

How to tell if your subexposures are long enough? Check this link out ...

Have you ever seen a comparison of two different stacked images wit...

Bit of math here but worth a watch. How much of a sub length is ideal? There is this calculator that helps decide the op...
06/25/2026

Bit of math here but worth a watch. How much of a sub length is ideal? There is this calculator that helps decide the optimal sub exposure length and calculations underlying it

I made a sub-frame calculator for . It's available...

A must share and must watch for any astrophotographer.
06/20/2026

A must share and must watch for any astrophotographer.

Have you ever wondered why your astrophotography images don’t look ...

I wanted to share my image of the Eagle Nebula with the Pillars of Creation that I captured using the DWARF LAB Mini. Th...
06/17/2026

I wanted to share my image of the Eagle Nebula with the Pillars of Creation that I captured using the DWARF LAB Mini.

This is a starless version of the M16 Eagle Nebula. The overall look gave a feel of a serene smiling face. Science meets art 🙂.

This target was on my list for a long time. 'Pillars of Creation' always sounded cool🙂. I wanted to see how many details I could get in this super mini rig.

I heard about Starless processing but never tried it, so I decided to give it a try in SIRIL. I also planned for two sessions to get some good data. I decided to experiment a bit with both my acquisition and processing.

Acquisition Details:

Total Integration: 3 hours over a couple of nights
Date: June 11th and June 15th, 2026
Subframes: 30s subs in EQ mode
Sessions: Session 1 (1 hr) was at Gain 90, while Session 2 (2 hrs) was at Gain 50.
Stacking: Combined into a "Megastack" using Stellar Studio.
Processing Workflow: Took the stacked data into Siril and went starless to perform the initial data stretching. Later as I was bringing them together in GIMP to recompose, the starless version alone looked unique and pleasing.

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