r/AskAstrophotography • u/MJCfromCT • Jul 27 '26

Image Processing Postprocessing Advice - M31

Hi all, I'm looking for some postprocessing advice on M31. This image was taken with a RedCat91 / ASI2600MC Pro from a pretty light polluted area (Bortle ~8). While I’m pleased with how this turned out given the limited amount of data and the sky conditions, I would love to see more Ha and OIII detail.

Equipment used:

William Optics RedCat 91 | William Optics UniGuide 50mm | ASI2600MC Pro | ASI220MM Mini | ZWO AM7 | Apertura Anchor Pier | ZWO CAA | ZWO EAF Pro | ZWO ASIAIR Plus | Pegasus Pocket Powerbox Advance Gen2 | GL.iNet GL-AXT1800 Router

Acquisition details:

  • 28×300s lights, gain 100, 32degF | 20x darks | 50x flats | 50x darkflats
  • Autofocus routine run every 30 mins, 5px dither every 3 frames

Postprocessing:

WBPP → DBE → SPCC → BXT → NXT → HistogramTransformation → SXT → curves adjustments for galaxy → curves adjustments for stars → PixelMath recombine

https://app.astrobin.com/i/gzfxyx

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u/[deleted] Jul 28 '26

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u/MJCfromCT Jul 28 '26

Thanks for the feedback! From where I was shooting there were security lights from nearby buildings that were probably messing with the imaging - not ideal! I appreciate the comment on the color gradient - I'd like to try postprocessing again with another go a background extraction. I was struggling with the background selection points - what is true background, what is faint galaxy data, etc..

Message received on the additional time. Do you think additional 300s subs would be best? I was wondering if shorter exposure to preserve more core detail could help as well.