Hot take: That Orion nebula shot from last month needed a shorter exposure

I was out at Cherry Springs State Park three weeks ago trying to get the Orion Nebula with my 8-inch Dob and a phone mount. First 10 tries were just a blurry mess of overexposed core, no detail. Finally dropped my exposure time from 15 seconds down to 6 seconds and stacked 40 frames instead of 10. The trapezium stars popped out clear as day. Anyone else find that shorter subs work better for bright DSOs before you start layering?

3 comments

3 Comments

rosepark5d ago

Funny how cutting back often shows more detail, isn't it?

shane_morgan4d ago

Oh totally, that's so true! I was working on this little flower drawing last week and kept piling on colors, but as soon as I pulled back and just used a few simple strokes, the petals looked way more real. It's like our brains just fill in the gaps when we give them a little room to breathe. Really makes you appreciate the art of leaving things unfinished on purpose.

sean484d ago

Nah, I kinda feel like more strokes lets me add the tiny details that make it pop.