Read a comment about stacking 500 frames and finally got the hang of it

There was a thread on the M42 thread posted Tuesday where someone said they stacked 500 frames and still lost detail to the core. I been doing single 30 second shots for months and wondering why Orion looked flat. Last night I tried 120 frames at ISO 800 on my 8 inch dob in Tucson, and the trapezium actually showed up clear for the first time. Anyone else find that the number of frames matters way more than the exposure length?

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1 Comment

henry_kelly5423d ago

120 frames at ISO 800 on an 8 inch dob" sounds like you're doing fine, but stacking more frames just averages out the noise, not magic detail. Sure, it helps, but you're probably just seeing better tracking or seeing conditions that night.