Celestron NexImage Burst Color NexImage Burst Manual - Page 5

6. You will automatically advance to the Stack screen. Accept the default settings and press the Stack button (F). See Fig 13. F G H Fig 13 7. N ext, move to the wavelet processing screen by clicking on the Wavelet tab (G). See Fig 14. 8. On the wavelet page, use the wavelet-sliders (H) to enhance the image. The power of RegiStax lies in the Wavelets settings. This is a special filtering technique that is very good for enhancing details in images. Each wavelet layer carries part of the image within it. The lower numbered wavelets control the fine detail stored in the image, while the larger numbered wavelets control the coarse detail. Each layer can be adjusted individually to reveal the desired amount of detail for your image. 9. Finally, press the Save Image button to save the final image. 7 Fig 14 To explore the many other features of RegiStax and view helpful tutorials, visit the RegiStax homepage at: http://www.astronomie.be/registax/index.html How NexImage Works NexImage uses a light-sensitive imaging sensor to capture streaming video of any Solar System object. Using the included software, you can separate the video into hundreds of individual images (frames) and digitally stack them to significantly reduce the electric "noise" inherent in video chips and bring out the unseen fine detail (signal) hidden within your image. The NexImage camera takes advantage of the fact that the signal-to-noise ratio of your stacked composite image is proportional to the square root of the number of frames combined. This means that stacking as few as 16 frames will reduce the grainy noise of the composite image by 4 times. While stacking as many 900 frames will improve the image by 30 times! However, stacking the individual frames is only half the power of the NexImage imager. With the included software package, each individual frame is analyzed for quality to filter out those frames most affected (blurred) by poor atmospheric "seeing." This form of after-the-fact adaptive optics leaves only the sharpest, clearest frames to be stacked and aligned into a high-quality image. Finally, powerful processing features automatically break the image up into individual unsharp mask layers that can be used to bring out tremendous detail and reveal final images that will rival those taken with astronomical CCD cameras costing thousands of dollars. The Basics Focusing As with all astrophotography, sharp focus is essential for high-quality results. Although there are many techniques and devices for focusing your telescope, the human eye still remains one of the best detectors of subtle changes in detail. One advantage that video imaging has over imaging with more sophisticated (and expensive) CCD cameras is the speed with which it can display an image. Focusing NexImage is more like focusing an eyepiece than focusing a CCD camera. Unlike long-exposure cameras, you don't have to wait many seconds to see the effect of a focus change using NexImage. 8