Finally got a clear shot of the Orion Nebula from my backyard

I've been trying for months to get a decent photo of M42, but my shots were always blurry or just a gray blob. The problem was my old tripod, it was too shaky for long exposures. Last week I tried stacking 50 short exposures instead of one long one, like 2 seconds each. I used DeepSkyStacker for free and it actually worked, lol. The final image showed way more detail than I ever got before, you can even see the Trapezium Cluster in the middle. I'm so stoked because I didn't have to buy a fancy mount or anything. Has anyone else tried this stacking trick with a basic setup? What software do you like for it?

2 comments

2 Comments

amy_reed7919h ago

My old 30-second exposures from a cheap tripod were always ruined by car headlights... I started stacking 15-second shots like you did, maybe 40 of them. The free version of Sequator worked for me on my laptop. It's crazy how much color and dust you can pull out of what looks like nothing in a single frame. That feeling when the stacked image first loads is the best.

the_terry20h ago

Honestly, I used to be a real snob about gear and thought you needed a tracking mount for anything worthwhile. Your post makes a great point. Stacking those short exposures is such a smart workaround for basic equipment. I finally tried Siril last year, which is also free, and it totally changed my mind about what's possible from a light-polluted suburb. Getting that detail without a huge cash outlay feels like a real victory.