Using AI to improve Astrophotos

Back to Projects and Ideas

Raw Photo

Enhanced

Final Image

I've been taking photos of the stars and planets since 1966. It's always fun taking casual photos, but I found things were becoming rather tedious. You try out different imaging programs, all of them having good and bad points and after some hours wind up with something ... Just Okay. While these images will never compare with those painstaking efforts by serious astrophotographers having access to dark sky sites, excellent equipment, and of course a vast amount of experience and talent, for me they produce reasonably good results.

Now you needn't bother - just so long as your not a serious "dyed in the wool" astrophotographer (which I am not).

That said I enjoy the hobby and I also believe it has a place in serious study where a single or series of photographs are taken to show rapid progression of an event. Think of the brightening or fading of a variable star where you don't want long exposures but a series of much shorter exposures that record the event (Check out the AAVSO - American Association of Variable Star Observers.)

Raw Image

Basic Improvement: Orion Nebula M42 / M43

Inhanced

Final Enhanced Image: Orion Nebula M42 / M43

Final Image

Here is another example. M42 / M43 in Orion. The raw image was taken in Calgary, Bortel 7 Sky (Bright Sky) with a PHD Guided Celestron 8 " Cassegrain Telescope at F6 - 3 Exposures , 5 minutes - no filter. This was one of six subs taken that night.

Untouched Image: Field of Messier objects #65 and # 66

Raw Image

Basic Improvement: Field of Messier objects #65 and # 66

Inhanced

Final Enhansed Image: Field of Messier objects #65 and # 66

Final Image

Final example. M65 / M66 and NGC 2638 in Leo. The raw image was taken in Calgary, Bortel 7 Sky (Bright Sky) with a PHD Guided Celestron 8 " Cassegrain Telescope Nikon D2 ISO 1250 F6 - 5 Exposures, 5 minutes - no filter. This was one of six subs taken that night.

This composite was obtained using a total of thirteen images taken on Sept 26, 2016 with an Olympus E-620 camera mounted on an 8 inch schmidt cassigrain. Exposure times from 1/3 sec to 1 sec at ISO 100.

Here is the Veil Nebula in Cygnus. The photo on the left has been enhansed in a manner similar to that of M42/43 above. Note there are spike affects in that photo, also no darks or flats were combined, it was simply 20 images stacked and enhansed.

The image of the right is a combination of only 10 lights and 10 darks. Instructions were provided as above but also correct the spike affects in the brighter stars.

Enhanced Veil Nebula Chat GPT darks and clean up spikes.png

So what instructions did I provide to AI? #1 Process uploaded image to obtain the best 'astronomical / scientific' image possible. #2 Augment processing to maximum, desire more nebulousity, increased clarity and contrast etc. Leaving all the details to Chat GPT. Total processing time about five minutes per final image. The results impressed me enough to share them.