[1 Hour] Image Processing of the Deep Sky Wide-angle Orion Belt and Sword Region by Siril and GIMP

Jan. 2024, I acquired the exceptional @LaowaByVenusOptics 100mm f2.8 2X macro APO lens at a reasonable price through online shopping. Inspired by the challenge, as this is my first APO lens, I decided to put it to the test. In the past, I harbored reservations about old-style manual lenses, exemplified by the Super-Takumar 200mm f4, as illustrated in my previously submitted videos:

Without a nano-band filter:    • Affordable Astrophotography: $6.6 Len...  
With a nano-band filter:    • Affordable Astrophotography: RE-Revie...  

Despite my apprehensions, the Laowa lens has garnered a great reputation, and I was optimistic about achieving outstanding results. True to expectations, the raw images were incredibly sharp with no discernible chromatic aberrations. However, I encountered a challenge in capturing flat frames, as the stacked images consistently exhibited a color gradient, and center bright ring at the background. These phenomena may be attributed to both the light sources and the lens design. I dedicated 3 hours to refining the image processing, particularly addressing unwanted orange interstellar clouds in the initial starless image. I eventually achieved optimal results using GIMP (Here, I would like to express my gratitude to the individual who provided insightful comments to my question post on Astrobin.com: https://www.astrobin.com/forum/c/astr....

In summary, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I could see the background interstellar clouds even at a heavily light-polluted sky (Bortle Class 8–9). I have developed a fondness for this image, and I wholeheartedly recommend the Laowa 100mm f2.8 2X macro APO lens for astrophotography.

- - - Imaging Details - - -
Deep Sky Object: Orion Belt and Sword Region
Date: January, 2024
Bortle Class: 8–9 Zone (Tokyo, Japan)
Camera: Full-frame DSLR (Pixel Size: 6.54 µm)
Lens: 100mm, F/2.8
Filter: None
Tracker: Kenko Skymemo S
Sub-frame: ISO 200, 20 seconds
Integration: 12 hrs 30 mins 20 secs
Stacked TIFF was generated via DeepSkyStacker

Image processing software (All FREE):
- - - Siril: A free astronomical image processing software, is fully capable to pre-process and process astronomic images by offering to the users a large set of dedicated algorithms. Official website: https://siril.org
- - - GIMP: The Free & Open Source Image Editor. Official website: https://www.gimp.org

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Settle in, relax, and enjoy the wonder of the deep sky imaging processing as it is designed without spoken commentary, allowing you to immerse yourself fully in beauty of our universe.
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- - - Table of Contents - - -
00:00 - Title & Imaging Settings
00:23 - Pre-processing by Siril
08:21 - Manual Stacking by Siril
13:33 - Post-processing by Siril and Gimp
58:23 - Final result

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