[Andy01 (Andy)]

Originally Posted by spiezzy

Woooowwwwww

Ha ha ha! Lol

Originally Posted by Atmos

Love love love the look of this one Andy! Very dramatic and looks quite different to the usual Helix

Cheers Colin! No point in trying to make it the same as everybody else’s

Originally Posted by Paul Haese

Hmmm, well welcome to the long helix club. Few more hours to catch up to my crazy effort a few years back. I ended up pulling 111 hours + but only used the 111 hours. If I were to do it again I would like a huge sensor with a big RC to capture the data.

Detail looks ok in the core but I think you might have missed a bit in the outer areas.

Thanks Paul! It’s a case of balancing details vs. Noise - I had to work like crazy to separate the subtle details from the background sky at my lp affected location, and then it was an aesthetic choice to slightly blur the outer regions to make a pleasing image

Originally Posted by strongmanmike

Lots of time spent collecting data there Andy and I am sure plenty of time at the keyboard afterwards too . Looks a little rough in places but ... that's a very in your eye image ...probably the most like an eye I have seen this object look really...?

Mike

Thanks for the good vibes there Mike

Originally Posted by Retrograde

Wow - one of the most unique takes on this I've seen. Very eye like too.
Fantastic detail in the centre particularly. Great work.

Cheers Trevor, thanks

Originally Posted by gregbradley

A unique look there Andy. The 3nm O111 data really paid off there.

Greg.

Thanks Greg, yes 3nm really helps at my location.

Originally Posted by LewisM

75hrs?????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????????? ?

That's more than my 8 year total!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then again, Canberra in summer is cloud watching.

It really DOES look like an eye too Andy. No pareidolia goggles required

Lol, cheers Lewis - sounds like you’re just not getting out enough

Originally Posted by Benjamin

Stunning!

Originally Posted by Wilso

Looks great Andy!

Cheers

Originally Posted by RickS

Very high impact and attractive, Andy!

Cheers Rick

Originally Posted by Peter Ward

It is real?
Yes, but sadly also, a very definitive no.

The chevrons are difficult to capture and kudos for that.

But a little research on images from larger/deeper/sharper instruments (M&T's 0.5 metre CDK benchmark 34 hour image, as a case in point.
....so over 3x the data there)

will show there is structure in this well known object, that has been smoothed over and/or has been exaggerated in processing, to beyond what is really here.

Sure a cliche' but the light has not been respected....the helix does not have a dark inner pupil.

And despite the Colgate toothpaste adverts, Jennifer Hawkin's skin really does have pores.

Bugger...I guess Red Symonds and I have similar synaptic pathways.

Lol, your Red Symons IIS celebrity gongs always make entertaining reading Peter!

Knowing my history of endeavouring to prefer aesthetics to the norm, I didn’t expect you drag out the old Hoary Chestnut “respecting the light” cliche again though

But that’s why we can celebrate our differences over a decent glas of Red or two

Originally Posted by multiweb

Gotta agree with Peter on this one. The depth is very good showing the chevrons which are extremely faint. Colours are great and it looks like an eye with Oiii striations showing as an iris and the darkened ring emphasizing the pupil. But it was processed to look like what your vision of it was, not the way it actually looks, so it's more art than an astro photo.

Cheers Mark, if it indeed looks more like Art than an Astro photo, mission accomplished & I’ll take that happily!
Now that being said, it’s all original data, nothing manipulated other than allowing the O3 signal to be strongly present, when it’s usually overwhelmed by the Ha- therefore revealing the “iris” to the viewer.
I agree it’s an unusual take on the familiar!

Originally Posted by SimmoW

Wow, that really does hit you in the eye!

Yep, mixed feelings, esp for the darker central core.

But I'm sure this was deliberate and will gain you many AIPP awards, the common folk that are most important will love it!

Cheers Simmo- maybe you can see through my cunning plan, or maybe not

Originally Posted by xelasnave

I am forced to comment.
I really like your image Andy.
Well done you have inspired me to give up☺
Alex

onya Alex

Originally Posted by Benjamin

Interesting comments. My thoughts when I saw Andy’s image were not about the ‘eye’ at all but rather about how he had brought out the O3 (which in my extremely limited experience processing the Helix seems to result in darkening the center Ha somewhat). Also in the 3D modeling I’ve seen of this object the centre is a big bubble (not a flat surface) so the suggestion of a round uneven reflective surface seems kind of appropriate to me. So for me it’s as much an astro photo as a gorgeous image.

Goodonya Ben, reckon you’re right there

Originally Posted by spiezzy

whether it be artistic or astro its a very fine image I would be proud of it Andy has put a lot of time into this project and to me it has a lot of Astro value as well as being stunning well done Andy and thank you for sharing your hard work cheers Pete

Thanks Pete, yep - marathon project alright- I can live with a polarised audience, must mean I have got their attention! Lol

Originally Posted by pfitzgerald

That is gob-smackingly awesome Andy.

The depth and detail is amazing.

Well done.

Thanks very much Paul

Originally Posted by willik

The best Gods eye I have seen on this sight for a while Andy looks great
Martin

Very kind Martin, cheers!