Took three very character-building nights to get this mono shot of a rich field of galaxies including the tiny but beautiful NGC 4622 and NGC 4603 in Centaurus.
First night, the computer failed. We hurtled back down the hill in the Polaris with a full sized tower balanced on Trish's lap, and swapped for another in record time. Did the focus and composition, and then we saw the lightning flashes over Forbes way. They got closer, and brighter. We chickened out, closed the dome, and did darks. Clear as a bell by 3 am, but we were unconscious.
Next night, all looking beautiful, and then no guide stars. Stuck head outside. No sky either, again contrary to all known predictions. Got two 30 min subs. Again, frustratingly clear in the morning.
Third night was great, and we got 19 half-hour subs. So no colour here.
As well as the two main galaxies, which we think are very pretty, there are at least 98 friends showing sufficient form to be galaxies. The thumbnail is only to show where we think they are. It is too compressed to be of any other value.
Don't ya love what is thrown at us when all we wanna do is to see some clear sky
Aaaah the great Centaurus cluster, it's bloody huge and this section is a very enjoyable field guys. NGC 4622 is so cool, some galactic cirrus dust in there too. A great collection effort after what Murphy hurled at you, look forward to the final version, handling of the sharpening looks good too
Good gosh there are a TONNE of small background GX in there!
BEAUTIFUL shot.
Thanks, Lewis! What is nice is the number of distant galaxies that show some recognzable spiral structure.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Atmos
Nice and deep shot there MnT! The detail in a couple of those galaxies is great, looking forward to a colour version.
Cheers, Colin! Decent colour might have to wait till next new moon, but we're eager. It makes such a difference.
Quote:
Originally Posted by el_draco
Holy Moly ! What a great shot. Wall to wall faint fuzzies. These kind of fields just stop ya dead for a bit...
Thanks Rom.
Quote:
Originally Posted by strongmanmike
Don't ya love what is thrown at us when all we wanna do is to see some clear sky
Aaaah the great Centaurus cluster, it's bloody huge and this section is a very enjoyable field guys. NGC 4622 is so cool, some galactic cirrus dust in there too. A great collection effort after what Murphy hurled at you, look forward to the final version, handling of the sharpening looks good too
Mike
Cheers, Mike. We can see looking at the atlas that the cluster goes on and on. We did this patch from Leonay a very long time ago. Even the 15 minute test shot from the farm absolutely ate it up. But the hardware is being a bit brittle at the moment. Too many nearby lightning strikes, we think.
Quote:
Originally Posted by topheart
Hi MnT,
A very interesting composition.
You don't have to be masochistic to be a good astro-imager, but it sure helps!
Cheers,
Tim
Aye, Tim, it's true. Bit like owning a pet lorikeet. Needle sharp claws, uses its beak like secateurs, super affectionate, extroverted, unstoppable, and likes taking a bath in your glass of Riesling.
Very nicely done. An excellent luminance shot. Lets hope its easier to collect the colour data!
I was a bit stunned the other night as well. Clear all day, practically no cloud at sunset, went outside to do a final check before opening the observatory, the entire sky was overcast - hhummppph?
Greg.
Amazing place the Universe - and that's a nice view of it too
Quote:
Originally Posted by gregbradley
Very nicely done. An excellent luminance shot. Lets hope its easier to collect the colour data!
I was a bit stunned the other night as well. Clear all day, practically no cloud at sunset, went outside to do a final check before opening the observatory, the entire sky was overcast - hhummppph?
Greg.
Thanks, Greg. The weather here continues to be fractious and unpredictable.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SimmoW
Hubble alert!!
Thanks, Simmo! (blush)
Quote:
Originally Posted by RickS
I did a wide version of this field very early in my imaging career (FSQ106ED and QHY12, I think, maybe 90 mins total data.) Yours is better, M&T
What a cool image chokkers with shapely galaxies
Cheers,
Rick.
Many thanks for the encouragement, Rick.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shiraz
wow what a wonderful field. This is an inspiring image - top shelf
Thanks Ray.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stevec35
Really nice M&T. Looking forward to the colour.
Cheers
Steve
Hi, Steve. Various auguries suggest there is a small chance of colour tonight, but the backup plan is to make a ladder for the lorikeet.
Nice image - Mike & Trish,
I often look at Stellarium to see what would be good to image &
in that area the brightest galaxy is about mag 12.
You have gone so much deeper.
I can't wait to see some colour added.
Nice image - Mike & Trish,
I often look at Stellarium to see what would be good to image &
in that area the brightest galaxy is about mag 12.
You have gone so much deeper.
I can't wait to see some colour added.
cheers
Allan
Thanks, Allan. We did have a copy of Stellarium (and fondly remember Barry Gerdes) but it got lost somewhere along the way.
