Rabbit season, Duck season, M83 season..

Peter Ward · #1 09-05-2019, 08:28 PM

I really struggled with this one.

AO guided at 6Hz.
Darks and flats are mandatory in light pollution central....might have to move to Mudgee after all..

... and despite getting Pixinsight to (almost) tame the gradients, the lights from the new NSW Government sanctioned,
Wi Fuk Ewe developement, in my western sky, did not help...

OK. I digress too far m'thinks....but gee..urban imaging is getting pretty tough lately.

Excuses and grumbles aside....the link is here

multiweb (Marc) · #2 09-05-2019, 08:41 PM

That looks great Peter. The details are remarkable and the colours look good too.

So you're set on Mudgee area hey? Good wineries and great Port up there.

Ryderscope (Rodney) · #3 09-05-2019, 09:37 PM

Nice, despite the challenges (or because of them) I am impressed with what you can achieve from the Shire Peter.

Atmos (Colin) · #4 09-05-2019, 09:43 PM

Great colour and detail there Peter, PI really does have a great gradient removal tool if you carefully select the control points

spiezzy · #5 09-05-2019, 09:46 PM

that is outstanding work Peter for up in the Shire I know how polluted the sky is with light there as I cop it down here in Helensburgh .
we are considering the move to Mudgee we go there quite a lot some friends have a large acreage 13klm outside of the town and the skies are incredible
cheers Pete

Ken · #6 09-05-2019, 11:14 PM

Great image Peter, plenty of detail in the arms and great colour.
I am trying to process a Galaxy image at the moment taken under fairly dark rural skies and I still have gradient problems lol.
Clear skies Ken.

SimmoW (SIMON) · #7 10-05-2019, 12:38 AM

Yes it's lovely, yet again shows how a 30k scope and 20k mount can help things along, processed perfecto of course.

gregbradley · #8 10-05-2019, 07:14 AM

A very vibrant and engaging M83. Nice result all the more because of the imaging location.

Greg.

markas (Mark) · #9 10-05-2019, 08:50 AM

What a great result - especially from a light polluted site! Details are terrific.

Mark

Andy01 (Andy) · #10 10-05-2019, 10:50 AM

+1^ what they all said

Peter Ward · #11 10-05-2019, 11:07 AM

Thanks one and all for your positive comments. To be sure, yes, the Alluna is a superb and not inexpensive instrument, but there are a number of IIS users which have much more serious 'scopes....to image successfully from the 'burbs it's all about maximising signal and minimising noise, and an evolving equipment selection process for yours truly with that in mind. It also has taken some 40 years to date...

I've also noticed a serious increase in light pollution from the southern Sydney fringes...too much development from a government addicted to stamp duty

With more to come, as construction on over 100 medium density units is well underway to my immediate west.

As an urban imager, it means exposure times getting longer and longer just to match the S/N from a smaller instrument under dark skies....hence I've been looking far more seriously for a weekender within a modest distance of my home, that won't break the bank

....might have missed the boat on that one!

Startrek (Martin) · #12 10-05-2019, 01:54 PM

Peter
Superb image of M83 from Sydney’s ever increasing sky glow
I’m lucky I guess , I bought a holiday home 3 years ago 7km this side of Ulladulla which coincided with my retirement and starting Astronomy.Its our little piece of heaven, somewhere to escape the hustle and bustle.With Bortle 3 to 4 skies its truly incredible on a clear night as I enjoy both visual astronomy and AP ( still only a beginner though , never to late to start )
Well worth thinking about a weekender especially at your level !
Really enjoy your work !
Cheers

RobF (Rob) · #13 10-05-2019, 07:07 PM

Remarkable detail - but as we'd expect

Stevec35 (Steve) · #14 10-05-2019, 09:41 PM

Lovely image! A tribute to what can be achieved in urban skies Peter.

Cheers

Steve

Peter Ward · #15 11-05-2019, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stevec35

Lovely image! A tribute to what can be achieved in urban skies Peter.

Cheers

Steve

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobF

Remarkable detail - but as we'd expect

Quote:

Originally Posted by Startrek

Peter
Superb image of M83 from Sydney’s ever increasing sky glow
I’m lucky I guess , I bought a holiday home 3 years ago 7km this side of Ulladulla which coincided with my retirement and starting Astronomy.Its our little piece of heaven, somewhere to escape the hustle and bustle.With Bortle 3 to 4 skies its truly incredible on a clear night as I enjoy both visual astronomy and AP ( still only a beginner though , never to late to start )
Well worth thinking about a weekender especially at your level !
Really enjoy your work !
Cheers

Thanks gentlemen. I guess the image holds up reasonably well even when compared to those taken from exceptional sites. I managed another hour of L data in good seeing plus the same in H-alpha last night....will see how that turns out.

topheart · #16 11-05-2019, 10:29 AM

Well done Peter!
Great colours and detail.
I don't know how you do it from Sydney's pea soup.

I am glad to see hands on imaging is on your agenda with a weekender rather than using remote equipment....no offense to anyone, but I like to be responsible 100% for each image I take rather than use gear that someone else has setup and tweaked and tuned, but that is just me and I appreciate that I am lucky to be able to do it myself, not everyone has that luxury.

Cheers,
Tim

codemonkey (Lee) · #17 11-05-2019, 12:32 PM

No arguing with the detail you captured there, Peter, it's very impressive.

Colour is pretty rough but colour from urban environments is hard... having played around with some broadband colour data once from an urban environment I'm shocked people even try. I'm not quite masochistic enough for that and I don't envy you there...

alpal · #18 11-05-2019, 01:00 PM

Hi Peter,
excellent result -
it's nice and sharp.
the AO is working well.

cheers
Allan