Eta Carina in NB

[AlexN]

So I got 2 hours of clear sky early last week, and managed to be free, and not too tired to drag the gear outside!

I had lots of stuff to test out that's been sitting there since early Feb, waiting for a break in this lovely Brisbane rain, alas, I digress...

I got 2hrs on Eta Carina, and to be honest, I know it isn't perfect, but it may well be my best effort to date...

Details:
Askar 65PHQ
Player One Artemis C Pro
Player One OAG (New)
Player One Filter drawer (New)
Askar D1 7nm Ha/OIII filter (New)
Losmandy G11 Gemini

Thanks to some choice help from wasyoungonce, my G11 is really singing at the moment, providing 0.4~0.5" RMS guiding for the duration of the session which was brilliant!

This was my first attempt at processing dual nb data from an OSC camera, so I followed a few youtube tutorials, and came up with something I didn't mind at all...

Image at Astrobin

I'd love to hear your thoughts!... I'll add a link to the HOO version when I upload it shortly...

[AlexN]

Same data, represented as HOO.

Astrobin

[Dave882 (David)]

Nice work that’s turned out really nice! My preference is with the HOO. It’s interesting the HOO seems to retain better detail in the bright areas and I think there is a real appearance of depth as well- almost 3D. Detail is beautiful- a real pleasure to scan around taking it all in. The foraxx version seems a little ‘harsh’ to my eye for some reason. Great work!

[AlexN]

Originally Posted by Dave882

Nice work that’s turned out really nice! My preference is with the HOO. It’s interesting the HOO seems to retain better detail in the bright areas and I think there is a real appearance of depth as well- almost 3D. Detail is beautiful- a real pleasure to scan around taking it all in. The foraxx version seems a little ‘harsh’ to my eye for some reason. Great work!

Thanks Dave,

I think I know where I went wrong with the foraxx image, largely, it comes down to me processing it late at night when my eyes were not working correctly - but I think I pushed the initial stretch a little far, and then in the process of adding contrast later in the game, things got a little blocked up in the core... I'll give it another run soon.

I also re-added the stars in the 'quick and dirty' stars+starless way, which didn't do me any favors in the bright areas...

I'll have another pass on the data in foraxx later this week and see if I can't make something a little less agressive!

[AlexN]

Gave this another run.... Think this is better... Definitely feels less aggressive.

Astrobin link.

[Startrek (Martin)]

Alex,
Nicely reprocessed and definitely an improvement on the original
Colour palette is excellent
Well done !!
Martin

[Ryderscope (Rodney)]

A good result Alex. The revision definitely helped with bringing out more detail in the core. It helps sometimes I think to leave an image for a day or two after it is "finished" and then come back to it with a fresh set of eyes.

[AlexN]

Martin:
Thanks! I'm still wrapping my head around PixInsight, and all the available tools to improve images and really pull out the best from the data - but slowly but surely I have a baseline workflow coming together that is seeming to be working...

Rodney:
100% - Having been away from Astrophotography for so long, I've fallen back into the "I HAVE DATA! I MUST PROCESS IT NOW" sort of mentality. There's much excitement. In fact, when I was imaging this, the first sub hit my monitor for the night and I started rubbing my hands together like a child in front of a birthday cake...

The target is certainly a very popular target, however this was my first go at Eta Car since 2009... So it was really nice to see a big bright target that filled the field of view even with a single sub...

Bring on winter I say - I have lots of plans!! I just hope the Brisbane sky wants to cooperate...

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

Rather nice Carina Alex

Mike

[AlexN]

Originally Posted by strongmanmike

Rather nice Carina Alex

Mike

Thanks mate! starting to get back into the swing of things... Still haven't had the weather to put together a substantial data set yet... but we're coming into the better months for that, right in time for the winter milky way to start making an appearance!

[CoolhandJo (Paul)]

Great processing and looks nice

[AlexN]

Originally Posted by CoolhandJo

Great processing and looks nice

Thanks mate - Really quite stoked with this to be honest, and beginning to feel like this may be the best astrophoto I've ever made...