Horsehead and flame

[RyanJones]

Hi all,

Here’s my rendition of the Horsehead and Flame nebulae.

Ive been working on this object for months. To be honest I’m not in love with the result but I’m done looking at it !

I started this object before I killed my last camera with a cooling project. I modified another camera and set about continuing but clouds and the moon had other ideas. Then came the warmer nights which have just killed me. Everything is so noisy and there’s very little I can do about it. I think it’s time to save the pennies and go dedicated astro camera.

In this time I’ve also acquired an ASIair and ZWO1200mm to replace my previous stand alone guider. I lost at least 2 good nights of imaging learning how to dial it in but it’s been worth it.

My first session had nearly 50% moon but a sky brightness of less that 3%. The last session had about 10% moon with sky brightness of around 6% ! Go figure.....

So here it is.

123 x 180 @ iso800
Canon 350d modified
GSO 8” f/4
HEQ5 pro belt modded
Guided by ZWO1600mm
Bortle 8 skies


Thanks for looking

[Mickoid (Michael)]

Ryan, for Bortle 8 skies you've managed to reveal some good detail by getting in nice and close and the result is quite smooth. Conditions have been less than ideal for you but plenty of signal has managed you to overcome the noise to a degree. I'd try increasing the contrast a little to make it jump out more, it just looks a bit flat to me. I think you've done a great job though in getting a good result despite the moon, light pollution and warm nights with a dslr. Well done!

[Outcast (Carlton)]

Nice shot Ryan,

As always, you produce some lovely images in trying conditions...

What?? Not keen to have another crack at killing a camera?

Cheers

[RyanJones]

Thank you Michael and Carlton for you kind words.

I may have another go at processing this data at some point Michael. I agree it’s lacking something. The hope was that this target was going to be my first entry to Deep Space but it hasn’t turned out that way. Plenty of time for that though. Let’s be honest, it’s an addiction that isn’t going away any time soon.

I am keen to destroy another camera Carlton. I learned a lot for the last time and I’d love to give cooling another crack. Just this time I might wait till I have another camera to replace this one first