NGC 1333 taken over three years

[RickS (Rick)]

NGC 1333 contains a delightful mix of blue reflection nebulosity, dark mysterious dust and red Hydrogen alpha emission. It is an active region of star formation and part of the nearby (approx 1,000 light-years) Perseus OB2 molecular cloud complex. It is rich in young stellar objects (YSOs) and Herbig-Haro objects. It contains many new stars, less than a million years old, that are hidden by dust and only visible in infrared.

Big versions via Astrobin: https://www.astrobin.com/full/337856/0/

The data for this image was captured from three different telescopes between 2015 and 2018.

Jim & Linda Powell's TEC160FL scope/STXL-16200 camera: captured at DSW, Jan to Mar 2018 (21.25 hours LRGB + Ha)
DSW RCOS 14.5" team/SBIG STX-16803 camera: captured at DSW, Oct 2017 to Jan 2018 (24.5 hours LRGB)
SRO Ceravolo 300/FLI PL16803 camera: captured at SRO, Nov-Dec 2015 (7.6 hours Lum & red only)

Acquisition credit: Jim & Linda Powell, John Kasianowicz, Daniele Malleo, Leonardo Orazi, Rob Pfile, Rick Stevenson and Jerry Yesavage.
Processing credit and copyright: Rick Stevenson

Gory details...

Scope: TEC 160FL FL=1152.68mm
Mount: Paramount ME
Camera: SBIG STXL-16200
Filters: Astrodon
Image scale: 1.069 arcsec/pixel (Drizzled up)
Exposures: 12x900s R, 13x900 G, 17x900s B, 31x900s L, 6x1800 H (21.25 hours)

Scope: RCOS 14.5"
Mount: Paramount ME
Camera: SBIG STX16803
Filters: Astrodon
Guiding: SBIG RGH
Image scale: 0.55 arcsec/pixel
Exposures: 14x1200s R, 19x1200s G, 16x1200s B, 25x1200s L (~24.5 hours)

Scope: Ceravolo C300 @ f/4.9 = 1470mm FL
Mount: AP1100
Camera: FLI PL16803
Focuser: Atlas
Filters: Astrodon
Guiding: Lodestar II / Tak guide scope
Image scale: 1.26 arcsec/pixel (drizzled to higher res)
Exposures: 17x1200s L, 6x1200s R (7.6 hours)

Processed with PixInsight 1.8.5, of course...

Thanks for looking.

Cheers,
Rick.

[alpal]

Beautiful image Rick,
It's nice to see what a collaboration with many imagers can do.

cheers
Allan

[Ryderscope (Rodney)]

A stunning image with a real visual impact. Dare I say a “monster” of an image

[RickS (Rick)]

Originally Posted by alpal

Beautiful image Rick,
It's nice to see what a collaboration with many imagers can do.

Thanks, Allan. It's a bit of a challenge to combine the data but worthwhile, I think!

Originally Posted by Ryderscope

A stunning image with a real visual impact. Dare I say a “monster” of an image

Thanks, Rodney. It's a beast

[h0ughy (David)]

oh wow that's so encapsulating. the depth and detail, a tad grainy in some spots but i can see its pushed to an inch of its life but the subtle differences are amazing

[LewisM]

FARKME!!!!!!!!!

[alocky (Andrew lockwood)]

Now that's complete PI mastery right there... truly, you are 'the one'
Great field too - nice to see what you can get from the other hemisphere!
cheers,
Andrew.

[RickS (Rick)]

Originally Posted by h0ughy

oh wow that's so encapsulating. the depth and detail, a tad grainy in some spots but i can see its pushed to an inch of its life but the subtle differences are amazing

Thanks, David. I tried to leave a little grit for seasoning

Originally Posted by LewisM

FARKME!!!!!!!!!

Thanks, Lewis. That's quite a reaction!

Originally Posted by alocky

Now that's complete PI mastery right there... truly, you are 'the one'
Great field too - nice to see what you can get from the other hemisphere!

Thanks very much, Andrew. I think I'd be able to do this faster if I was a true master. I just keep beating my head against an image until I have to stop

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

Great image and nice combo of data Ricki really a unique look to this area huh? That dark grey is pretty cool.

Mike

[markas (Mark)]

Spectacular! A real tour de force.

Mark

[graham.hobart (Graham stevens)]

Worth the wait? (or weights?!!) Just stunning Rick. I would love to see that in a big print. So much variation and colour. Reminds of a dancer spinning with a blue tutu whilst hot volcanic embers are shot off! Sort of a Hawaiian Goddess look.
Must get my pixinsight book out one day!!

[RickS (Rick)]

Originally Posted by strongmanmike

Great image and nice combo of data Ricki really a unique look to this area huh? That dark grey is pretty cool.

Thanks, Mike. Always wanted to image this object and was quite disappointed in 2015 when we only got Lum and Red data!

Originally Posted by markas

Spectacular! A real tour de force.

Thanks, Mark.

Originally Posted by graham.hobart

Worth the wait? (or weights?!!) Just stunning Rick. I would love to see that in a big print. So much variation and colour. Reminds of a dancer spinning with a blue tutu whilst hot volcanic embers are shot off! Sort of a Hawaiian Goddess look.
Must get my pixinsight book out one day!!

Ta, Graham. I probably will get a large print done. I'll post a pic of it

[topheart]

Splendid work Rick!!
I will have to have a go at this object!!
Cheers,
Tim

[Paul Haese]

That's Noice. Cool looking object. Lovely colour and detail.

[multiweb (Marc)]

Gigagood!

[RickS (Rick)]

Originally Posted by topheart

Splendid work Rick!!
I will have to have a go at this object!!

Thanks, Tim. You're in the right part of Australia to do it!

Originally Posted by Paul Haese

That's Noice. Cool looking object. Lovely colour and detail.

Thanks, Paul.

Originally Posted by multiweb

Gigagood!

Thanks, Marc

[Placidus (Mike and Trish)]

That is a most remarkable image, Rick. Beautifully processed. Oh that it were another 30 degrees further south.

[RickS (Rick)]

Originally Posted by Placidus

That is a most remarkable image, Rick. Beautifully processed. Oh that it were another 30 degrees further south.

Thanks very much, M&T! It's a shame we can't see the whole sky.

[rcheshire (Rowland)]

Truly magnificent...

[cometcatcher (Kevin)]

Mmm, that actually gets to a reasonable elevation here. Must remember to add it to the wish list if I ever get an astronomy camera. Not that I'd ever get an image like that. Fantastic image Rick and team!