Lying within the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satalite galaxy to ours 158,000 light years away, this nebula complex, with its plethora of NGC objects, presents an Ha and OIII rich tapestry of colourful nebulae and star clusters.
Data was gathered over multiple nights in a moonless sky for a total of 17 hours of total exposure time. This was after I had to throw away 4 hours due to a mistake in framing . Totals were: 3 hrs of Luminance, 5 Hours of Ha, 3 hours of OIII (not quite enough but I made it work) and 2 hours each for R,G & B.
This is a natural colour palette image (I.e. an LRGB image augmented with Ha and OIII). I expected the natural palette version to be quite difficult to achieve and it was!! You have to make sure that the colours and tints aren't too far off the raw RGB combine (the most accurate colour rendition). You also have to make sure that the data for Ha and OIII are all properly represented. This is a structurally complex field with lots of colour and luminance tones so it was a challenge.
Interesting trivia: So far I've spotted 5 distant galaxies shining through - a bit of a surprise. Also, the closest observable separation between fainter stars is about 1.8 arc seconds - not bad given less than perfect seeing.
Anyhoo ... attached here is a crop of just NGC 2014 and 2020
Underneath the images you'll find a one line description of each NGC object.
I'm pretty pleased with the result so I hope you like it!!!
PS: Please be aware that Google Chrome does NOT display the correct colour profile (sRGB). Use Firefox or Microsoft Edge if you want to see it as I processed it.
Last edited by marc4darkskies; 27-01-2021 at 03:17 PM.
Reason: Minor image updates (x2) & colour profile warning.
The combination of NB and RGB worked a treat. The two "coffee cups", normally full of black coffee and just one bright star in a straight narrowband image, are full of little tiny stars.
The colour came together very nicely there Marcus. I don't think even a drugged up modern artist could have possibly come up with that eclectic collection of unusually shaped but never the less, intriguing, collection of nebulae
The combination of NB and RGB worked a treat. The two "coffee cups", normally full of black coffee and just one bright star in a straight narrowband image, are full of little tiny stars.
Thanks M&T!! Yep, I love the stars - I miss seeing them in pure NB images. And it's too late for coffee.
Quote:
Originally Posted by strongmanmike
The colour came together very nicely there Marcus. I don't think even a drugged up modern artist could have possibly come up with that eclectic collection of unusually shaped but never the less, intriguing, collection of nebulae
Very cool
Mike
Thankyou Sidonio-san! I've started calling the image "The Cosmic Cacophany" because of it's a blizzard of shapes, tones and colour. Reminds me of Tchaikovskys 1812 Overture!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Andy01
That's a cracker image Marcus - well framed, great detail & a pleasing colour palette - bravo!
Cheers Andy! Glad you like it!
Quote:
Originally Posted by gregbradley
That is superb Marcus. Your processing is exquisite. Love the intricate details.
That neb on the right looks like a bat. This is one of my favourite neb and you've raised it to another level.
Greg.
Holy Pareidolia Batman!! You must be catching M&Ts affliction!
Thank you very much Greg! Hope to see your version one day soon!
. Totals were: 3 hrs of Luminance, 5 Hours of Ha, 3 hours of OIII (not quite enough but I made it work) and 2 hours each for R,G & B.
)
