A little Eskimo in the Sydney Heat - (NGC 2392)

[Dave882 (David)]

Here's my take on NGC2392 (aka the Clown, Lion or Eskimo Nebula) -this tiny but quite interesting planetary nebula in Gemini. After doing some research I found some very nice results some others had achieved with short exposure but unfortunately being quite low in the sky and through the Sydney heat-haze, I just couldn't get good bang for buck so elected to shoot with shortish 30sec sub lengths instead.

I shot over 5 nights, about 2hrs each night around it's peak of 35degress, and manually sorted each sub to get only the best quality data. My criteria was being able to see the clear divisions in the central bands in each sub - and after this ended up with 2hrs of data for processing.

Not sure I exactly nailed it, but also not sure I can do much better from my location and with only 2hrs integration so will have to leave it there for this season.

Stacking in APP, processing (and using the new gradient tool) in PI.

Larger version full field
Larger version crop

C14 non edge @f7 with the Starizona reducer LF
EQ8 pro
Asi2600mc pro gain-0
Asi220mm / celestron OAG
ZWO EAF
ASIAIR pro / APP / PI

Comments and critique very welcome! Thanks for dropping by!

[floyd_2 (Dean)]

Another beauty up to your usual high standards mate. You do a great job defeating the problems that we have with Sydney skies and have pulled out a ridiculous amount of detail. It’s amazing what you can do with 30 second subs. Image what you could do from a B2 location.

PS> I love that full field shot. That’s the best of the lot IMO

[Startrek (Martin)]

Dave ,
We will to have start calling you the PN maestro
Such a tiny faint object yet you’re exposed so much detail , amazing
I think if you started imaging from B2 , you definitely wouldn’t want to leave ( from my own experiences with B3 )
Well done indeed !!
Martin

[Dave882 (David)]

Thanks Dean & Martin- really appreciate your comments and encouragement! Yeah I’d love some darker sky especially for these broadband targets, but seriously the heat has been a killer recently- shooting over hot roofs, concrete car parks and aircon units pumping at full power. But hey- overcoming the challenges is part of the fun.

I’m quite liking these little PN gems and have a couple more in my sights if the weather complies. These little ones rarely get given much attention. Certainly the domain of the big aperture long fl scopes tho

[muletopia (Chris)]

Dave,
I do like your picture,my scope and sky would suit not sure about my one shot colour camera.But I am sure that my processing skills are not up to it.
I also like planetry nebulae..
You have done very well indeed.
Chris

[atalas]

Nice detail David

[Dave882 (David)]

Cheers Chris & Louie I appreciate you taking the time to comment. Thankfully being so bright the local Lp doesn’t play such a factor- I think it’s just about finding the right processing to bring out the detail and PI certainly has plenty of options to explore… I used the new gradient tool for the first time instead of the APP one and have to say I’ve quite impressed!

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

This is really great Dave, one could say it's really "cool" not only plenty of detail but the colours are beaut too not an easy target for us southern hemisphere dwellers, have a gold star!

A good approach you used there, using only the sharpest subs, in order to reveal the most from the best data I regularly do the same thing, including my latest image

Mike

[Retrograde (Pete)]

Another very cool rendition of a small PN with great detail.
You're certainly on a roll with these, Dave!

[Dave882 (David)]

Thanks Mike & Pete. Yeah I find these little guys quite intriguing, and there’s so many more but some just too small to reveal properly.
Mike- I saw your write-up which is a very interesting way to boost detail and a bit more involved than what I did. It was a bit of a balancing act for me as I wanted the detail but without enough integration the image doesn’t respond well to processing.

[floyd_2 (Dean)]

I think NGC 6302 - The Bug / Butterfly - would be right up your alley when the time's right Dave!

[Dave882 (David)]

Originally Posted by floyd_2

I think NGC 6302 - The Bug / Butterfly - would be right up your alley when the time's right Dave!

Yep I’ve defiantly got my eye on this one. It’s been a bit of a nemesis target for me- after a few attempts I’ve just never been able to do a good job to date. It’s well placed in a couple of months I think…