DSLR Galaxies plus other items

[Alchemy (Clive)]

Just posting a few images, at least the weather in Victoria has been accomodating to some degree for imaging..... not like further up the east coast.

All the images are shot with cannon 300d and the 12 inch newt usually 360 sec exposures, as many as i can get before it dews over (got a question for you with that)

Anyway to the images; the file names identify each one

1. Centaurus A, interacting Galaxy in Centaurus well known

2. NGC 1808 a pretty little galaxy about 7 x 3 arcmins at mag 10.7 showing some dust lane detail

3.NGC 2442 , galaxy in Volans about 5 x 3.5 arc mins at mag 11.3 better detail and actually captured a bit of detail in the arms too.

4. NGC 2997 in Antilla a bigger face on spiral , a little bit of smearing at the edges of the image .... not to worry though , these things happen occasionally, and for those with a critical eye the color imbalance to the right is due to large temp issues on the night...

5. NGC 2467 some nebulosity asociated with a pretty little cluster of varying colours, the seeing wasnt so good this night so youre only allowed a smaller image as that tends to hide imperfections.

6.RCW 40, off to the more obscure , but this one reminds me of a comet, had a hard time processing this one so sorry about the red stars.

7. Dont need to describe M 42 i have put a version of this one up earlier but this has had more data added and completely reprocessed, note i like the color balance, im sure not all will..... i can live with that.... oh and lots of different exposures in 1 stop increments to try to capture detail in the brighter areas.

8. Last image a red and blue spider... trying to please all. Trailing to left due to not locking down the focuser.... next time ..... but i like the detail in the nebula itself and the mix of red and blue makes different features stand out... again i like the color ...... thats it for the images


QUESTION..... With the weather cooling down i have issues with dew on the newt mirrors, i have a set of dew heaters but dont use them on the main imaging scope for fear of thermal movements etc, i know a dew shield would be the first idea .... but the scope blows around with the slightest breeze and another 18 inches of area would only make this worse..... so who uses heaters while imaging with a newt ... and does it ruin your detail ?

TIP for newbies and such .... shoot as close to the meridian as you can...... more exposures = less noise and better images

Finally a big thankyou for Dave (Tamtarn) who came around and showed me how to setup a web page so i can have a larger offsite image.

http://stormfrontobservatory.googlepages.com/home

[h0ughy (David)]

awesome what a fantastic collection

[EzyStyles (Eric)]

great shots C. No wonder you've been quiet lately been gathering em images all together
I don't know about your tarantula it is still too cyan/blue . I like your new website too. That view you get at your observatory is amazing.

[tornado33]

Great work there. Nice neutral coloured sky backgrounds.
Id use the dew heaters. Thermal movements worry high magnification planetary imagers rather then deep sky at prime focus, and a dewed mirror is worse. I take it your secondary is the one that gets fogged. The tip is to have just enough heat to keep the dew off
Scott

[dugnsuz (Doug)]

Very, very nice Alchy!
My favs are the NGC 2442 galaxy - great image, and the Tarantula.
I'm turning cyan with envy
Doug

[glenc (Glen)]

Thanks Alchemy. I liked the images of nebulae best.

[Dennis]

A breathtakingly beautiful portfolio. Thanks for sharing the results of your hard graft.

Cheers

Dennis

[jase (Jason)]

Beautifully presented. Indeed, acquiring data when the object is high will certainly bring out the detail. Well done.

[theodog (Jeff)]

Originally Posted by tornado33

Great work there. Nice neutral coloured sky backgrounds.
Id use the dew heaters. Thermal movements worry high magnification planetary imagers rather then deep sky at prime focus, and a dewed mirror is worse. I take it your secondary is the one that gets fogged. The tip is to have just enough heat to keep the dew off
Scott

I'd agree with Scott.
With the return to more "normal" weather, dew is again going to strike the astro-imager. Use a heater to just keep the offending mirror above ambient. This may need some investigation to get right.

[iceman (Mike)]

Wow, what a fantastic collection of images. You've been very busy. Incredible detail in the tarantula, but love all of them.

Way to return with a bang!

[Ric]

A lovely selection of images Alchemy, M42 is very vibrant and enjoyable almost like a painting.

Cheers

[Matty P (Matt)]

A fantastic collection of images Alchemy, the image of the M42 is amazing.

[Alchemy (Clive)]

thanks all for looking,

I don't know about your tarantula it is still too cyan/blue (ezy)

I'm turning cyan with envy (Doug)

i wasnt sure if people would see red over this or even worse want to have a blue at least we can all still laugh.

Thanks Alchemy. I liked the images of nebulae best. (Glen C)

Glen actually pointed out RCW 40 should be RCW 38 - he's right too.

Beautifully presented. Indeed, acquiring data when the object is high will certainly bring out the detail. (Jase)

thaks Jase - i also used your SCM process which really helps with fine detail.

Use a heater to just keep the offending mirror above ambient. This may need some investigation to get right. (o dog)

I take it your secondary is the one that gets fogged. The tip is to have just enough heat to keep the dew off
Scott

Thanks for the tips guys, it is the secondary that goes first, i have a 12inch band at the base i will try it on a setting of 2 next time i am out just to see if it makes a difference.

Matty p, Ric,Ice, Dennis and H0ughy thanks for having a squiz.

hope ive not left anyone out. will talk to you all again at some stage.

[Tamtarn]

What a great selection. Lots of dedicated hours there. Like NGC2442 lots of detail and lots of background galaxies.

More please

D & B

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

This is perhaps the best medium focal length DSLR imaging I have seen on this forum?

Your processing has a very 80's proffessional observatory photo quality about it, the Cen A is just exquisit and so natural looking.

The detail you have achieved in the galaxies looks almost too good to be true compared to the sky around them? Do you process the galaxies seperately to the background?

Really Great work!!

MIke

[bloodhound31]

Stunning, just stunning! Good work mate. It's great to dissapear for a while to get some work like this done isnt it?

Salutations to you!

Baz.

[jase (Jason)]

While I have already commented on this post, I should mention I've come back numerous times to look at this exquisite collection of images. After some observation of the collection, my pick of the bunch would have to be this one - http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/a...1&d=1203162798

This is a very special image, that I feel stands out in a few ways. Composition is great and colour balance showing signs of pleasing saturation. Colourful round stars show gradient to white in their core. The galaxy looks graciously hanging there, with glimpses of it's background relatives dotted around the image. Remarkable detail in the spiral arms. All a credit to a well processed image.

Again, well done.

[marc4darkskies (Marcus)]

Wow! That's a beautiful collection of images there Alch! All top notch pics! Well done!!

Cheers, Marcus

[Phil]

wow great set of photos there you have done a great job there well done.
Phil

[Garyh]

All cracker shots! Alschemy
That M42 really stands up and hits you.
Excellent!
cheers Gary