Eta in 5nm Ha

[pmrid]

I was blown away by Bert's NII 3nm image the other day and since I don't have an NII filter, decided to do Ha 5nm which takes in the NII band at 658.4nm as well as Ha at 656.28. Best I can do with what I have.

Anyway, I also decided to try HDR for a change and here then is my rendition of Eta in Ha.

Moon 1 day off full, and dawn just blooming in the east.
Scope is a Vixen R200SS newt 8" @ F4
Astrodon 5nm filter
SXVR_H16 cam OAG on Titan.

Peter

[Larryp]

Great image, Peter-and so much detail. It looks almost 3 dimensional

[strongmanmike]

Excellent Pete.

The look is similar to what shadow highlights in PS can impart..?

Do you have some pictures of your imaging gear? I'm looking at getting an SX camera of my own for high res galaxy and planetary work soon and I'm interested in what your Newtonian OAG setup looks like :).

Mike

[mbaddah]

Amazing shot!!! Well done.

[pmrid]

Cheers Mike. I'll take a couple later today - it's too bleeding hot to go over at the moment. I have used a full SX rig with their OAG and FW as well as the camera. The good thing about that setup is that the OAG/FW only takes up 38mm and the SXVR_H16 distance to sensor is 17.5mm so I'm able to come within .5mm of the optimum distance for an MPCC.

I also have an ATIK LE4000 (same sensor) with a similar OAG/FW combo on another scope and it works the same.

Downside with the SXVR line of cameras is that you're wedded to the appropriate SX line of guide cameras like he Exview I use. I have a Losestar on the ATIK rig for that reason.

Peter

[strongmanmike]

Cheers Pete, yes I have 79mm of back focus for the Wynn corrector so plenty of room, hence my thoughts of getting an SX again :-)

Still like to see your photos thogh, cheers

Mike

[ozstronomer]

Great shot Pete, the HDR process has produced an excellent image.

[pmrid]

As requested.
I've included the SX rig on the Vixen and also the ATIK/SX rig on the WO. The Vixen was difficult to setup mainly because of the weight distributionand needing to get enough clearance for the FW at the front end. Problem solved by bolting a small 80mm finder scope on the back with the tail hanging out behind. If the Vixen looks a little "short" it's because I surgically removed 15mm of the back end to push the primary a little further up the OTA and gain a bit more backfocus.


Peter

[strongmanmike]

Cheers for that Peter, two nice rigs you have there!

Is that inside the observatory or your garage..?

Mike

[RickS]

Nice image, Peter! What software did you use to do the HDR?

[avandonk]

This image of Peters shows not one of us has a monopoly on imaging. Peters image shows detail lacking in mine as with my wide fields I try to show the faint outer detail and even with HDR blows out the bright areas a bit too much.

I am still exploring what my system can do. It surprises me every night.

With any equipment it is not what you have but how you use it to its full potential.

There is no perfect system. It is only what the astrophotographer can squeeze out of what he/she has out of the data with their hard earned skills.

Bert

[pmrid]

Thanks everyone. I am grateful for the remarks.

Mike: that's the obs - it's a big one at 4x5metres. Moving that roof (which is double-sheeted and insulated) was what led to my shafting my back in a big way 6 months back. Since then, opening and closing is done by using 4WD winches cables and pulleys.

Rick, I just used the HDR routine in PS5. If there's another option, I don't know it but remain happy to learn.

Peter

[RickS]

That's probably as good a way as any, Peter. PixInsight has some HDR tools and there are also standalone tools for doing it.

[Ross G]

Great photo Peter.

Some amazing detail.

Ross.

[jjjnettie]

We all process differently to accentuate different aspects of our targets. Some go for colour, others like to delve into the darker depths and short exposures allow us to see faint detail in bright regions.
Each image has it's merits. What one person finds attractive, others find hard to accept.

There is so much detail in this image Peter. Plenty to explore. Thanks for posting.

[Fabiomax]

Excellent image, great detail. I am very interested in your work with the Newton. I have to solve problems with my newton :-),
Cheers,
Fabiomax