Dreyer's Nebula - IC447 - 8 Hours / Veloce RH 200 F3 / Negev Desert

[Harel_Boren]

Hi guys,

It's (n)ice to be here, in this space (...) and here's the first image I am actually posting here.

It's one shot from the Negev Desert in Israel (270 km from where I live) 2 weeks ago. It's my longest exposure to date, and the first full session with the Officina Stellare Veloce RH 200.

I am brining 3 resolutions:
1158 pixels wide: http://www.pbase.com/boren/image/148405700/original
1600 pixels wide: http://www.pbase.com/boren/image/148405510/original
2000 pixels wide: http://www.pbase.com/boren/image/148454913/original

I hope you like them, and any comment is very welcome.

All the best,
Harel :hi:

[David Fitz-Henr]

Great image Harel! There is a lot of variety here - blue reflection nebulae, dark nebulae, red emission nebulae and nice star colours! I don't think I've seen this one before.

[prokyon]

Great result with stunning colors and details!! :thumbsup:

[Poita]

I'm loving these images that are starting to appear from the RH scopes.

What difficulties do you find imaging at f3?

[LewisM]

!תמונות קסום. תודה. אני תמיד רצה לצלם את השמים בישראל

[multiweb]

Very interesting field. The colors and details are awesome. :thumbsup:

[ReaPerMan]

I Haven't seen this one before. Very nice, welcome to IIS, looking forward to seeing more of your work.

all the best

Paul :thumbsup:

[Larryp]

Very nice, Harel! I have not seen this before, either

[gregbradley]

Great shot Harel. You picked up a lot of detail.

This RH scope is an intriguing instrument. It seems to work well with the 8300 chip.

A couple of reflection green and red halos around bright yellow stars. What do you think caused that? I see you are using Astrodon Gen 11 filters. Were these reflection halos only with the green and red subs? I am not criticising here, merely interested as I am evaluating the performance of this scope as a potential scope for my own use and reflection halos is one of those performance criterions.

What was the seeing like?

Greg.

[RickS]

Nice image, Harel.

[dvj]

Sweet! Nice to see deep color images with the RH200.

j

[tilbrook@rbe.ne]

Superb Harel!

Another one to place on the imaging list.

Cheers,

Justin.

[Paul Haese]

Very nice image. I really like the colour and saturation.

[Harel_Boren]

Thanks David,

Yes, this is what truly lured me to this area... I was stunned by the richness of it all... There's hardly any form seen in nebulae that doesn't show in this area!

Cheers,
Harel

[Harel_Boren]

Thanks! I am happy you liked it!
It's actually the first time ever I invest 4:20 hours in shooting color. It's been recommended to me for a long time now, by my friend Tal Faibish, but I somehow managed to silently ignore the self-evident. I am so grateful to have listned, as it really paid off big time :-)
Cheers,
Harel

[Harel_Boren]

Thanks! The only difficulty you will seriously encounter in a short-focal-ratio scope such as the Veloce or the Powernewt, is the fact that the Critical Focus Zone is very small. It's actually +/- 10 micron...

That means, that any small tilt in the imaging plane, will translate into part of the image not being in focus, while the other part is. The part not in focus will reveal all sorts of abberations, which are difficult to handle. Hence you will find yourself investing some effort at the beginning of each imaging session, to make sure that you eliminate all tilt from the system.

Accordingly, I have made a carrying case for the Veloce, which houses the camera together with the scope, such that there's no need to disconnect the two (and risk any change of imaging plane) prior to the next session. You can see the images here: http://www.pbase.com/boren/image/148381443 and here: http://www.pbase.com/boren/image/148381439

Cheers,
Harel

[Harel_Boren]

תודה רבה לואיס. אתה תמיד ברוך הבא אצלנו אם תרצה לבוא. תרגיש חופשי ליצור איתי קשר אם אתה בא לבקר. אנחנו נהנה מאד לארח אותך לתצפית איתנו. להתראות, הראל

[Harel_Boren]

Thank you Marc !
Please check out the note on color I posted just below, in reply to another of the comments.
Cheers,
Harel

[Harel_Boren]

Thanks Paul!
I find it very cozy around here... It's really a very nice and friendly forum, and I look forward to years of exchanging thoughts, and images, and what not :)
Cheers,
Harel

[Harel_Boren]

Thanks Laurie, I am really happy you liked it !
Cheers,
Harel

[Harel_Boren]

Thanks Greg,


Frankly I have no idea bout the halos... I actually find them very nice and contributing to the overall image, that I didn't make any attempt to diminish them in any way. I think they came through in the red and green images only.


The seeing was 2"-2.5" that night, which is less than what we usually get at that site :-)


Cheers,
Harel

[Harel_Boren]

Thanks Justin!
I actually learned about this object from Tom Davis' site, and it was love from first sight :-)
Cheers,
Harel

[Harel_Boren]

Thanks Paul, I am truly happy you liked it!
About the color - please see my reply to Prokyon's post earlier in this thread :-)
Cheers,
Harel

[marc4darkskies]

That's gorgeous Harel! I love the depth and mix of colour!

It's now on my target list!:)

Cheers, Marcus

[Ross G]

Great photo Harel.

Beautiful colours.

Ross.

[Harel_Boren]

Thanks Ross, thanks Marcus,

Marcus, Indeed I love that combination too in this region. I got one note from an astronomy teacher, who asked permission to use the photo with his class, as it contains so many interesting astronomical phenomenon in one field of view..

Cheers,
Harel

[gregbradley]

Harel,

It would be great if you could write some notes about this scope in the equipment section. I'd be very interested. Especially how it compares to other alternative scopes.

Greg.

[strongmanmike]

Really lovely result Harel, I too like the combination of colours. This is a dream scope and I would love one... it's specs eat the small chip of your 8300 camera for breakfast :thumbsup:

I enjoyed reading your technical notes and first light experiences too :thumbsup: that desert location looks great too.

Mike

[Harel_Boren]

Thanks Greg!

I will certainly post up my second light report here too. Up in 5 min. :-)

Cheers,
Harel

[Harel_Boren]

Thanks Mike! This year it'll be the first time we're taking this scope to Namibia, replacing the Powernewt which rode with us during the last two years. It's portability was the main consideration underlying our decision to acquire one...

I am posting the second light report in a few min., I hope you'll find it of use :hi:

Cheers,
Harel

[petershah]

and what an image to start with Harel....just beautiful

[Harel_Boren]

Thanks John!
I really loved how the color came out.. .
Cheers,
Harel

[Harel_Boren]

Thank you Peter. I am happy you liked it; I value your judgement very much.
Cheers,
Harel