Eta Carina and Key Hole

[jjjnettie]

I thought I'd share the Eta Carina image I captured last night.
ED127mm
CDS1100D @ ISO 800
3 minute subs for 1hr and 24min of data.
Stacked in DSS and processed in CS3.

I learned a lot about processing stars with this image. Something I'll bring to my next images.
No matter how many times we image an object, there is always something else we can learn. :)

PS. I had to use such short subs as I was set up at the side of the house, on the lawn. The ground is still rather damp and while I did compact the mount down when I set up, there was naturally still movement occuring as the scope moved.
So the PHD graph was almost flat lining, but I was getting trailing after 3 minutes.

High res version here. http://www.flickr.com/photos/astro_jjj_unprocessed_data/8463829572/sizes/k/in/pool-973956@N23/
New version here. http://www.flickr.com/photos/astro_jjj_unprocessed_data/8468800091/sizes/k/in/photostream/

OK, So I've given in to popular opinion and have upped the saturation levels. :)

[multiweb]

That's a really nicely processed shot. Gorgeous. :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

[RickS]

Delicate, subtle colours, JJJ. Very nice!

[Larryp]

Nice images, JJJ!:thumbsup:

[DJT]

You have squeezed out some really fine detail there. Nicely done

[Sarge]

Well done JJJ. That ED127 is producing some lovely results.

Clear skies

Rod
:D:D

[h0ughy]

nice work JJJ, nice scope arent they

[strongmanmike]

Yes, even though t'is only the good'ol Eta Carina Neb, that's very good JJ and I like the subtle variations in the salmon pink hues too :thumbsup:

Mike

[jjjnettie]

Thanks for looking. :)
Mike, I experimented a lot with colour while processing (as you do) and came back to the "less is more" palette.

[LightningNZ]

Those stars are dead sharp JJJ. Very delicate handling of the final image. Hopefully one day I'll be able to make images this nice.

Cheers,
Cam

[alocky]

Hey! No fair! I got in first...:)
Very nice and sharp detail.
I think 3372 is so bright that you need relatively short subs anyway, or it burns out.
cheers,
Andrew.

[batema]

Very nice. Great start to a great scope. Great night the other night. I will try to photograph my frozen bubbles.

[jjjnettie]

Aye, the awesome foursome rides again. :)
I loved the idea of frozen bubbles.

[gregbradley]

Great images JJJ. You must be chuffed with those. Getting such nice round stars is a great thing. Nice detail too.

Whats a CDS1100D? A modded Canon 1100D?

Greg.

[jjjnettie]

LOL It's modded beyond recognition. The only thing original is the sensor and mother board.

http://www.centralds.net/cam/?product=cds-1100d-uvir

[acropolite]

Lovely work JJJ. :bowdown::bowdown:

[Nicola]

Great detail JJ, I'd push the saturation a bit here and there to give a more 3D feeling.

[leinad]

Smooth, can even pick out the detail without strain. A great pic, :)

[gregbradley]

Thanks for that. Wow, that is what I call a modded DSLR! It makes a lot of sense to remount the guts of the DSLR in a astro CCD style body.
That must've taken a lot of work. These guys are serious. I wonder if they do a Nikon D800 in a body like that?

Greg.

[SkyViking]

Nice work, the stars look very sharp. You can probably safely push the saturation slightly, there seems to be lots of good data there :)

[PRejto]

These look terrific! Bravo.

[Ross G]

Great looking photo Jeanette.

Sharp and smooth with nice colours.

Your Canon is an amazing piece of work...more like a new ccd than just a modded DSLR.

How low does it cool?


Ross.

[asimov]

Lovely smooth work Jeanette! Well done.

[jjjnettie]

They claim it will go down to 28C below ambient.
They also say that the temperature registered in BYE is approx 4 degrees warmer than the actual temp.
In this particular image the subs were registering at -9, so in reality it was -13.
There is no temperature control, the peltier runs flat out all the time.

[danielsun]

Wow JJJ, Great work. The high res is the way to view it. Very smooth and beautiful fine detail. Very nice image indeed! :thumbsup:

Cheers Daniel.

[jjjnettie]

:) awww shucks, thanks.

[kinetic]

I agree, that is a damn fine capture J, veeery smooth and well processed.

Steve

[naskies]

Nice work! :) Glad to see the ED127 is working well for you.

[Octane]

I would go so far as to say that this is the best image you've made so far, jjJJJjjJJjJj.

One to be very proud of.

Dang, I loves me a good aperture refractor. I miss my ED127. :)

H

[cybereye]

Very nice indeed jjj! :thumbsup:

[jjjnettie]

It's a sweet combination all right.
It will keep me busy for the next couple of years I think. :)

[RobF]

This really is a spectacular effort JJJ. Its sharp as even without hours of Ha. Top stuff.