Ngc 1532

[marc4darkskies]

This is quite a small galaxy to image being almost edge on (12.6 x 3.3 arcmins), so it's pretty much at the limit of what my TOA can do and still yield a reasonable result. Galaxy processing is always a bit of a challenge and this one was no different, but I'm pretty happy with this for now :).

Large (full res crop - about 70% of the full frame):
http://www.pbase.com/gailmarc/image/148262946/original

There are a few other distant galaxies in there too. Hope you like it.

Cheers, Marcus

[Larryp]

A very nice image, Marcus!

[gregbradley]

Really nicely done Marcus.

Love the colours, detail and wonderful stars. You get so much detail from your rig. I have some hours of this one I am accumulating. Not there yet, still accumulating.

Greg.

[Octane]

Marcus,

Wow, that's a stunner -- such beautiful detail in the dust lanes.

Makes me want that refractor...

H

[David Fitz-Henr]

That's a lovely image Marcus; good details and very nice colour processing. It has quite a "realistic" feel to it. I'll have to add this to my to-do list (which is growing rapidly thanks to the rotten weather we've been having).

[LewisM]

Just look at how many background GX there are in that picture! I lost count.

[RickS]

Really lovely, Marcus! An excellent image of an interesting object.

[RobF]

Choke! That's stunning. What else can I say.
Not really familiar with this one, which makes it even more enjoyeable. Hmm, off to read up more....

[RB]

Wow Marcus, how beautiful is that!

I must get around to taking my TOA out of the box on of these days.

:scared3: :lol:

[cventer]

Wow. Thats gorgeous. Well done I have not seen this one before. Amazing detail.

[cybereye]

Marcus,

This image took me on a galactic journey! I really had a sense of travelling towards this galaxy with the other galaxies off in the distance like sign posts!

Wonderful!

Cheers,
Mario

[marc4darkskies]

Thank you Laurie



Cheers Greg! Look forward to seeing your rendition! I was pleasantly surprised just how much blue signal there was - it's a very photogenic galaxy - albeit a bit small.



Thanks Humi! Take a number! :) The TOA is an exquisite scope and when the seeing is good she shines!



Thanks a lot David! It's always a challenge to make an image pop without going fluro. I was hoping I'd achieved this. You'll probably have to hurry to give it a go this year - I only gathered the RGB by the skin of my teeth (to image at a respectable altitude).



Cheers Lewis - that's one of the nice by products of galaxy imaging - there are invariably other more subtle little gems in the frame.



Cheers Rick. I just need a bit more focal length now! :D



Thanks Rob - it was Martin Pugh's rendition that put it on my target list.



Thanks Andrew! But oh dear - shame on you - a TOA in a box! :lol: You're as bad as Peter Ward - a 14.25" RCOS in a box! :)



Thanks Chris



Hi Mario - thanks for that! I like the way you think :)

[Paul Haese]

I don't say this very often but that is stunning (I don't like over using this word). Superb detail and very noise free.

The STL11000 sure does a great job on backgrounds. I have to take many hours of data with the QSI to get the same effect and sometimes that is not practical. Larger wells make all the difference. Where as the STL11 on my RC does this easily with way less time.

[Peter Ward]

Yep. You did good.

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks Paul! High praise indeed mate!

I had 18x15min Lum subs and that made for a low noise combine. I did some relatively minor noise reduction as well on Lum. I'm told that the STLs are quite noisy compared to say an FLI Proline.



Cheers Peter!

[strongmanmike]

Hey Marcus, that came together very well indeed, lovely result with plenty of detail as I expected ;).

I think I need a new monitor though because on mine the sky looks jet black (clipped) with an abrupt edge to the galaxy :question:...from the other comments I have to assume others are not seeing this :question: and while I can see a couple, I can't see lots of background galaxies that others seem to be able too :sadeyes:

This makes me wonder what my images are looking like on other monitors now, since my good monitor died last year, I am using a kinda crappy monitor that Angie used as a TV when she was living in Sydney last year...:question: it looks like I need to go and get a proper monitor...?

Mike

[strongmanmike]

I think it has more to do with the long subs and Marcus's talent ;) ..as Marcus says the 11000 chip is not known for low noise, particularly in the old STL platform.

Mike

[David Fitz-Henr]

Yes it looks good - I believe that galaxy images need more subtlety when it comes to colour saturation than nebulae to keep that natural look, as people in general understand what a galaxy "looks like".
I'll have to wait till next year for this though, I already have a few uncompleted image captures due to all the lousy weather!


I recall that you made the same comment for on one of my images too Mike! For gawd's sake go and buy a new monitor! :scared3: Seriously though, I had a simlar problem with my old monitor and I eventually bought a new Dell U2410 which had some good reviews and is one of the best for the price range (~$600); the prices rise dramatically for the next level.

[strongmanmike]

Aaah I see, ok, ok, hav'in a dig huh fellas?... ;) :lol: Just call me Mike Hallas :whistle:



Yes looks good...I think I'll go get one... hopefully I don't go eeeek when I see my images on it :lol:

Mike

[alpal]

Hi Marcus,
At magnitude 12 that's a tough target.
You have excelled to pick that up so well.

cheers
Allan

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks Big Fella!

I did go back and have a look at the PS file to check there was no clipping - just to be sure. The histograms are certainly very steep at the black end (typical of small galaxy shots), so I hyper stretched to check the shape. See the attached histogram (which shows a very exaggerated but otherwise invisible blue cast). You can see a nice tail at the black end in all 3 channels - so there is no clipping.:)

David is a brave man :) but he's right - treat yourself to a good monitor. Also do a check using my calibration image: http://www.pbase.com/gailmarc/image/75937224 . See also http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/ for a more detailed examination of your monitor.



Aaawww shucks! :love:



Thanks Allan, much appreciated. Did you notice the very faint stubby tail at the bottom pointing downwards? There's also a faint element of halo above it as well extending towards the dwarf companion. You need a good monitor :D and a darkened room to see it.

[Leonardo70]

Wonderful Marc, great details ...

All the best,
Leo

[alpal]

Originally Posted by alpal http://www.iceinspace.com.au/vbiis/images/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?p=947940#post947940)
Hi Marcus,
At magnitude 12 that's a tough target.
You have excelled to pick that up so well.

cheers
Allan



Marcus


Yes I can see that easily.
What is remarkable is that you took the image at f 11.7.
That would have given a great image scale but dimmed it so much.
The 18 subframes of luminance at 15 minutes each has given you better than
1/4 of the noise & managed to pull the galaxy out of the noise so well.
You normally think of big RCs for shots like that.
That 1.6 x extender is such high quality.

Looking at this pic:

http://www.pbase.com/gailmarc/image/132904591

& this

http://www.pbase.com/gailmarc/image/107950664

showing adaptive optics.
it's such a powerful setup & you've shown what it can do.

cheers
Allan

[sjastro]

Very fine image Marcus.

Steven

[David Fitz-Henr]

Ahhh, no not me Mike! It was just a general opinion of mine on processing styles; I've always loved your galaxy images! :prey: <aside to Marcus> What the heck have you gotten me into here ? ... the guy's nickname is "strongmanmike" for pity's sake ... :scared::scared:

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks again Allan!



Thanks Leo - glad you liked it.



Cheers Steven!

[Ross G]

An amazing galaxy photo Marcus.

Great detail and beautiful colours.

Ross.

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks very much Ross. You saw the newer version - where I've made the very faint halo a bit more visible. It doesn't extend very far but it's there!

[TrevorW]

I like well done !!

[marc4darkskies]

Glad, thanks Trevor! :)

[Regulus]

That's a remarkable photo. The detail and the colour you've achieved is very good.

Thx for posting it.

Trevor

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks very much Trevor! I'm constantly amazed at what a mere 150mm scope can do, especially on targets as small and as faint as this galaxy. Taks rule, OK? :D;)

[Shiraz]

What an exceptional image Marcus. Beautifully processed and it looks like you had some very nice seeing as well. Regards Ray

[alexandre]

Hello Marcus.
I find this very beautiful image, colors are magnificent and very fine details!

Good work!;)
@lex

[Bassnut]

Cronic lack of FL

[strongmanmike]

Coprolalia

:lol:

[DavidNg]

Good work Marcus. Lots of details for a small target. Agree with other, the colors are superb. David

[PRejto]

Hi Marcus, I'm late replying but not because I don't think the image is great!

Reading through this thread made me aware of the 1.6X extender. Is that kit just for a Tak, or would it work with other APOs as well (like my TEC140), and do you use a flattener with it? (I'm guessing probably not...)

Thanks, and great work. Really fires me up to try a lot harder. If only the weather would give a guy a break.

Peter

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks Ray! Yep - I seem to luck out with seeing when I shoot galaxies. As near as I can figure it was was about 1.7 arcsec (very good for Sydney).



Thank you Alex!





:lol: Oh you guyzzz!!! Not sure what I can do to fix the FL problem Fred :question: any ideas? ...... #$%@heads! :P:D



Thanks David!



Thanks Peter. Not sure the 1.6 would work with anything other than a Tak TOA. Probably a question for the equipment oracle ... Greg Bradley! :)

[multiweb]

Superb shot. Fantastic field and colors. :thumbsup:

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks a lot Marc! Much appreciated!