A series of deep space widefields

[gregbradley]

Here is a series of deep space objects I took widefield last weekend.

D800E, Nikon 180mm F2.8ED or 24-70 F2.8ED.

http://upload.pbase.com/gregbradley/image/149284965 Saggitarius

http://upload.pbase.com/gregbradley/image/149284952 Eta Carina

http://upload.pbase.com/gregbradley/image/149284721 The Large Magellanic Cloud
http://www.pbase.com/gregbradley/image/149295415 The Southern
Cross
http://www.pbase.com/gregbradley/image/149225470 Rho Ophiuchi area (posted separately already)

All done on a Polarie mount.

Greg.

[toryglen-boy]

very nice Greg, thanks for sharin' :)

[RickS]

A wonderful collection of images, Greg!

[IanP]

Great series, Greg !!!
It looks like D800E doesn't need any modds for astrophoto, at least for widefields ..
:thumbsup:

[gregbradley]

Thanks for that!



Thanks Rick. I reprocessed a couple to correct an incorrect histogram on 2.



It has surprisingly good Ha performance for a DSLR. Still nothing like a CCD cam but as you say for widefields the gain from a mod may not be that great (I am about to modify a Sony Nex 6 so I will know for sure soon!).
Greg.

[multiweb]

Awesome shots Greg. Saggitarius would be my fav although the colors in the cross and coalsack are great. :thumbsup:

[David Fitz-Henr]

Yes, all great images Greg!

In order of my preference:
1. Sagittarius / Rho Ophiuchus / Large Magellanic Cloud
2. Southern Cross
3. Eta Carina

... but not much between them.

[Stevec35]

Great stuff Greg - like them all although Eta Carina is a bit burnt out in the centre. Maybe a bit of shadow highlight? BTW Sagittarius only has one g.

Cheers

Steve

[gregbradley]

LOL. I knew I'd mispelt Sagittarius but I thought it had 2 r's!
I'll check out that burnt core.

Thanks Steve.



Thanks Marc and thanks for your help on the histograms - I learnt something new today!



Thanks David. Eta looked great on the camera LCD but not quite as good in the processing.

I have a few more to do. Small Magellanic Cloud, Orion and I took some Milky Way panoramas. Its quite tiring though as I didn't finish until 5am. It'll get easier as it rises earlier though.

I think I'll pick a target and set the intervalometer to do lots and see what happens. Maybe a mosaic of a few panels centred on Sagittarius would be the go.

Greg.

[Larryp]

Great series of images, Greg:thumbsup:

[strongmanmike]

Yeh great stuff Greg, you must be happy with those! I like'em all.... except the Rho region one, it looks a tad too white'sh and a bit harsh :confuse3: but in the end a great collection :)...bit jealous actually, my Nikon needs a good lens or two :sadeyes:

Mike

[seeker372011]

Lovely pictures

[gregbradley]

Thanks Larry.



Yes the lens makes a big difference. I'll reshoot the Rho one next time its dark and I am at my site and do longer exposures. Its just not enough exposure time to capture all those lovely subtle colours.



Thanks for that!

Greg.

[rogerg]

Saggitarius Milky Way core: Great!

Eta Carina: OK but ... saturation? busy? contrast? ... not sure what it is but feels a bit straining on the eye :)

The Large Magellanic Cloud: Great for 30s :) 6D was giving me this kind of result.

The Southern Cross: Nice, but like Eta the stars field is a bit overwhelming :)

Rho Ophiuchi: Stunning, not sure if this or the first is my favorite :)

[iceman]

Fantastic shots. Doing well with the polarie!

[gregbradley]

Thanks Roger. I'll have another look at those and see if I can tone down the Eta a bit. Perhaps a bit too heavy on the processing.



Thanks Mike. Its a great little unit once you get used to it.
Greg.

[Leonardo70]

Really nice Greg, amazing image.

All the best,
Leo

[astronobob]

Great collection Greg, very deep yet not over done , , Top work ! !

[Joshua Bunn]

Fantastic shots of southern winter sky objects Greg, I like em.

Josh

[ourkind]

Stunning images Greg, I really like both Saggitarius and Rho Ophiuchi!

You are certainly making it hard for me in not purchasing a Polarie anytime soon!

[Ross G]

Hi Greg,

Amazing widefields.

Beautiful colour and composition.

Your Nikon D800E and Polarie...what a great combination!

Ross.

[gregbradley]

Hey Leo - thanks!



Cheers Bob. I have a few more to process as well.



Thanks Josh. I didn't take my normal astro rig with me because the weather forecast was for cloud and I had 2 great nights!



Sorry about that Carlos. But it is a fun little mount.



Cheers Ross. Yes I like both of them a lot.

Greg.