Dark Doodad in Coona

[Ross G]

Hello,

Another photo from my last trip to Coonabarabran, The Dark Doodad in Musca.

It's sad to think that was way back in April.
I haven't had a chance to take an astrophoto since and the next 2 months are not looking good.
No wonder the years zoom by so fast in this hobby!

The photo is here http://smu.gs/121ZsqB

What do you think?

Thanks for looking.

Ross.

TOTAL EXPOSURE TIME 200 minutes
.....5 x 20 minute exposures
.....10 x 10 minute exposures

TELEVUE NP101 101mm, F5.4 REFRACTOR
QHY8L OSC CCD
SKYWATCHER EQ6PRO MOUNT
WO 66mm GUIDESCOPE
ORION STARSHOOT AUTOGUIDER
GUIDING WITH PHD

PROCESSING WITH DEEP SKY STACKER and PHOTOSHOP CS2

[tilbrook@rbe.ne]

That's stunning Ross!

Your sure have a handle on the processing, just great.

Cheers,

Justin.

[strongmanmike]

Excellent result Ross, a lovely framing there with a cool glowing look and it looks like dust too :thumbsup:

Mike

[peter_4059]

Nicely done Ross. So many stars in that field and the dust appears to hover above them the way you have presented this.

[multiweb]

Superb shot. Great colors and processing. :thumbsup:

[gregbradley]

Thats a great image Ross. I like it a lot.

Greg.

[Stevec35]

That's an extremely good dark doodad Ross! I like it a lot.

Cheers

Steve

[Paul Haese]

Love the colour and muted nature of the dust lane. Globular is well shown and resolved. Background is silky smooth and frame is nicely illuminated. Great image all round. Only one very minor gripe, in the left hand corners there is some either field rotation or tilt. It isn't much but noticeable when you open the full size image. Still a very nice image though. :thumbsup:

[naskies]

I really like the Dark Doodad - bit of an underrated object. Great detail, great colours and a very 3D look to the dust - well done!

[DavidU]

that's an awesome image !

[broca]

Well done Ross! Very nice job processing this!

[Larryp]

Great image, Ross

[David Fitz-Henr]

That looks very nice Ross; you can really sense that the dark dust is hanging out in front of that rich star field :thumbsup:

[alpal]

Hi Ross,
What an amazing shot to get with an OSC camera.
Makes you wonder why people use DSLRs since
this camera is not much more in price for the same chip size.

cheers
Allan

[John Hothersall]

That is a very solid object for just dust, stands out with striking clarity.

John.

[astronobob]

Spectacular image & magic work, very natural apperance in its awesomeness :thumbsup:

[alexch]

Very very nice, Ross. I like your processing a lot - the dust is very pronounced but still subtle.

Thanks for the view.

Alex

[marc4darkskies]

Lovely image, beautifully processed - well done Ross!

Cheers, Marcus

[RickS]

Lovely image, Ross! That's a real beauty.

[atalas]

Splendid work mate!

[jjjnettie]

Beautifully processed. :)
A joy to look at. Love all that dust.

[DJT]

Thats a cracking Image Ross. Beautifully processed and loads going on in the FOV.:thumbsup:

[Ross G]

Thanks Justin.

Getting the colours right is still difficult....so many versions!



Thanks Mike.
I always appreciate your encouraging comments. I'm very happy that you like it.
I think the new Televue telescope has played a big part. I'm surprised at the improvement over my previous William Optics 110mm refractor.



Thanks Peter. Really glad you like it.

As I said to Mike, I think the new telescope has played a big part in bringing out the detail and dust.

[Ross G]

Thanks Marc, I'm really pleased you like it, especially the colours.



Thank you Greg.

Glad you like it.



I appreciate the kind comments.

Thank you Steve.



Thank you Paul.

Kind comments like that from someone like you are very encouraging and well accepted!

Thanks for the advice as well. My telescope only has a 2" focuser and hanging off it is about 8" of camera and T-rings. I'm sure this must flex.
Also, I was in such a hurry to start imaging, I had drift aligned my azimuth, but had adjusted my altitude only with an inclinometer. Doing 20 minute exposures was probably pushing things a bit too far!
I did see the odd shaped stars in the corner and this seemed to change depending on where I was pointing the telescope.
It's something I will try to correct as I use the scope more.

Thanks again

[Ross G]

Thanks Dave. It is a favourite object of mine and I'm surprised more people are not imaging it as it's quite large.
I'm glad you like the photo.



Glad you like it David.

Thank you.



Thanks for the kind comments Steve.
I've seen some amazing work from you lately.



Thank you Larry.

Cheers.

[Ross G]

Thank you David. I think the new telescope had a lot to do with the dust coming out so well.



Hi Allan.

Glad you like it. The QHY8L OSC is working very well and is well suited to our "nomadic" style of imaging. I would love to see a comparison with a monochrome LRGB image to see how much difference in quality there is.



Thank you John.



Thank you very much Bob.
I really appreciate your kind commenst.

[TrevorW]

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

[Ross G]

Thank you for your kind and encouraging comments Alex.





Hi Marcus.

From someone with your skills, great praise.
Very much appreciated.

Thank you.



Thanks Rick.

Glad you like it.



Thank you very much Louie!




Thanks Jeanette.

The new telescope had a lot to do with it.



Thank you David.

[sjastro]

Very nice image Ross.

Regards

Steven

[marco]

Nice Ross, I have a thing for these dusty areas and the dark doodad is one of the best examples, pity too large for my current field of view.
Thanks for sharing this beautiful picture of it :thumbsup:

Clear skies
Marco

[Ross G]

Thanks Trevor.

[Ross G]

Thank you Steve.

Glad you like it.

[Ross G]

Thank you for the kind comments Marco.

It is a beautiful region and I get drawn to it every year for a photo.

[Shiraz]

that is a great image Ross - beautiful colour and it looks "real".

[Ross G]

Great compliment Ray.

Thank you.

[Screwdriverone]

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

MANY

STARS!!!!!!!

Mesmerising Ross, simply stunning!

Cheers

Chris

[Leonardo70]

Really nice Ross. Congrats.

All the best,
Leo

[Ross G]

It's a beautiful part of the sky.

Thank you for the great comments Chris.

[Ross G]

Thank you Leo.

[CoolhandJo]

I havnt been around for a while Ross - but looking at this you have gone through the roof now! Wonderful

[Ross G]

Hi Paul.

How have you been?

How is the Atik(?) camera going?

Thanks for the kind comments but I think upgrading my WO110 doublet refractor to a Televue NP101 after nearly 5 years has a lot to do with the improved photos.

Catch up at Wiruna one day soon hopefully.