M20 - work in progress

[marc4darkskies]

These days, between the weather and my work committments, astrophotography is like an itch I can't scratch!!! :(

I first imaged the Trifid back in July 07 when it was once of the first images I took. Since that rather blurry rendition (here (http://www.pbase.com/gailmarc/image/82314316/original)), my skills have grown a bit so I thought I'd shoot it again to see what effect 5 years of experience would have. After finishing off my Sombrero image, I only got as far as some Luminance before the weather and moon intervened.

Anyway, here 'tis:

Full Res:
http://www.pbase.com/gailmarc/image/150932230/original

Cheers, Marcus

[RickS]

Looks like it will be a fantastic image, Marcus! Huge amounts of nebulosity and the Herbig-Haro jet stands out like the proverbial :lol:

[peter_4059]

That's going to be great when it's done Marcus.

[Larryp]

Lovely detail, Marcus!

[alpal]

That's so sharp - I can't wait to see the final result.

[E_ri_k]

Yeah, fantastic! Bring on some colour. Looks really sharp and crisp! Look forward to see it completed :)
Erik

[batema]

Hi Marcus,

It looks like another fantastic image coming up. I was surprised when I read your first image in 2007. As someone who is desperate to improve my image quality what would you say you have done to produce the magnificent images I see from you regularly if that is OK to ask.

Mark

[Shiraz]

Simply excellent Marcus - major change from 2007. and where did you find that seeing?

regards Ray

[marc4darkskies]

Cheers Rick! Yes, the HH jet is one of the gauges you use to judge the quality of M20 images. I was pretty chuffed to see it so clearly this time!



Hope so, thanks Peter!



Thanks Larry!



Thanks Al!



Thanks Erik! Hopefully since it's such a bright object gathering the colour won't take too long - I just need one clear, moonless, weekend night! :doh:



Thank you Mark! That's a reeeally tough question though mate and I couldn't hope to do it justice here. In a nutshell for me though it was having a goal, buying the best equipment to suit that goal, researching, understanding and applying all the essential processing steps, and practice! Also, understanding that there is no set recipe for final processing was liberating, and this freed me up to experiment!



Thanks Ray. Deconvolution is my friend! ;)

[E_ri_k]

:lol: A lot of variables there! I know them all too well!

[Stevec35]

The usual high quality image Marcus. The colour should be spectacular.

Cheers

Steve

[SkyViking]

That's looking awesome Marcus, can't wait to see the final result in colour. The jets and details are very clear, great work as usual :)

[allan gould]

This image is so detailed and dimensional. Looks great in monochrome so the colour should add so much to it.
Allan

[gregbradley]

Brilliant. Those TOA150s are really something aren't they.

Greg.

[dvj]

Marcus,

Your full res grayscale is absolutly stunning!

jg

[alistairsam]

That's stunning Marcus, look forward to the colour.
Never seen it this close.

Out of curiosity, what is this odd shaped star at 12 o'clock?
Could these be two stars almost in line or an artifact?

cheers

[multiweb]

Awesome closeup Marcus. Unreal image scale. Bring on the colour. :thumbsup:

[marc4darkskies]

Just a few! :)



Thanks Steve!



Cheers Rolf! Much appreciated.



Thanks very much Allan!



Thankyou Greg. Glad you liked it mate.



Many thanks John!



Cheers Alistair, glad you liked it! Very observant of you mate!! :) The saturated star is a triple (mag 5.77 - Washington Double Star catalogue BU 283) with separations of 8 (AB) and 14 (AC) arcsecs.



Thanks a lot Marc! I'll be able to get even closer in a few months! :D

[Ross G]

Amazing detail Marcus.

Good luck with the final photo.

Ross.

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks and thanks Ross! :)

[Leonardo70]

Wonderful ...
I hope to shot this subject this summer .. very low here.

All the best,
Leo

[strongmanmike]

Looking reeeally good Marcus! :thumbsup:

Mike

[marc4darkskies]

Look forward to seeing that Leo! Thanks very much!



Thanks Mike!

[Paul Haese]

Nice Marcus, very buttery smooth Lum. Great detail. I have done 9.5 hours on the image I am working on and not as smooth as that.

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks a lot Paul! M20 is very bright so not too hard to get a smooth result. It's nice not having to worry about applying noise reduction once in a while! :)