M16 Eagle

[strongmanmike]

I had some reasonable seeing again last night and with the bright moon up I was limited to things I could do in narrowband so I decided to have a go at the venerable Pillars of Creation area of the Eagle Nebula.

The results are quite satisfying and somewhat better than I managed with the Starfire :thumbsup: plus I haven't had the good seeing I know Wallaroo gets yet, since putting on the new camera, so I hope to get lucky once the moon goes and I hammer a galaxy :)

Details under the image :thumbsup:

Favourite crop (http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/151533136/original)

100% resolution close up (http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/151533152/original)

The Full Frame (http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/151533132/original)

[pluto]

Some great detail in the pillars, nice work :)

[astronobob]

Gobsmax, so inspiring & the envy of many, even under those conditions Mike ! !

[strongmanmike]

Thanks Hugh, yes I guess that bit of this area is the benchmark of an imaging system and the seeing. I was happy with the outcome but under better seeing conditions I think I can creep up another notch..?



Cheers Bobby :thumbsup:

Mike

[Tandum]

That's pretty good Mike. Looks like that smaller camera is doing the job in the big newt. I guess it would be postage stamp sized using the FLI.

[jase]

Great image Mike! I agree with your 'somewhat better' statement over the Starfire images of this target. The Starfire certainly provided a strong benchmark. I enjoyed the palette you've presented compared to previous versions and the finer details look fantastic.

To be honest I was hoping to see something different from you. You've already got no less that 12 different renditions of M16 not including this one. Are there any more photons to capture, even if a benchmark image? Perhaps a mosaic or an off the beaten path target to give yourself a challenge. You're an accomplished imager, shooting the same'ol, same'ol has to surely wear thin. How about some new stuff that will push the system and yourself?

[strongmanmike]

:lol: On ya Jase :thumbsup: M16 is my M8 (for Marc Aragnou)

Aaah, thanks for the insight :rolleyes: :lol:... I have only just got this system together, it is still a mostly manual system, the moon is up so in general precludes non narrowband, the weather has been uncooperative, I have been updating the control software (testing phase) and I have no automation...aaahh anything else :question: ;)

Oh and I did do the Bug Nebula, an object I have only imaged once before in 30 years of astrophotography and imaging :D

Be patient fella, I will do something new soon all ready for you to scrutinise and comment on :thumbsup:

Mike

[strongmanmike]

Thanks, and yes, I'm very happy so far :thumbsup:

Mike

[h0ughy]

its a lovely M8---err M16 there ya go doouble the value ;)

[alpal]

Nice job on that Mike.

What will be your next galaxy target?

[DJT]

The resolution is quite incredible with that setup. I just wanna know what dark arts and other mumbo jumbo you are tossing about when processing these. I suspect 30 odd years of experience tells somewhat.

Fantastic stuff. :thumbsup:

[Shiraz]

another nice benchmark image Mike. Working up well for the main game - the moon is on the way, so bring on the galaxies! regards Ray

[multiweb]

Very cool shot. :thumbsup: Great colors. Given your aperture I reckon you'll get a lot more details with better seeing Got 2h on this one last night in Ha before it got a little hazy. It's a real nice target.

[strongmanmike]

M8, M16 all the same huh...? :lol:



Gooood question :question:...... depends on a number of factors but with Pisces Austrinus, Pavo and Grus all becoming favourable, shouldn't be short of targets :thumbsup:



Cheers, yes so far things are panning out with the new camera gear, the first 16 months with this scope had me worried it wasn't capable of truly high res but I always suspected it was just the seeing at my former location and now I know :prey: it was just so bad at Newcastle it did have me worried....



Cheers Ray and yep a galaxy is coming...just to chose which ones now :question:



Hmm?..I thought the detail was already pretty decent :question:...but I agree, while the seeing was ok for this session, during the testing phase I have seen it better from inside the dome, so I know I have to get lucky eventually :prey: :thumbsup:

[alpal]

Mike,


Yes - I'm thinking of NGC 300, NGC 55, NGC 1097, NGC 247, NGC 157, NGC 253 etc.

So many nice juicy targets - I'd like to get them all.

cheers
Allan

[jjjnettie]

:) An awesome view.

[RobF]

Beautiful work Mike. Keep 'em coming :)

[Elio]

not expert in narrow, but details are spectacular :eyepop:
H694 and good seeing are unbeaten ;)
thanks for share!

[SkyViking]

Ah that's nice Mike, some good resolution there and great colours too! You've been very productive lately, your new obs must be a bliss.

I have a bunch of M16 data sitting on my disk not yet processed - but that'll be my first (well actually 2nd come to think of it, but the first isn't worth mentioning :lol:)

Cheers,
Rolf

[prokyon]

Great work, Mike! Colors and details are awesome.

[strongmanmike]

Aaaah see?..but if I told you it would spoil the surprise huh? Besides, I have to pick something that I haven't imaged 12 times already :lol: :thumbsup:



Glad you think so Jeanette :)



Thanks Robbo



Yes Elio, this new camera system is a gem :thumbsup:



Well have to say the observatory is friggin awesome to have, it's changed my (recent) imaging life completely. It's not the exact observatory I'd have built had it been on my own property but it's a far cry from anything I've had had since July 2006 (http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/observatorygeneral) :thumbsup:...god, to think of the number of hours I have spent, packing, driving, setting up and pulling down in the last 7 years :doh:



Glad you think so :)

Mike

[Bassnut]

Jase is totally right, ho hum. But, given yr improved image scale, heres a hint pros think is BS and cant work. Get different. Crop tight to the 3 sisters, or the tower, upscale 8 times in PS, thats right, 8 times. Process and sharpen etc, down size and post. Same image, different NF effect, much more fun.

[RickS]

Nice one, Mike! I won't hassle you about a galaxy image this time because I see it's already been done :lol:

[jase]

Yep. Good tip Fred. Tried and tested. By working on upscaled data, coarse smoothing algorithms work their wonders. Selection is easier too, though zooming in can assist there. The trick of course is down sizing the data. Most pros will shrink in small steps and touch up as they go (smooth-blur tool or increase local contrast-sharpen tool). The reasoning behind this is photoshops bicubic resampling can have adverse effects. To me that's too much work so I normally down size in one swoop to the desired size (normally back the original size actually). Some may not be aware, but photoshop has specific resampling algorithms for upscaling and downscaling data;
Bicubic (best for smooth gradients) <--- default setting
Bicubic Smoother (best for englargement) <--- upscale
Bicubic Sharper (best for reduction) <--- downscale

Good information here (http://www.tricky-photoshop.com/enlarge-image-size/) where Bicubic sharper is used for both up and down scaling.

C'mon Mike, time for a Sidonio-reeeepro. Narrow Field?...with a Starfire comparo

[strongmanmike]

Hey, hassle away, no fear, everyone else seems to love hassling me :sadeyes: think I'll go eat worms....

:lol:

He he

Mike

[strongmanmike]

Hey you guys are genius's :einstein: now why didn't I think of that :doh: ...never in my 30 years of imaging have I EVER thought of that :rolleyes:....com'on guys, you really think me an idiot huh? :thanx: I do that all the time, how do you think I got many of these (http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/hubble_comparisons) :lol: :hi:

But thanks for the advice none the less ;) :love:

Mike

[Ross G]

It might be a common object for some Mike, but what an amazing rendition.

Outstanding detail and really nice composition.

....time for you to start claiming a commission on this new camera, your recent photos are going to increase sales!..

Ross.

[strongmanmike]

Thanks daddy Ross, these big bullies are gang'n up on me :sad:

He he ;)

Mike

[ChrisM]

The NB rendition with artificial colours gives it a very different look and makes it easier to pick out the detail. Good one Mike.
Chris

[multiweb]

Cry baby :P

[multiweb]

I found CS6 to be even worse with downsizing as it clips the histogram. The best way to downsize that worked for me is in CCD Stack by doing a pixel math each step before reducing res.

[E_ri_k]

That's a fantastic image Mike:) Bet you are happy with that! Looks to be a afir amount of detail in the pillars.

Erik

[Paul Haese]

Noice detail Mike. I have an image like that colour scheme from last year. Never bothered to post it but probably should have.

[strongmanmike]

Thoinkyou :lol: