Horse Head Ha 17.5 hours

[Paul Haese]

Finally got enough Ha data on this project I think. 17.5 hours so far and reasonably smooth now. More in keeping with what I wanted.

I did notice the last 4 hours worth really brightened the image and made marked differences to the apparent noise levels.

Now for the Moon to PO. I need Lum next.

BTW anyone looking to do OIII on this target forget it; it does not exist. Some OIII in the flame but very very dim.

Click here (http://paulhaese.net/HorseHeadTSA.html)for image.

[Shiraz]

ripper image Paul. excellent deep result. regards ray

[Paul Haese]

Thanks Ray, this is really the result of remote automation. It is really easy to mega up the data. Just set and go to bed at the time you want. No feeling washed out the next day or for days on end. It is really that good.

A few might laugh at me, but results speak louder than words; and I am only interested in the results.:)

[Rod771]

Its looking very good Paul! :thumbsup:

We cant even see the Moon at the moment , we're having our wettest November in 16 years. Great for the lawn and fires.

[LewisM]

Love the image! I am totally hooked on NB imaging now - so much so I sold my beloved SXVR-M25C OSC.

I dunno about automation... I enjoy sitting out under and watching... for a while. I now have minor automation too - set it, let it do it's thing. COmpute meridian flip time, and set my alarm clock for 10 minutes prior. Sit and watch it, readjust framing if need be, then set my alarm for 30 minutes pre-astronomical twilight. Ahhhh, sleep.... :)

[astronobob]

Extraordinary Paul, great to hear you enjoying the automation, definately a bonus and advantage in gaining mege data without sleep deprivation. I assume your going ahead with RGB and/or what have you ? if so, looking forward to the results :thumbsup:

[IanP]

Gee, 17.5h is like eternity, but the image is SENSATIONAL !!!
:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

If in this case O3 is pointless, have you tried S2? :question:

[DJT]

Awesome Image Paul :thumbsup:

[Larryp]

Superb!

[RickS]

Very nice, Paul! Looking forward to the finished version.

I don't think you've overdone the data at all with that combination of scope and camera.

Cheers,
Rick.

[Spookyer]

Looks very rich and smooth.

[alpal]

Very nice indeed & so little noise in the faint areas.
Mega data is great.

[strongmanmike]

RIGHT! who's doing that? Come'on, show yourselves :fight:

If anyone laughs at you Paul send'em my way, I'll fix'em :mad2:

Coming along very nicely Paul well done..?..just needs more data I recon :question:

Two automated systems huh? Wow....what happens if the roof/slit doesn't close one night or the system goes haywire and sends the PMX roaring into the pier :question:

Mike

[Paul Haese]

Yes Bob, LRGB is on the going to occur too. Probably around 14 hours of L and 4-5 hours in each colour. In any event it will be when it is smooth enough.




It might seem like an eternity but watching the development of the signal night after night and the reduction in noise fantastic to watch.

I will not be doing any SII on this image. I don't think it will add anything to the final image.



Ah both roof and slit are protected by UPS systems and back alarms to inform me if the each to do not close. The more redundancy you have the better.

Both the PMX and PME have hard stops to prevent collisions as well as software enabled protection too. The mounts are very sophisticated and it would be highly unlikely this could ever occur.

With automation Mike you need to place redundancy in the system for protection. Being able to reboot equipment remotely is very important. I use IP9258W systems to enable reboot. SMS and email notification to my phone should anything go wrong. Thus far nothing crazy, in 4 months of remote imaging. Having a web cam in place is important too.

[strongmanmike]

Fair enough and I suspected as much but say something did happen and say the roof couldn't close because a lizard gets caught in the closing mechanism or a something :lol: how far away are you for an emergency dash?

Mike

[DavidU]

She's a beaut !:thumbsup:

[Paul Haese]

Not close enough, however I have a third back up option. I have friends in Clayton that could get up and go sort things out If need be. Mind you that is the option of last resort.

[Paul Haese]

Just to add to that. There is always an element of chance that something could go wrong, I do try not to image on nights where there is a real chance of rain occurring. A shower or two is nothing, but rain on the other hand might be a problem. Part of being remote is having faith and knowing you have bug solved everything that could go wrong and making sure everything is reliable. Buy reliable equipment, have back ups. Bug test for several months before going totally remote from home. I am pretty sure I have done all this to maintain a working system in conditions that could damage it. If you are interested in doing this, write out a working diagram with yes/no answers to solve the problems. I found it really useful.

[Paul Haese]

Yeah me too, but I don't want to do this for every image I do. We have a regular group that goes down to the house and some observe and some image. Now that I have automation happening I can do more enjoying of the night sky that ever before. I am not watching a progress bar, just looking up with good friends and talking with them. It's really all about time management.

[multiweb]

That's a really detailed shot Paul. Uber cool. :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

[gregbradley]

That's super Paul. Very detailed and smooth. Excellent.

Greg.

[jase]

Impressive result so far Paul. I like the composition in order to fit the key features in the fov. You could have told me it was 8hrs or 30hrs and I'd be none the wiser. There does come a point of diminishing returns whereby all mega data begins to offer is a greater choice on sub quality selection for inclusion in the combine. This in turn can make processing easier. Just don't loose site of the fact that its not always about how much data you acquire, its the quality of the data you acquire.

-Asymptote-
Back in 2009, AIC Hubble Award Lecturer Tony Hallas did a presentation of CCDnoise and the point of diminishing returns, aka Asymptote. You may want to check out the presentation. http://www.aicccd.com/archive/aic2009/thallas-ccdnoise.pdf - Note its 75Mb in size so download it before viewing. The presentation doesn't read well, you had to be there but I can tell you a few in the crowd were surprised including me.

I'm certainly not laughing at your mega data addiction. Did however get a chuckle out of your OIII attempt. Rule number one, research your target. :)

[Paul Haese]

Thanks Jase, Yes the data quality is uppermost in my mind. I have a FWHM that I am prepared to accept and beyond that it gets rejected. My recent image of NGC55 had over 30 hours of data captured but only 17.5 made it to the image.

You're 100% correct about research. I had thought I had seen a narrow band image of this before but I only lost half a night. Next time I will be more proactive prior to imaging.:)

[pvelez]

That is a seriously busy area of the sky. It really stands out in your shot.

Very smooth Paul. You should be quite pleased with that one

Pete

[Astroman]

Awesome Paul great detail, love to get into NB imaging one day, would suit this location I think... I have a special like for Ha images in B&W.

[Stevec35]

A seriously good horsehead Paul. Very smooth - excellent detail.

Cheers

Steve

[leinad]

Very nice. That's interesting about the brightness increase mentioned?
Curious, what was that ADU difference Min/max with the 17hrs say to the sum of 8hrs.

[Paul Haese]

I'll check Daniel and get back to you.

[E_ri_k]

Wow Paul, thats awesome:thumbsup: Time well spent :) I think I prefer this one in BW/Ha than colour. Good work!

Erik

[nandopg]

Hi Paul,
Extraordinary image !! So much nebulosity in there showing some delicate details very rare to be seen.

About O3 you are right, just some in Flame and that is it. However, there is some good data in Sulfur III that might worth the capture and the creation of a bi-color mapped image.

Congratulations on this amazing image !

Fernando

[dvj]

Excellent work! Great tonality in this image.

jg

[Paul Haese]

Using CCDinspector the 8 hour image had an ADU of 1545 and the 17.5 hours image an ADU of 397. I don't know how accurate that would be, I am assuming that the lower ADU in the larger integration means the image background is brighter. Perhaps I am wrong.:shrug: Happy to be corrected.

[Paul Haese]

Thanks Fernando, but I think I will pass on this one. I am not sure I would like a bi-colour using Ha-SII. Maybe if I get time later in the season.

[Paul Haese]

Thanks John.

[Rigel003]

Just caught up with this Paul. Very nice, and to think you were asleep while you took this. Looking forward to the colour version.

[Paul Haese]

Yes all part of the scheme of things Graeme. I can also do Planetary on those nights that the planets are available at a reasonable hour and I can be collecting DSO data while I am doing that.:D

[SpaceNoob]

Great data Paul, if I could go mega I would (more so lots of decent subs), not quite there yet with my semi mobile setup. Results definitely speak for themselves! I've been following your dome thread quite closely, once you're up and running I have no doubt the effort will be well worth it. :thumbsup: