NGC2070 - Tarantula Nebula

[jase]

Hi All,

I should preface a ‘mainstream target alert’ for this image. Yes, the Tarantula Nebula…Hohum. Ironically I found this to be a complex target to process. I have imaged the area before as wide field mosaic (http://cosmicphotos.com/gallery/image.php?fld_image_id=218&fld_album_id=12) so had a sense of what a traditional LRGB palette should portray. Imaging this at a longer focal and putting some narrowband into the mix, I had no idea what challenges awaited. Thankfully the data set was good to work with, especially Ha and OIII data packing some punch. The area is abundant with OIII so clipping masks assisted in getting the right balance or near to the wide field which was used as a general reference.

Anyway, here's my rendition;
*** NGC2070 – Tarantula Nebula (http://cosmicphotos.com/gallery/image.php?fld_image_id=253&fld_album_id=11)***

Thanks for looking, all comments welcome.

[iceman]

That is rather traditional for you, Jase :) But a lovely image nonetheless.

Nice work!

[jase]

Cheers Mike. Yeah, its tough to show a common target in a different light. The OIII blend really dominates the scene and mutes the deep Ha reds I'm more familiar with. I had some fun with the data set despite the challenges.

[Dennis]

Hi Jase

Well, it’s good to see you breathing some new life into these more familiar objects.:)

I loved the full res view. I hadn’t realised how tangled and interwoven the web seemed until I peered more closely at the innards on my 1920x1200 monitor. The spectrum of stellar colours is quite exhilarating as are the rafts and concentrations of blue stars.

Masterful processing to display both the intensity of the dominant objects yet reveal the subtlety of the more timid entities.:thumbsup:

Cheers

Dennis

[jase]

Hi Dennis,
Thanks for taking a look and providing a shrewd response. Thoroughly enjoy reading your posts. I paid particular attention to the stellar profile and colour throughout the processing cycle. To get the stars as tight as possible, I predominately used the narrowband data which was iteratively blended with the RGB to minimise stark and ugly halos appearing. I’m sure there are other approaches, but this seemed to work well for this image. Thanks again!

[RickS]

Nice and sharp for such distant nebulosity, Jase. Love the colours too.

[strongmanmike]

Excellent portrayal of this magestic maelstrom Master Jennings, I must say!

Such a plethora of trinkets on visual display, I am simply overwhelmed with curiosity...how many stars will all that cosmic material eventually become? The mind boggles...

On a minor note and while not that important in the scheme of things, might I note however that the core region is perhaps wanting of a little more attention just to reveal a modicum of more structure and a slight increase in colour dynamics?

Overall though, a glorious view of this southern commoner

Sir Michael :P

[jase]

Thanks Rick. Very little sharpening was required with the data set, only mild deconvolution. I stayed away from high pass filtering as well as unsharp mask. I did try them, but the gains were minimal.



Dear Sir Michael,
I most appreciate your time in reviewing the presented image and providing a thoughtful response. It is with absolute gratitude to receive your constructive feedback. The nebulous core surrounding 30 Doradus could possibly do with additional work however one must remember to ‘respect the light’ given it is distinctly bright.
Sincerely,
Master Jennings :thumbsup:

[LightningNZ]

Aside from the whooping amounts of colour - not overdone for a photo btw - I think this image most closely resembles some of the views I've had through large scopes of this nebula. Dappled and 3D. I love it.

Cheers,
Cam

[strongmanmike]

Sorry, my error, perhaps I failed to make my observations clear. I don't feel the core needs to be dimmed per se, on that score you are absolutely correct :thumbsup:. I was simply suggesting an increase in the colour dynamics in the bright areas, if that is even possible? To my demented chromatically challenged eyes the core brightness and colour seems to have a slightly pale lifeless appearance which is reducing the 3 dimensional depth that might otherwise be achieved..?

Please be aware that this observation is quite minor and the image is excellent, I probably have a psychological and thus disproportionate fixation on the core of this famous cosmic landmark, that's all...I may need to consider admitting myself to a sanatorium for an indefinite period...:question:

Tally ho :)

[jase]

Thanks Cam. The different colours in the area sure make for a busy scene. I'm pleased that the structure closely resembles some of the views you've had through large scopes. If I could see a scene like this in all its glory, I'd go back to visual work immediately! Much easier than hours on end processing.



Ahhh colour dynamics hey. Well, there lays a challenge. Preaching to the coverted here but RGB being an additive colour space, you can only colour scales of grey. A bit map of 255 is all white. So, yes I could introduce colour dynamics of the highlights by lowering their intensity to several counts below the 255 threshold to bring back the colour. Truth is however I did absolutely no specific core work on this image. It is simply DDP stretched in CCDStack, then slightly brightened up further to finish it off in Photoshop. I intentionally did this to display the intensity relatively to the main structure which I felt was more important i.e. depict the features in the scene relative to brightness and intensity. The OIII data is nearly a rich as the Ha for this target which is why you don't get the deeper reds, certainly not around 30 Doradus anyway. Object masks etc would have likely driven a different result but not the result I was striving for. Thanks again Mike.

[LewisM]

It is a splendiferous image of an oft-too imaged region. Really impressive indeed.

You apologised it was the Tarantula - thank goodness it was not M42 or we would have to whacky-thump you into submission.

:)

(though, I am sure the RCOS would deliver a supreme result on that FAR TOO OFTEN imaged chunk of gas in Orion)

[IanP]

Lovely image, balanced in colours and rich in details.
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[jase]

Pleased you liked it Lewis. I do have plans to image M42 (for the first time ever with my own equipment would you believe) this season, time permitting. There are some other targets already loaded in ACP Scheduler that hit the meridian around the same time so it may have to wait another year (system is configured automatically to favour targets near the meridian before dispatching a plan, but I could override this). I would imagine to do it right it is going to take some work. I've been reading up one CCDStack's replace missing values to perfectly blend saturated areas with non saturated data. PI has similar functionality I believe. This will helpful in managing the dynamic range though at a slow F/9 I shouldn't need to worry too much.



Cheers Ian. Sure is an impressive area. I can see why it ranks high amongst imagers and visual observers alike. The histogram confirms the balance but its easily perceived with this image. Thanks for checking it out.

[LewisM]

Jase, can you send me the link to that CCDStack info. I am a complete CCDStack convert - it is an incredible bit of software, far superior to anything else I have tried.

Oddly though, like with MaxIM, it seemingly dislikes OSC camera images IMMENSELY, showing visible bayer matrix abberations no matter the settings.

Anyway, a corker image. You should be very proud of that result indeed.

[jase]

Lewis, agree hard to beat CCDStack for the grunt work. Not sure if you've seen Adam Block's supplemental CCDStack v2+ tutorial (here (http://skycenter.arizona.edu/store/tutorials/ccdstacksupplement), password provided. Make sure you download it for best viewing) where he explains the calibration management capabilities and automated scripting tasks of the app. I've just started doing this to save time. Matching items in the FITS header is great for flats. My system has an instrument rotator thus need to take flats at different PA's and E/W of the mount for accurate flat correction. Having CCDStack automatically match the flats to the data is real treat. CCDStack only gets better.

Re: replacing missing values in CCDStack. You my friend are in luck. At AIC back in 2009 (or was it 2008, ah can't remember), Adam was handing out free tutorial CD's specifically on the topic. Shoot me an email or PM, and we'll see what can be done.

[marco]

:eyepop: Great image Jase, don't listen to Mike, he is always too picky :P

Regards
Marco

[strongmanmike]

:lol: don't worry, I think Jase could read the humour between my lines of grandiose vernacular ;)

Mike :thumbsup:

[LewisM]

Thine grandiose vernacular was supremely entertaining in it's explicit implication and thoughtful subjectivity.

[tilbrook@rbe.ne]

Well said Sir Humphrey!!

Cheers,

Justin.

[tilbrook@rbe.ne]

A wonder to behold Jase!:thumbsup::thumbsup:

I must admit this is the first image of this region that shows amazing depth.
It has the feel of a closer galactic nebula.
Just love the delicate transition in colour too!

A real lesson for us, thanks Jase!

Cheers,

Justin.

[jase]

Cheers Marco! I have no problems with Sir Michael.



All good mate :thumbsup:



Thanks Justin! There are some great images around of this nebula. I personally like a wider FoV. I did contemplate a two panel mosaic with the scene extending further below what is presented as there are some impressive knots of nebulosity which are more Ha saturated. I suspect this may have added more depth to the scene. The area is still prime for more data so will see. Too many targets to move on to is the problem. Thanks again.

[gregbradley]

A wonderful image Jase. The Nebula and surrounding blue stars are divine. Love the whispy blue misty O111 areas. It reminds me of the Lagoon when fully imaged. Really well handled. I like that aspect of the image exactly as-is.

The only attention sticking point for me were the orangy coloured stars which presumably would be yellow in a standard LRGB. Is this a result of the Ha/OIII blend? I know its a mostly Ha OIII image.

Greg.

[Peter Ward]

I like it.

My cat seems to like it (he is by far, my toughest critic) .

You done good. ;)

PJW Esq.

:thumbsup::thumbsup:

[avandonk]

Jase, Gendler would be very proud!


Bert

[RB]

Wonderful Jase !

:thumbsup:

[RobF]

There's been enough high-brow discussion already, that I feel I need to just say B@$@#$ Awesome, Jase. Really enjoyed it. :thumbsup:

Rob

[dvj]

A target worthy of your pixel imaging scale. Great star colors and you have not pushed too hard on the universe. ;-)

j

[jase]

Thank you Greg. :) Pleased you enjoyed it. With regards to the orange star colours. The larger orange stars colours are natural. If you look at the wide field version, they are indeed M class stars. The saturation has pushed them to a slightly deeper hue in order to match the intensity of the blue stars (O,B class). The smaller orange stars may have been influenced by the HaOIII blending technique but keep in mind I relayered RGB data just for star colors alone. In hindsight, it may have been better to used screen and opposed to lighten blend modes as this would increase the intensity for the tiny orange stars resulting in less saturation. The cool think with screen is you can duplicate the layer for greater intensity, then dial back the opacity to suit. I will consider this next time I process a similar Ha/OIII. Thanks for the constructive input.



Cheers Peter. I'm deeply relieved your cat likes it. I thought I may have to repro it for a while there. :)



Thanks Bert. Can't compete with Gendler's mega mosaic of this area using the 14.5" RCOS. Another panel to extend the scene would have been nice but I'm pleased with the result.



Cheers RB :) Haven't heard from you in a while. Good to see you're keeping tabs on the imaging scene still. Hope to see more of your work soon.



Thanks Rob :thumbsup: Yes, plenty of discussion for a thought provoking image. Thanks for checking it out.



Cheers John. Yes, .65 seems to do the trick. Definitely no dents on the universe. In fact, only a few photons were killed during the production of this image. Image not tested on animals, other than on Peter Ward's cat which survived the ordeal so I must be doing something right. :lol:

[Leonardo70]

Wonderful Jase.

All the best,
Leo

[multiweb]

Great shot Jase. I like how you kept the core bright. Too many flat tarantulae or LMCs around :thumbsup:

[RB]

Thanks Jase, yes have been battling health issues over this past year and last week ended up in hospital again with kidney stones, no less !!
Never experienced such pain before and I've had my fair share of pain.
The doctors say I still have one stone in the kidney to go.

I'm hoping to get back into imaging soon(ish), still have to give the TOA 150 first light. :sadeyes:

I've been enjoying your recent work.
Beautiful.

:thumbsup:

[jase]

Thanks Leo :)



Cheers Marc. Yes, easy to suppress the highlights and thats the natural choice to make when processing a target with high dynamic range like NGC2070. Many HDR routines are notorious for flattening if not managed well. Thanks for checking out the image.



Pleased to hear you're on the mend, RB. Stones are no fun, that's for sure. Rest up. Can't wait to see the TOA150 photon killer in action. :thumbsup:

===
Thanks again all. :)

[Bassnut]

Excellent Jase, 3D effect is awesome. Now stop testing/mucking around and do something hard/different.

[SkyViking]

That's a wonderful view indeed Jase, I like the 3D appearance and the vibrant colour nuances. It's great to see all the star colours brought out this way too, nice work!

[Ross G]

A beautiful photo Jason.

Great detail and colour.

I love your composition.

Ross.

[Shiraz]

Cracker image Jase - quality in all respects