Helix Nebula in lurid narrowband

[RickS]

Here's the Helix, NGC 7293, in Ha/OIII bi-colour with RGB stars. The narrowband data was collected from home over several nights in August and September, and the RGB is from Glen Aplin on 6-7 September. Total data was 43 hours narrowband and 5 hours LRGB.

If you're a fan of traditional or muted colour schemes.... sorry ;)

Scope: Ceravolo C300 @ f/9 = 2760mm FL, Atlas focuser
Mount: AP900
Camera: U16M
Filters: Astrodon E series Gen 2 LRGB
Guiding: Lodestar / MMOAG
Image scale: 0.67 arcsec/pixel
Exposures: 43x1800s Ha, 43x1800s O3, 5x900s R/G/B, 8x600s Lum (43 hours NB, 5 hours LRGB)

Processed to death in PixInsight using a bunch of new techniques developed on the fly.

Hope you find it interesting even if it's not to your taste...

High res version is available here: http://www.astrobin.com/68705/

Cheers,
Rick.

[Paul Haese]

Beautiful detail Rick, the cometary stuff is superbly sharp and processed.

[Hans Tucker]

Wow...what a result :thumbsup:

[RickS]

Thanks, Paul! I regret not starting this project with my 5nm Ha filter. I used a 3nm which doesn't pick up NII and the Helix is rich in this. I would have got a quicker result, or perhaps just a lot more data. Still, I'm happy with the result.

[RickS]

Thanks, Hans!

[gregbradley]

That's a stunner Rick. Sets a very high standard indeed.

Greg.

[h0ughy]

so this started life at astrofest? detail is amazing - very retro 80's eh ;), does it change colour when you touch it :)

brilliant Rick

[allan gould]

Magnificent image Rick with a total range of colour and detail.
Allan

[RickS]

Thanks, Greg!



Thank you, H0ughy :lol: The colour choice is loosely based on a Hubble image, but I reckon it's more of a 60's bad trip palette. Here's the original: http://hubblesite.org/gallery/album/pr2004032d/



Thanks very much, Allan.

[Stevec35]

Terrific image Rick! I think it's the best NB helix I've ever seen.

Cheers

Steve

[Leonardo70]

Wonderful result...congrats.

All the best,
Leo

[Davide_Coverta]

Absolutely amazing image!
Great details!
:thumbsup:

[John Hothersall]

I have been waiting for this since you mentioned it back in August, the outer material you have captured is superb. The cometary detail is so sharp inside the blue central soup. Amazing dedicated capture at that FL has produced a top result.

John.

[alexandre]

Very nice Rick !!;)

[Alchemy]

Amazing result with stunning detail in all aspects.

It's nice to see that you've produced these results using an F9 system, to me the trend seems to have gone away to the super fast scopes, and clearly this kind of image proves beyond doubt you don't have to go down that path to get exceptional results.

[Spookyer]

Rick, looks very real to me, great details. I was looking at it waiting for it to blink at me:) It very much reminds me of an eye looking out on the universe.

Brett

[DJT]

Fantastic Helix, Rick. :thumbsup:

[Rigel003]

Very sharp detail and beautifully processed. Lovely image!

[Ross G]

A beautiful photo Rick.

So sharp and the detail is amazing.

I have to agree, one of the best photos I have seen of this object.

Ross.

[WingnutR32]

Seriously stunning detail. Nice work, Rick.

[marc4darkskies]

Magnificent work Rick! Top shelf!!! :thumbsup::thumbsup: That's a mega effort through a fine instrument that would be very hard to match!

Cheers, Marcus

[dvj]

Most excellent!

[DavidNg]

Fantastic, worth the effort.

Cheers
David

[Shiraz]

well that sure sets a high standard! - wonderful work Rick.

[mbaddah]

Just amazing! Well done.

[multiweb]

That's incredible Rick. Insane close up. Best Helix on IIS to date I reckon with flying colors. :2thumbs:

[iceman]

Really nice result, Rick. This is now IOTW (http://www.iceinspace.com.au).

[Peter.M]

A great image from a great setup Rick, you should be proud

[batema]

Very beautiful image Rick. Well done and you must be loving the new rig.

Mark

[rustigsmed]

fantastic work Rick!

[Peter Ward]

Very impressive. :thumbsup:

[RickS]

Thanks Steve, Leo & Davide!



Yeah, it took me a while to process, John. Partly because I had some travel and work commitments and partly because it took several goes and a lot of experimentation with new techniques. It was a very educational process and I don't regret the many hours of processing (probably more than the acquisition time.) Thanks for your kind comments!



Thanks, Alexandre.



Thanks, Clive. Big pixels and long FL still work :) The nice thing about the Ceravolo is that it will do f/4.9 as well by just swapping the corrector.











Thanks Brett, David, Graeme, Ross & Sam!



Thanks, Marcus. I'm looking forward to what your lovely new scope can do. Hurry up with that first light :lol:









Thanks John, David, Ray & Mohammed!



Very kind of you, Marc.



Thanks, Mike. Much appreciated!



Thanks, Peter. You picked up a lot of that extended nebulosity in your Helix too. I was watching with great interest as you were posting at the same time I was collecting my early data.



Thanks, Mark. It's a nice setup and portable too. Very happy with it. You'll love the AP mount if you decide to go that way :) I'm still keen to upgrade to an AP1100 or maybe even a 1600.





Thanks Russell & Peter.

[ChiefDreamer]

Wow.. that is just sooo beautiful.. how did you do it?

[Bassnut]

Excellent !. Tight, top extention and awesome detail. Lurid?, nah, love it :-)> The RGB stars are a nice addition.

[RickS]

Thanks. I pointed my scope at the Helix for many nights and took lots of individual sub-images. Then I processed them all in a software package called PixInsight. Anybody can do it with some research and practice...



Thanks very much, Fred. I'm still trying to determine which stars you like and don't like. The experiments will continue ;)

[Rod771]

Wow! well done Rick! :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

Congrats on IOTW :D

I wont be surprised if you make "Image of the day" on Astrobin too, great image! A BIG like from me ;)

Cheers

Rod

[RickS]

Thanks, Rod! Appreciate your support again :thumbsup:

[astronobob]

Can see the back of the retina in there Rick :cool2: what an absolute eyefull :thumbsup:

Total Congratts :2thumbs:

[E_ri_k]

Like I said on FB Rick, amazingly good! :eyepop::eyepop::thumbsup:

[alpal]

Yes - I agree - it's one of the best images posted here - & also a very difficult target.

[jase]

A heavy weight division image for sure. Stinging with a knock out blow. Top work Rick. :thumbsup:

[RickS]

Thanks Bob, Erik, Allan & Jase! Much appreciated.

[stevous67]

Brilliant looking Rick! Congratulations.

Steve

[ChrisM]

Rick, that's the best I've seen of that target. Great detail, and love the star colours.
Chris

[RickS]

Thanks Steve & Chris!

[prokyon]

Wow, that is a cracker! Stunning details, so deep!

[IanP]

The PI procedures (PI forum) are more than impressive but the result is b!@#$ outstanding !!!

Beautiful images .. :thumbsup:

[RickS]

Thanks Werner & Ian!

[TerryC]

This photo has somewhat more clarity and detail than the Hubble photo - how is that possible !

[RickS]

Perhaps you've only seen downsampled versions of the Hubble images? Here's an example that shows quite a bit more detail than I was able to capture and I'm sure it's not at full resolution: http://imgsrc.hubblesite.org/hu/db/images/hs-2004-32-d-print.jpg

Cheers,
Rick.

[TerryC]

Thanks rick, but your photo still shows considerable more detail than the Hubble photo. I didn't think it would be possible, so hat's off to you.

[RickS]

Very kind of you, Terry. If only I had a similar budget :lol:

[ozstronomer]

Great Image Rick, definitely deserving of both IIS IOTW and AstroBin IOTD

Well done and Congratulations on an amazing image :thumbsup:

[RickS]

Thanks very much, Geoff!

[strongmanmike]

As I've already said via email... a Friggin bloody hard core image that Ricki :thumbsup:

Like the Dumbell the amount of detail and outer extensions captured by amateurs in images of the Helix nebula has steadily increased over the past decades..in the good'ol film days just getting a faint hint of the main "eyebrow" was amazing... into the 2000's and with good CCD's and larger RC's it was the puffy cumulus extensions diagonally opposite that were cool to catch, more recently the very faint arrowhead on the far left was a rare reveal...now, moving well into the 2010's one must also get all that and the super faint thin wisps above the nebula :eyepop: :doh:

...ah progress :love:

Mike

[RickS]

Thanks, Mike!

Makes you wonder what we'll be able to show in our images in 5 or 10 years time. I'm looking forward to ultra low read noise cameras becoming affordable :thumbsup:

Cheers,
Rick.

[SkyViking]

I seem to have overlooked this! That is incredible, what a fine image and mega effort Rick :) The detail in the centre and range of faint extensions is truly impressive. Colours are magnificent too. Superb work, thanks for the view.
Oh and congratulations on IOTW :thumbsup:

[RickS]

Thanks, Rolf!

[RobC]

Sterling effort Rick. Well done.

Rob

[RickS]

Thanks, Rob.

[Poita]

Wow, I always wondered what a $25,000 scope and an insane set of skills could produce. Looks amazing.

[RickS]

Thanks, Peter. I don't know that I qualify for insane skills but very kind of you to say so :D

[marco]

I too have almost overlooked this beauty, you deserve all the accolades Rick!
:thumbsup::thumbsup:

Clear skies
Marco

[RickS]

Thanks, Marco :)

[David Fitz-Henr]

Spectacular image Rick! As others have stated, great detail and all the faint extensions look terrific :thumbsup: I'm in the midst of processing Helix data from a couple of months ago so your image will be very handy to benchmark my data against :)

[RickS]

Thanks, David. Look forward to your rendition!

[LucasB]

Never too late to say that your helix is simply breathtaking. Love the colour palette too.:thumbsup:
Lucas

[RickS]

Thanks, Lucas!

[Bassnut]

Gaud, I just found this by accident. WHAT an image, absolutely stunning, the neb extention is just amazing :thumbsup::eyepop:

[Octane]

Wow, wow, wow! I missed this, too.

Absolutely stunning!

H

[RickS]

Thanks Fred & H! An old thread but I'm still pleased with this image.

Cheers,
Rick.

[pvelez]

FMD!

Outstanding Rick

I have been playing with my current image of this target and thought I'd check how others had processed it. I fear I may just dump the data I have and head home!

Well done

Pete

[RickS]

Thanks, Pete. It took me quite a few attempts and there are still aspects of the image I think could be improved so don't give up. Just keep trying and learning like the rest of us!

Cheers,
Rick.

[NOMH]

Holy moly! This is a stunning image!! I really don't know what else to say...

JB

[Rex]

Wow Rick. I have never seen the helix look like this. It's really freaky in an awesome way. It looks like a big eye just staring at you.

[Elio]

A superb image, lot of details...agree with Rex, a big eye :thumbsup:

[RickS]

Thanks John, Rex and Elio! Looks like this "old" image has a new lease on life :)

[cometcatcher]

Pro observatory quality image this one.

[RickS]

Very kind, Kevin. My "observatory" was a BBQ cover :lol: