NGC253 - the Sculptor Galaxy

[RickS]

A repro of my data from early September, using some additional Ha data, new processing techniques and slightly improved aesthetic taste?
LRGB data captured over two nights in early September at the AAQ Dark Sky Observing weekend at Glen Aplin. Ha is from (light polluted) home.

Scope: Ceravolo C300 @ f/9 = 2760mm FL, Atlas focuser
Mount: AP900
Camera: U16M
Filters: Astrodon E series Gen 2 LRGB, Astrodon 3nm Ha
Guiding: Lodestar / MMOAG
Image scale: 0.67 arcsec/pixel
Exposures: 7x900s R, 7x900s G, 7x900s B, 30x600s Lum, 31x900s Ha (10.5 hours LRGB, 7.75 hours Ha)

I think this is a significant improvement over my previous attempt although the halo isn't as pronounced. Still not 100% happy, of course ;)

High res version here: http://www.astrobin.com/70355/

Constructive criticism is appreciated...

Cheers,
Rick.

[batema]

Beautiful Rick, just beautiful.

[Screwdriverone]

Very nice Rick,

The Ha really makes this one POP!

Quite lovely

Cheers

Chris

[RickS]

Thanks Mark & Chris!

[alpal]

Hi Rick,
That looks great - so much detail & so bright.
I couldn't find the older version to see the difference that Ha made.

cheers
Allan

[IanP]

Luv Ha.
Very nice repro ..
:thumbsup:

[allan gould]

Very tidy Rick and IMPRESSIVE image
Allan

[gregbradley]

Very nicely done Rick. You've added that Ha very well, it can easily be overdone.

Overall a spectacular image.

Greg.

[Rod771]

Very nice Rick :thumbsup:

[RickS]

Thanks, Allan. I don't know that the Ha made as big a difference as the improved processing chops but the old version is here: www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=112010 (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=112010)



Thanks, Ian!



Thanks, Allan! Hope you're working on some interesting new targets.



Thanks very much, Greg. I feel like I'm getting to the stage where I can push the processing in the direction I want rather than just ending up at a random destination and starting again if I don't like it :)



Thanks, Rod!

[strongmanmike]

Ah, yes, good to see NGC 253 so far out of season.

Quite a grand result Rick, deep too :thumbsup: T'is an amazing galaxy that one huh?...she's just sooo BIG and bewdiful :)

Mike

[RickS]

Thanks, Mike. Yep, NGC 253 is certainly a galaxy with gravitas :thumbsup:

[strongmanmike]

Would love to image this from a site with true sub arc sec seeing...would be amazing, just think, from some of the observatories in Chile our 12" scopes wouldn't be able to resolve the seeing, can you imagine what that would look like :eyepop: can only imagine what the guide star plot would look like from such places :question:

Mike

[RickS]

Have you seen this, Mike? http://www.chart32.de/index.php/object-list/ngc-253 Big scope and great seeing. Makes me jealous :mad2:

[strongmanmike]

Of course, I've spent many hours staring at those images....:sad:

Ah well, can't have it all....

:thumbsup:

[pvelez]

Amazing - just amazing work

No criticism - constructive or otherwise - from me

Pete

[astronobob]

Nothing short of Spectacular Rick, Very realistic to the point of thought provocation, thinking it be the Milkyway and a little Earth in there - so insignificant in the scheme of things ! !
Amaizing proccessing and the rest of it :astron::atom::einstein:

[alocky]

Superb, I love those structures that seem to stick up out of the plane of the main disk. The detail in the dust lanes is mesmerising.
Nice!
Andrew.

[Andy01]

Sensational! Bravo :)
You've raised the bar even higher with that result.:thumbsup:

[stevous67]

The detail in the dust sections is very fine. In most cases these would be blurred into a smug. Especially the central core. Well done.

By the way, we're all subs 1x1?

Steve

[ozstronomer]

Great Repo Rick, plenty of detail in the core, processing looks spot on..

I really like this one :thumbsup:

[alpal]

The Ha & the processing have made a significant improvement.
I will use Ha on my next attempt at this galaxy.

cheers
Allan

[RickS]

Thanks Pete & Bob!



Thanks, Andrew. Jay GaBany did a version which appears to show stuff sticking up out of the plane of the galaxy everywhere. I still can't decide if it is real or illusory.



Thanks, Andy.



All subs binned x1, thanks Steve.



Thanks, Geoff.



Look forward to seeing it, Allan!

[tilbrook@rbe.ne]

What a stunner Rick!:thumbsup:

The large version is spectacular to look at!
Wow a lot of time on HA! Must be hard to bring out these regions.

Cheers,

Justin.

[dvj]

The galaxy detail is top notch, but the faint background stars look a little weird.

[Marios]

Inspirational mate well done..

[RickS]

Thanks, Justin. At that image scale with an object that's not particularly bright in Ha a lot of exposure time is needed to get the noise down.



Thanks, John. I noticed that but struggled to do anything about it. Sacrificing the halo did the trick but I wanted to keep it. Something I'll have to work on in future...



Thanks, Marios!

[peter_4059]

Amazing clarity and definition Rick. Nicely processed.

Peter

[RickS]

Thanks, Peter! You've been quiet for a while. Hope you've been imaging and processing :)

[Peter Ward]

Dynamic range a bit so-so (a bit more light and shadow would make this a killer image)

But sublime res.

You did good :thumbsup::thumbsup:

[gregbradley]

I'm with Peter on this. Its a spectacular image, easily one of the best around. One small area of improvement though would be the dynamic range as he points out. The look is a bit too transparent (or at least to what I am used to seeing in galaxy images). The dust areas etc are a bit too light. Perhaps toying with levels and curves or some previous processing step where stretching changed the dynamic range may get a gain here.

Greg.

[RickS]

Thanks for the feedback Peter & Greg. I've been mulling it over and have a couple of ideas to try. Will see what I can do...

[aljo2345]

Very cool!

[Ross G]

A beautiful galaxy photo Rick.

I love the colour and detail!

Ross.

[RickS]

Thanks, guys!

[E_ri_k]

Beautiful Rick, awesomely done:thumbsup:

[RickS]

Thanks, Erik!

[David Fitz-Henr]

Superb detail Rick, well done :thumbsup:

[Bassnut]

Excellent Rick. The Ha was a good move, sharpened it up and bought out nebula in the galaxy.

[RickS]

Thanks David & Fred!

[cybereye]

Wow - one of the best Sculptor's I've seen!

Cheers,
Mario

[marc4darkskies]

That's a fantastic rendition Rick :thumbsup: ... and hard to match unless you live in the Atacama! :lol: You must be very pleased with that Ceravolo!

Cheers, Marcus

[RickS]

Thanks, Mario.



Thanks, Marcus. I'm very happy with the Ceravolo and also pleased that my processing skills are at the stage that I can almost do the data justice... after half a dozen repros ;)

[SkyViking]

One of the best NGC253 images I've seen, a very impressive result Rick.
I like the overall natural look, it has an air of softness while presenting the crisp details at the same time. The HII regions stand out beautifully, in a nice subtle way. Great work!

[Shiraz]

yep, cracker image without overprocessing - really top notch work.

[RickS]

Thanks Rolf & Ray!

[marco]

Fantastic rendition of this classic Rick, love the colors and details you achieved, great image!

Clear skies
Marco

[RickS]

Thanks, Marco!

[multiweb]

Top shelf Rick. Incredible resolution. Outstanding. :thumbsup:

[RickS]

Thanks, Marc.

[RobF]

I'm late to the party Rick, but you've cooked this one nicely in the end. Almost a bit reassuring you've had at least 6 goes at now too :lol:
Always stuff to learn on the processing front it seems.

[RickS]

Thanks, Rob. I'm a slow learner :P

[Stevec35]

I must have missed this one Rick. An extremely nice NGC253 with top resolution.

Cheers

Steve

[RickS]

Thanks, Steve.

[Nortilus]

That looks so good, like 3D and detailed...im so impressed...Well done.

[RickS]

Thanks Josh!