Horse Head and flame nebula

[Paul Haese]

Spent a couple of months collecting the data on this object. The first lot of data was collected on the 19 of October last year and the last lot was last night. Lots of nights imaging and several nights of data rejected based on rotation issues or FWHM cut off points. I have imaged it a few times over the years but never really thought I had done justice to the object. Perhaps this time I can settle that.

The image contains 33.5 hours of data. 17.5 hours on Ha alone and each colour containing 5.3333 hours. I had contemplated doing Lum on this object and may yet still take the data for a later reprocess.

The whole area contains really cool looking knots of gas and emission as well as reflection nebula.

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

Edit I adjusted the colour a little and have posted the new one on line.

[tilbrook@rbe.ne]

Geeez Paul!!!

Sorry people I'm going to gush.

Just superb, the level of detail is outstanding.
The bar has been lifted again, just wow!!

:bowdown::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumb sup:

Going back for another look.

Cheers,

Justin.

[strongmanmike]

Ah the looooong awaited mega dataaaaaa Heasehead Nebula ta da!...not bad, not bad at all, nice colour balance with the dust looking dusty, a huge flame there :eyepop: and an attractive framing too :thumbsup:...for me though the neb is a maybeee a tad too red :confuse3: and the highlights are a bit blown around the Horsey and along the ridge - easy fix though :). Overall..? kinda reminds me of a good Malin emulsion plate shot from SSO in the 80's, top work :thumbsup:

Mike

[alpal]

Nice work Paul,
that shows everyone what mega data can do.

cheers
Allan

[Leonardo70]

Wonderful Paul.

All the best,
Leo

[Logieberra]

Paul, real nice! Would make for a superb poster.

Done with your TSA? Diffraction spikes?

[RickS]

A great HH, Paul! Love the detail in the Horse head itself especially for a relatively short focal length.

Cheers,
Rick.

[Paul Haese]

Thanks guys. I did a slight colour adjustment tonight as I thought the first image was a little too orange/brown. Processing in a bright room is a pain.


Yes done with the TSA and the diffraction spikes are the caused from the microlensing on the QSI camera 8300.

[nebulosity.]

An epic image there Paul :eyepop: Just amazing :thumbsup:

Jo

[RobF]

Great work Paul.
Processing doesn't feel pushed when you zoom around in the big version. Most enjoyable, and you must be glad to have cornered the final data to finish it off.

[gregbradley]

A fabulous image Paul and well done on the effort put in to get that much data.

Greg.

[rustigsmed]

that is smooooooooth!
i am drawn to the area just to the top left of Alnitak/flame area, you don't too often get to see the gas extend that far in most images of the area. congrats on the image!

Rusty

[IanP]

:thumbsup:That’s a beauty Paul
Well done, so nice !!!
:thumbsup:

[Paul Haese]

Thanks guys for the responses.




Rob, I did very little sharpening in this image. Some selective here and there but nothing extensive or too harsh. The use of tight FWHM data really helps to ensure you don't need to sharpen much.

In truth I would love to collect data in Lum of around 12 hours just to give the image a more dusty and smokey look. I still have plenty of time to do that but have another project that needs data urgently, so it may not get collected this year.




Yes that very part of the image I really am drawn to also. I really like the reflection nebulosity there which appears to be in front of some dust and gas. Very interesting spot.

[cometcatcher]

Amazing image shows what mega data can do. Even if I had the equipment, I have neither the patience nor that many clear sky hours per year to do it.

[Paul Haese]

One this is for certain Kevin. This hobby is not for the impatient. :) The data collection for this took way longer than I wanted. The amount of clear nights has appeared to diminish in recent years here. Though that is most likely just a perception rather than being real. At least I can go to bed and sleep while the system is collecting data each night now. The enjoyable part is putting it all together and being artistic.

[SkyWatch]

Top effort Paul: as usual!
Great balance with emission/reflection: not easy to do!
How come I can't see that much visually with my TSA102? ;)

- Dean

[Paul Haese]

Hmmm maybe you need to open your eyes for 20-30 minutes at a time. ;)

Thanks, appreciated.

[Shiraz]

Naah, its real - been a huge lot of cloud in just the wrong places this past six months.

But getting back to the the image - yep that is just plain excellent in all respects. well done. Regards Ray

[Paul Haese]

Hmmm, maybe since the break of the drought that there has been more cloud, but not sure if it is so much more that it is out of the ordinary. Thanks for the comment on the image. :)

[PRejto]

Fantastic image Paul! I particularly like the 3D look of the clouds below the horse. Wonderful detail!

So, which mount was this from?

Peter

[Paul Haese]

Thanks Peter, this was with the PME I have. It has superb PE. In fact I am not using PEC at all on that mount and the guiding is perfect every night.

[Ross G]

An amazing looking Horse Head photo Paul.

Beautiful!

Ross.

[SkyViking]

That's a fine looking image there Paul, and the Flame is really big! Nice colours too and great FOV.
I'd definily recommend you should go ahead and add Luminance, it really works wonders for the Horsehead and brings out all the dusty highlights. Generally, when using Ha there is great detail in the emission parts but the dark clouds look more 'flat' so to speak. Only issue you'd face with Luminance would be how to tame Alnitak, but you could do a selective blend with your Ha data in those parts. It'd be worth the effort for sure.
Top result, thanks for the view!

[Peter Ward]

Excellent image Paul. You've "respected the light" extremely well :thumbsup:

[SkyWatch]

Tried that, but the damn things keep reverting to real time, and just wont accumulate the data!!! :astron:

[alpal]

Hi Paul,
I had a second look at your picture.
To me - Alnitak was a bit overpowering.
I did some lassos with feathering & layers in PS &
I post this pic to show the difference.
I hope you don't mind?
Do you think it looks better?

cheers
Allan

[Paul Haese]

Thanks guys. I appreciate you taking the time to writing your comments.


Yes the light has to be respected. ;) As I understand this, given the comment was made about my M42 image several years ago by David, the brighter bits should be bright and the darker areas should remain dark. I just wonder though how do we decide which bit is very dark and which bit is a little dark????




Yes I was thinking that the dust would be better exposed and the black area at the bottom and top left would look better overall.



Actually Paul, Martin Pugh recommended me looking at the stars in general and I can see now that I did over look this. Thanks for taking the time to suggest this very same thing that Martin did. :thumbsup:

[alpal]

That's great Paul -
just a few adjustments & your masterpiece will be finished.
I look forward to seeing the results.

cheers
Allan

[Paul Haese]

I can only try Allan, but might collect Lum first before doing much more to this rendition.

[LucasB]

Fantastic shot Paul. An awesome effort. It's great to see old favourites which you think you have seen the best of be produced to an even higher standard.:thumbsup:
Lucas

[multiweb]

Superb. Very natural subtle processing and colours. Smooth as. Benchmark shot for sure. One for the cool wall. :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

[John K]

Amazing image Paul - spent several minutes looking at this photo - looks like a lot of work has gone into this and your years of imaging is allowing you to create some stunning images - well done.

[Paul Haese]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate your comments. :)

[Apoman]

Paul,

Fantastic image and excellent processing .