Carina Nebula narrowband (yes, another one!)

[RickS]

Here's my first image of the year. We finally got some decent weather starting at Easter so I spent a whole week collecting narrowband data on a few targets. The acquisition and processing skills were a bit rusty :)

Scope: Ceravolo C300 @ f/9 = 2760mm FL, Atlas focuser
Mount: AP900
Camera: U16M
Filters: Astrodon 3nm Ha, OIII, SII
Guiding: Lodestar / MMOAG
Image scale: 0.67 arcsec/pixel
Exposures: 14x1200s Ha, 16x1200s OIII, 23x1200s SII

(Over?) processed in PI. Constructive criticism appreciated as always...

High res version: http://www.astrobin.com/92696/B/
A crop of the region around the Keyhole: http://www.astrobin.com/92697/B/

Thanks,
Rick.

[peter_4059]

Amazing detail Rick. They're some long exposures - you must be very patient.

Peter

[strongmanmike]

Excellent Rick, lots of little features in there everywhere to search out... like a big Where's Wally picture. You have combined the NB data well which brings many of the small features, normally lost in the sea of nebulosity, to life like different layers of organisms in a pond. The colouring looks ok to me too and you could even strengthen them around the keyhole area a bit, that section is perhaps looking a tad washed out.

Overall though a smashing Great Nebula in Carina vista :thumbsup:

Mike

[RickS]

Thanks, Peter. I'm not that patient but I use ACP :) My other target is up to 30 hours and still looking noisy :shrug:



Thanks, Mike. I did have the colour a bit stronger in a previous version but it nearly took my eye out :lol: That's always a tough call and I'm sure opinions will vary. Perhaps we need personal colour spaces. Hmm... maybe I should patent that :D

[alpal]

Wow - that is nice & sharp.

I would have increased the contrast with masks in the keyhole area.

[dvj]

One of the best ever done of this object!

[atalas]

Splendid Rick!

[ozstronomer]

Very nice Rick, amazing detail. Colour and contrast look good to me, well done :thumbsup:

[Dennis]

Hubble eat your heart out! A stunning image with too much to take in at one sitting. In terms of processing it looks fine to me Rick, with little or no evidence of any push-processing.:thumbsup:

What a celestial region! What an image!:)

Cheers

Dennis

[RickS]

Thanks, Allan. I'll keep that in mind for the repro :)



Thanks, John.



Thanks, Louie.



Thanks, Geoff.



And thank you very much, Dennis!

[Screech]

Omg!

[LightningNZ]

Look like one of my dad's tie-dyes. :lol:. Pretty cool and unique take on the region - I like it! :)

Cheers,
Cam

[RobF]

I reckon your hard work on the collection and processing fronts has paid big dividends. Congrats on an awesome image Rick. :bowdown:

[ReaPerMan]

Wonderful Image Rick, Tons of detail to take in!! I like the colour and look forward in the future to getting some narrow band filters of my own to give this a try.

all the best

Paul:thumbsup:

[RickS]

Thanks, Screech. I presume that was a positive OMG and not a shriek of horror :)



Thanks, Cam. It's certainly not business casual or a suit :lol:



Thanks, Rob. You are too kind!



And thanks, Paul. I look forward to what you can do with narrowband on your RC10.

[E_ri_k]

Awesome detail you have captured in that Rick:thumbsup: All those little whispy bits look especially good. A whole week of data, looks like it's paid off!
Erik

[RickS]

Thanks, Erik!

[multiweb]

Love the pastel colors. Having said that I'd expect something a little sharper given the gear, the data looks like it could do with a little deconv. Did you have average seeing? I had a look back at a shot I did a long while ago at similar FL but much smaller aperture and its fine features looked more defined. It's a very bright object after all. Doesn't need a huge amount of data.

[Stevec35]

Nice one Rick. Plenty of detail there and I like the palette you have chosen.

Cheers

Steve

[cometcatcher]

That's very nice. It looks like a painting.

[RickS]

Thanks, Marc. I collected the data from home in the inner suburbs of Brisbane. Average FWHMs were around 2.6/2.7 arcsec, so not fantastic seeing (way worse than the theoretical performance of even a small refractor). I did some very mild decon but didn't push it too hard lest Mike Sidonio complain about worms :lol: It's a bright object in Ha but significantly less bright in SII and OIII, so it still takes a fair amount of these to get to a similar SNR. I'd be interested to see your image if you don't mind sharing it.



Thanks, Steve!



Thanks, Kevin. A Jackson Pollock, perhaps? :)

[strongmanmike]

Slightly heavier decon, what do you think? :question:

[Rod771]

:confuse3: Too many iterations I think Mike, might have to drop it down a touch. :)


Nice image btw Rick, well done:thumbsup:

[ChrisM]

That's amazing Rick. Congratulations on a splendid image.
Chris

[Shiraz]

remarkable image Rick - beautiful colour and plenty of detail. very nice work

[multiweb]

Nah... you can push it much harder before you see any strings appearing. Had a play with it and the data is very good so have a go and try it. Brings up a lot more of the fine features and brings back brightness and saturation in some of the stars without burning them out.

[RickS]

Ummm, interesting Mike :lol:



Thanks, Rod.



Thanks, Chris.



And thanks, Ray!



Ta, Marc. I've been collecting feedback and will have a go at a repro.

[Paul Haese]

Nicely detailed and interesting look to this often imaged target. I have myself produced a similar looking colour scheme. Well done Rick.

[RickS]

Thanks, Paul.

[Harel_Boren]

Rick, this is so well done, and so beautiful too. The colors are great!
I'd love to check how these colors would integrate with my lum here: http://www.pbase.com/boren/image/154554057/original - it might be worth the experiment...
Cheers,
Harel

[RickS]

Thanks, Harel! That's a lovely looking image too. I'd love to see what the combination looks like. I'll send you a PM and perhaps we can exchange some data.

Cheers,
Rick.