NGC 253 - now completed (Full Frame version added)

[marc4darkskies]

Managed to add some colour data to the original luminance on the weekend. I didn't bother gathering more luminance - 3.25 hours was enough - this galaxy is bright! Nor did I do any additional luminance processing - just RGB.

Colour renditions of this object vary considerably so I just tried to stay as true to the RGB as I could. I may revisit the processing but I'm rather pleased with this result. :D

Full resolution - cropped for effect (0.59"/pixel):
http://www.pbase.com/gailmarc/image/157941061/original

(This is my first colour image through the RC360 too :))

[RickS]

That's a great first light image for the new scope, Marcus. Congrats!

[strongmanmike]

Ok, where's the mega data :shrug: :lol:

Looks good to me Marcus! Did you use decon on the stars, I am thinking so, they look quite natural and I can never get Astroart to do that for me :doh: :question:

Personally I think it looks even better viewed at about 67% in my browser though, I know it is your mantra :prey2: and you will fire brimstone at me...but full res at all costs is not necessary (IMHO) :) Also, if you had more FOV why did you crop it so tight? Love to see this galaxy with just a little bit of space around it to give it context...shows of the details well like this though of course :)

Great work :thumbsup:

Mike

[marc4darkskies]

Cheers Rick!



67% is missing the point Mike - revel in the detail ... run through it with bare feet ... roll around in it .... MMMMMmmmmmm! :P Also, as I always say - if you've got it, flaunt it! :lol:



I cropped because I liked the up close and personal aspect. I'll post the full frame later ... promise! :)



Cheers mate! Pretty chuffed.

[gvanhau]

Outstanding image Marcus, one of the best Silver Coins I've seen.

Geert

[DJT]

OMG...Iddy biddy little galaxies splattered all over the place.
Great first (LRGB) light. Enjoy the toy!

[blink138]

goodness marcus in the hi res cropped, looking at the centre it looks like everything is being "sucked" downward into an invisible hole
the central section looks lower than than the surrounding spiral
pat

[alpal]

Hi Marcus,
That's turned out perfectly.
You have shown extraordinary detail.
I hope to see many more of your pictures -
what's your next target? ( NGC 1365 is up high now. )

cheers
Allan

[gregbradley]

Wow! that's just stunning. What an incredible first light image.
Congrats on fine tuning your system to such a high level. Perfect processing. I think the colours are perfect as well. Often shown as no blue in the outer areas and that does not seem right seeing as virtually every other galaxy does.

Greg.

[Rod771]

That's top shelf stuff. Love the detail. Well done. :thumbsup:

[strongmanmike]

You should be :thumbsup:

[rustigsmed]

wow amazing detail, congratulations Marcus!

cheers

rusty

[Paul Haese]

I'll be honest and say I never thought you would get that OS scope sorted. Not because I thought you were not able to, but because I thought it might have a fault; and I am not the only person to think that too. Working through issues myself with my meagre RC I can appreciate the level of frustration that comes with bug hunting and getting things just right. Not to mention the time it takes to get collimation near perfect. Nearly there myself but am truthfully glad to see you have it working cleanly.

Having said that, this is a fine example of persistence pays off.

Great colour, detail and in your face. Scale is great. Though I would prefer to see a wide crop of the area.

Only one thing I reckon it needs is more colour data. You have some colour noise in the background that is in my opinion spoiling a totally fabulous image. Another half a night should see you right I think.

Well done :thumbsup:

[PeterEde]

Ok That's a nice image.
I been trying to locate it for weeks and Last week I took a wide field shot and I think I got it in frame at 100mm. But it was so small.
How big is NGC253 in an ED80?
Is it pointless trying to image it if it's only a centimetre across?

[strongmanmike]

Here ya go Peter

http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/57081518/original

Mike

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks very much Geert!



Yes indeed - the full frame is even better for faint fuzzies (coming soon). Thanks David!



Yes, it does look something like that - that's why I like the immersive full res look! Thanks Pat!



Thanks a lot Allan! I hope to be able to take many more pictures! :)Sydney weather sucks though so don't expect them to come thick & fast! :sadeyes:



Very kind of you Greg, thanks! Yes, the RGB screamed blue at me - no clue how others process it to show so little. :shrug:



Cheers Rod, glad you like it!



Thanks Rusty!



Thanks Paul. Full frame coming soon. I was never worried about the quality of the optics after initial tests near the beginning of the year and I published most of those tests. This image should silence any skeptics!! As I said all along - there was a problem with the idiot using it .... and the lousy weather .... and the annoying full time job! :) You're right though - persistence pays off and you seem to have plenty of that!

Well, no image is perfect but I will rarely do more than 90 to 120 mins in R, G or B. If I wasn't so time poor and the weather was better I may gather more data - it always makes processing easier. I'll never be a megadata man though!

[Placidus]

Hi, Marcus,

That's very sharp indeed.

Congrats,
Mike

[SkyViking]

Wonderful image scale there Marcus, the detail is incredible. Looking at the full res it even seems you could sharpen it a bit further :eyepop: :thumbsup:
Nice colours too, I havent imaged NGC253 myself so don't know how blue the raw data would suggest, but it looks great!

Congratulations on first RGB light :)

[strongmanmike]

I'm sitting here at work and have had a few looks at this image over the day Marcus and I just have to say... friggin hell it's good :thumbsup:

Oh and I agree re the blue.

Mike

[John K]

wow! that's one incredibly detailed image of NGC253.

The resolution and detail is incredible - have seen way less detail from 20" RC scopes.

One of the most detailed amateur images of NGC253 I have seen.

Congrats!

John K.

[Rac]

That's the best image I've see of this for an amateur effort. Very nice!

[RobF]

Oh my goodness. Gives me tingles Marcus.

Love the processing and kudos for getting the beast to sing so wonderfully in such "little" time. :thumbsup:

[Shiraz]

well that is just simply excellent. Well done Marcus

[Amaranthus]

Fantastic Marcus!



Peter, you can see what I did on 253 with an ED80T here:
http://www.astrobin.com/118924/

In short, you can get a nice-sized image, if you drizzle it.

[E_ri_k]

That's awesome work Marcus :thumbsup: Looks great. Colours and dust are good, it really stands out.
Erik

[marc4darkskies]

Thankyou Mike!



Thanks Rolf! You might be right - there may be some sharpening possible beyond what I've done because it's only had some light Decon in CCDStack and a smidge more in PS. Overall not a lot because the seeing was so good for the Luminance ..... and of course I have one very fine scope!! :D Right now though it looks naturally sharp and leaving well enough alone might be the order of the day!



High praise indeed Mike! Thanks very much!



Thanks a lot John! I agree. I haven't yet been able to find a rendition from an amateur that matches mine in resolution. :shrug::question: But then not everyone likes to display full res so that may have something to do with it too.



Much appreciated Raymond!



Thanks Rob! I'm glad it affects you that way! :) I confess I always like to sit and observe my own finished images. Apart from helping get the best processing result I'm always in total awe of the beauty of the universe they depict!



Thanks Ray!



Thanks a lot Barry!



Glad you think so Erik!

[Stevec35]

Great work Marcus! Kills my effort stone dead.

Cheers

Steve

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks very much Steve! But you're being too hard on yourself mate! I'm sure all would agree that yours, Fred's and Mike's images are all top notch! Given the quality of scopes involved, seeing would be a major contributor to resolution differences between them.

[tilbrook@rbe.ne]

Outstanding Marcus!:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsu p:

Sure has a real feeling of depth to it.
Can't wait till you point you new scope at some Fornax clusters.

Cheers,

Justin.

[Rex]

Really beautiful shot Marcus, the details are outstanding!

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks a lot Justin! Lots of things on my target list! :)



Cheers Rex!

[marc4darkskies]

... for all those die hards who need to see "the context" :lol:

Yes, the extended halo is there - just not interested in forcing it to be very visible - respecting the light and all that.

I had to do some edge trimming - I lost about 30 arc seconds (50 pixels) around the edges because of stacking.

I tidied up my stars too - colour and some ugly halos needed attention - stars are cleaner now.

http://www.pbase.com/gailmarc/image/157949573/original

[strongmanmike]

Much better Marcus, one of the great amateur NGC 253's you have there now mate :thumbsup:

Money and time well spent I recon.

Mike

[AstroJason]

That's a beauty Marcus, really loving the detail you have captured there. Top stuff.

Jason

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks mate (from one die hard to another ;)). I appreciate the encouragement!

Yes indeed, money well spent. In essence I've saved for a lifetime to be able to own a scope like this. It's my "retirement scope"! Short of miraculously coming into screeds of money (and putting a >24" scope on a mountain top somewhere next to a mountain top mansion), there are no new scopes in my future. This is it, finito!! It has to satisfy my craving to produce the highest standard of images until, well, I drop dead! :D:prey::sad:



Thanks Jason - glad you like it!

[sjastro]

Indeed money well spent Marcus on the basis of your 253 image.
Good to see your passion translate into what is a very fine scope.

Steven

[Ross G]

An amazing photo Marcus.

The best I have ever seen of this galaxy!

Ross.

[marc4darkskies]

Cheers Steven.



Thanks very much Ross.

[Octane]

I have no words. This is beyond awesome. :)

H

[David Fitz-Henr]

That's a brilliant first LRGB image for the new scope Marcus! Super detailed view; certainly worth the wait while you tamed the collimation and baffle issues :thumbsup: As I've always told you, if a job's worth doing, it's worth doing ... perfectly :lol:

All augurs well for your new (and final :question:) scope !!

[marc4darkskies]

Very kind of you H - cheers mate!



Thanks a lot David! Nah, not perfect - but I reckon maybe I'm snapping at the heels of perfection! :D This first image has exceeded my expectations - so much so I may even sell the TOA! :scared::scared2: (did I really say that?)

[Octane]

I'm sure Lewis will buy it off you. lol.

And, then, a few weeks later, sell it to me, at half price. :P

H

[multiweb]

Great shot Marcus. Love the colors. :thumbsup:

[Bill.davey]

Amazing image. Framing of the second version is perfect. It compares very well to an image by Robert Gendler using data from the HST, Subru and ESO LST and Danish 1.5 . Considering a couple of billion dollars different in the equipment, it is supurb.

The background galaxies are great and the halo is teriffic.

Congratulations.

Bill

[alpal]

Hi Marcus,
I saw the full frame here:
http://www.pbase.com/gailmarc/image/157949573/original

Thanks for sharing -
I went f11 & had to hit CTRL - 3 times to get it to fit on my 27" monitor.

I find it amazing to get such results from Sydney -
you’d think the poor seeing would have ruined the pic but you've ended up
with something that looks like it’s taken from Siding Springs with an RCOS.

The focal length is really allowing you to zoom in and get extraordinary detail.
I hope you target the galaxy NGC 1365 – it’s up nice & high now.

The best results might still be to come especially if you take nebulas in narrow-band.
I wonder how that famous finger of God in The Keyhole would come out?

I'd feel like a kid in a candy shop not knowing which sweets to pick.

cheers
Allan

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks Marc!



Thanks Bill! Yes, I've compared my version to those you mentioned and I confess ... I've got a big grin on my face! :D



Thanks Allan, I've decided that when seeing in Sydney (in Grose Vale anyway) is good - it's really good. It's just not that frequent an occurrence. Yes, I went long FL exactly because the target choices are greater, more varied and I can get more detail. I'm definitely a detail-aholic! :) Funny you should mention 1365, it is indeed my next target! :thumbsup:. Looking forward to some up-close neb shots too .... like a kid in a candy shop is exactly how I feel! :lol:

[Peter Ward]

Humm... full frame eh?

OK... it gets an Oscar from me :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks Peter! :) Yeah, all but about 30 arc seconds (50 pixels) around the edges because of stacking artifacts - I guess I need to do something about that.

You going to get that freshly silver plated RCOS out of mothballs now?