re-processed Helix

[tornado33]

Hi all
A bit late for submission to last months imaging challenge, but I had a go at reprocessing an old Helix image (7x15 mins ISO 400). I used the masking technique to bring out the faint northeast arc and inner detail yet preserve the bright parts.
10 inch f5.6 scope, off axis hand guided in the wee morning hours, modded 350D, UHC-S filter and MPCC.
Sattelite has gone through one of the exposures.
Scott

[EzyStyles]

woww! nice scott. heaps of details in the core without overexposing it. The layer mask technique is so useful. abit bright in the background.

[tornado33]

Thanks Eric.
Ever since digital imaging came along the learning curve doesnt stop with taking the actual images. I find that going over old images with improved processing techniques can coax out detail not as evident in the first efforts. Astrophotos are now 50% quality at the telescope, and 50% processing on the computer.
Scott

[Striker]

Nice scott....it could be slightly overdone but never the less you have achieved what you set out to do.

Please dont post any more images of the helix with it's outer ring because I was unable to catch mutch of at all....hehehe

Post as many as you like without the outer ring....lol

[tornado33]

Thanks Tony lol, the only way I could go deeper is to get a cooled camera like yours and also shoot from a much darker site. As it is, this shot was taken around 3 am, and on a cold morning, the darkest time in Newcastle is after midnight when more lights seem to get turned off , making the sky just a bit darker then earlier in the night.
Scott