NGC 1365 Finished

[marc4darkskies]

Finally managed to get some colour data. Not quite as much as I would've liked (the weather has been poor, as usual), but it will do. Besides, it's late in the season for this object so there won't be any more opportunities to gather more data anyway!

This is first light for the new SBIG STXL/FW8G/AO-X combo too which seems to be working well (gathered the RGB with it). See here (http://www.pbase.com/gailmarc/image/158678815/large) and here (http://www.pbase.com/gailmarc/image/158678805/large).

Full Resolution (Note: PBase was a bit slow when I posted this so be patient):
http://www.pbase.com/gailmarc/image/158955037/original

There's a link below the image in PBase to the full frame as well (cropped only to get rid of stacking artefacts).

[strongmanmike]

Yep, most excellent ...much of the wow factor was probably stolen by the amazing Lum mate but this is a fitting finish (finally!) hip hooray :thumbsup:

The weather must be killing you mate :eyepop:

Mike

[TR]

Marcus,

Looks very nice. The weather here has been evil as well for far to long. Lots of nice detail in the core. Great stuff

Terry

[RickS]

Great stuff, Marcus. The detail is fantastic.

Cheers,
Rick.

[Stevec35]

Fantastic detail Marcus! Well worth the long wait to get it finished.

Cheers

Steve

[alpal]

Hi Marcus,
Not bad.
The black is a bit too dark - almost clipped -
& the blue is overpowering giving a purple colour.
After all that work & such a lovely luminance layer -
I think it deserves a more careful processing.

cheers
Allan

[Peter Ward]

A great result :thumbsup::thumbsup:

[gregbradley]

A wonderful first light. You must be happy.

Greg.

[Geoff45]

Good colour and really intricate detail. Very nice Marcus. The investment of time really paid off.
Geoff

[Placidus]

Hi, Marcus. The fine and complex tracery of dust spiralling around the core is most impressive. I like the warmth of the core.

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks Mike.

What? No wow factor? :sadeyes: That does it, no more posting works in progress then! :) Pretty hard not to do that though when you're so excited about what you're seeing!

Yep, the cloud started as soon as the moon waned - always happens. I can do NB now so I'll have the last laugh on those vindictive clouds by imaging when the moon is up!



Cheers Terry.

Yep, evil is the word! :mad2: The other thing that gets in the way of quality imaging time is the incessant need to hold down a day job! Very irritating! :help:



Thanks Rick! Chuffed that folks are appreciating the detail! Detail is what floats my boat!



Thanks a lot Steve. I wish I could churn them out as fast as you do though. Canberra weather must be better than here.



Appreciate your honesty Allan! In the cold hard light of day I see that I may have overdone the blue. No black clipping though - I like dark sky - but I am sailing close to the wind. I will take a look tonight at the blue with fresh eyes.



Thanks a lot Peter.



Cheers Greg! Yes, very happy with the camera. It's a noisy little sucker though (compared to the old STL). I almost jumped out of my skin the first time the filter wheel turned! Also, the fan has two speeds - noisy and friggen noisy (it seems to have a turbo mode to accelarate and maintain deep cooling).

The Baader filters are nice too. The LRGBs are parfocal - haven't tried the NBs yet. And there's absolutely no evidence of reflections that cause halos around brighter stars. The RGB combine ratios were close to 1:1:1 too.



Thanks Geoff - yes, very very happy with the detail I'm achieving with the scope. As far as images of 1365 on the web go - I'm right up there too. :D



Many thanks Mike! Glad you like it!

[Paul Haese]

Nice resolution, detail and colour Marcus.

[Ross G]

A beautiful galaxy photo Marcus.

Great composition and colours.

So detailed and sharp.

I love it!

Ross.

[marc4darkskies]

Allan, I have reduced the blue saturation now - I agree that it was a little overdone. Hopefully no more purple hues! :)



Thanks a lot Paul!



Cheers Ross! Glad you liked it!

[alpal]

Hi Marcus,
that looks much better to my eye -
just a slight blue reduction & it appears more natural.

cheers
Allan

[Rod771]

Fantastic Image Marcus! Well done.

+1 on the Sydney clouds and moon. Grrrr :mad2::P

[DJT]

It's a beautiful image. I love the detail in the arms and seeing how they are interacting with each other. Great first light for the ccd imaging train:thumbsup:

However slightly disappointed with the change in signature..." He who is contented with his toys wins"? I have been quoting under my breath you previous mantra every time I have had negative thoughts about a purchase !

So I beg to differ. Onwards and upwards, but not sure where your own particular up may now be, other than buying a mountain top somewhere.

Great stuff.Enjoy!

[multiweb]

Very nice details. Great image scale. :thumbsup:

[SkyViking]

Fantastic level of detail, and the colours are great too. The numerous HII regions and bright blue knots really make it pop. A very natural looking and pleasing view of this galaxy, and IMO one of the best NGC1365's out there - you've certainly done it justice Marcus :)

[John K]

Well Marcus,

If that's not the best amateur image of 1365 I have ever seen then I don't know what is - in fact, it beats a lot of the professional images!

Really shows what this galaxy is all about and what an amazing object it really is.

Congrats.

John K.

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks Rod! I feel better knowing I'm not suffering alone! :)



Hehe, thanks David! Problem is I can't possibly win a contest for the most toys. There are others on this forum who have more equipment than they can poke a big stick at! So unless I miraculously come into a vast sum of money to afford a 24" on a mountain top, there's nothing else I need or want ..... therefore .... I WIN!! :lol:



Cheers Marc!



Many thanks Rolf - much appreciated!



Thanks for the generous remarks John! It doesn't matter how long you've been in this hobby it's always encouraging to get such nice feedback!

[Leonardo70]

Very nice Mark. Great resolution. Congrats for this wonderful first light.
I see the star violet ... probably you can have better white balance at medium light.

All the best,
Leo

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks very much Leo!

Hmmm, I only see blue stars! :question:

In any case, though I do strive for perfection, I've probably gone as far as I can with the small amount of colour data I have :(

[Flugel88]

Just checked out your ngc 1365 from 2008 sure have come along way since then.
Your new 1365 has amazing colour and resolution very fine detail
thanks for sharing.

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks Michael!

Yep, that was one of my very first images! The data was gathered in 2007 actually. I wasn't that happy with it at the time but it did get a mention in the SPSP awards! :lol: Since then the general standard of astrophotography in Australia has risen sharply - the bar is much higher now. Onwards & upwards!

[Phil Hart]

Nice work Marcus. I'd be very content with how all that gear is coming together. I think the signature change is a good move.. this hobby can become very competitive! Being satisfied with what you have is a skill in itself.. not one that I can say I have mastered :)

I also have some agreement with Mike.. I do still like the B&W Luminance a lot!

Phil

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks Phil!

Yes, competitive seems to be the word. Deepest, smoothest, longest, cheapest, best, most, etc etc. I'm starting another one - the how-many-competitions-can-you-opt-out-of competition! I officially opt out of all of the above sooo, ... I win!! :D

[AG Hybrid]

Great picture. But, another thing I find really amazing are what I suspect are hundreds of dim galaxies in the background.

[Bassnut]

Excellent Marcus, it pops !. Just a tad more processing perhaps, for noise, but a minor point.

[RobF]

I'm late to the party, but definitely feeling serious WOW factor.
How mesmerising is that galaxy core. The resolution of the dust swirling around the center - and the colours not overdone. Sure some extra data would be handy, but why quibble - the quality is already way out beyond top 10% mark for amateurs, surely.

Holy extra-galactic mega cow Marcus

:cheers:

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks a lot Adrian. Not sure about hundreds but there are quite a few! :thumbsup:



Cheers Fred. Glad you like it! I know what you're saying about noise but I was afraid of pushing harder because there are in fact a lot of very faint stars & galaxies in the field that I didn't want to obliterate. You do end up with a bit of a grainy effect, but I actually prefer that look anyway.



:) Hey, many thanks Rob! Always chuffed to achieve the wow and pop factors! I've got to say I haven't seen many amateur versions of this done with sub-20" scopes that match the resolution I'm getting - makes me feel warm & fuzzy :)