The Tulip Nebula in Hubble Palette NB

[RickS]

Still processing data from SRO in California from last year. This is Sharpless 101, aka the Tulip Nebula.

Details are:
Scope: FSQ-106ED
Mount: Paramount ME
Camera: QSI683
Filters: Astrodon Gen II LRGB, 5nm Ha, OII, SII (1.25")
Guiding: QSI OAG + Lodestar
Image scale: 2.094 arcsec/pixel (drizzle to 2x res)
Exposures: 16x1800s Ha, 11x1800s OIII, 15x1800s SII (21 hrs: 8 Ha, 5.5 Oiii, 7.5 Sii)
Processing: PixInsight 1.8

High res version on Astrobin: http://www.astrobin.com/182152/

Hope you enjoy the image. Constructive criticism is always appreciated.

Cheers,
Rick.

[jase]

Awesome fov Rick! I particularly like the emission line hues you've presented. The tulip is stunning in NB. Well done!

[RickS]

Thanks, Jase. Took me several goes until I was happy with the colour.

[Placidus]

Very pleasing image, Rick.

I particularly like the finely detailed elephant's trunk dust structures, similar to those in the Rosette.

There are half a dozen or so most interesting luminous structures that look a bit like large, straight or variously bent glassy rods, especially toward top left, similar to shock fronts. Not seen such things before.

Cheers,
Mike

[RickS]

Thanks, Mike. I wondered if the "glassy rods" were some artifact of the optical train but I see them in other images as well. Would be interesting to know what is going on there. I have done a little digging but not turned up any info yet.

Cheers,
Rick.

[cometcatcher]

Fantastic image Rick! I noticed the rods also and was wondering about them.

Question about the stars. They are mostly neutral in colour. I notice many NB images have a distinct cast of some sort. Did you add RGB stars at all or adjust the colour or is this just how it comes out with this combination?

[gregbradley]

That's a first class narrowband image Rick. You really nailed the colour palette there. Subtle and beautiful.

Greg.

[strongmanmike]

Great work Rick, plenty of interesting features as Mike says (could keep him and I amused for hours) and nice point like stars...but I just don't like the insipid colours, sorry :sadeyes: and they kinda have abrupt boarders with neighbouring colours which just doesn't look natural to me :question:, also that grey-black area also doesn't look right to me :shrug:...It's not a bad image just not sitting right with my (saturated from hell :lol:) eyes mate

Mike

[ozstronomer]

Great image Rick, love the colour palette and FOV.

Cheers Geoff

[RickS]

Thanks, Kevin. I used JPM's tone map technique and removed all the stars before combining the colour data. The stars come back with the Lum but they tend to wash out the starless colour data and this is the result. It's possible to generate false star colours from the NB data but I didn't bother with that. We didn't get any RGB data for this target.



Thanks, Greg!



One man's subtle and beautiful is another man's... :lol: Ta, Mike. I did toy with more heavily saturated versions but they didn't look right to me.

The data is very heavily stretched to bring out colours in the dim background. I believe the colours are real but extremely exaggerated. I largely hold with the PI philosophy of never "painting" data or masks and, apart from CloneStamping out bits of stars that didn't get removed cleanly, every operation performed on the image was global and based on the data values.

I agree that the black area looks a little odd but it also looks that way in other images :shrug:

Appreciate your honest feedback :thumbsup:



Ta, Geoff!

[rustigsmed]

wow spectacular Rick so much interesting stuff going on there.

Cheers

[strongmanmike]

Oh, I didn't mean it was under saturated, just that the colours look kinda off and mostly a bit washed out I guess..?

yes, well that might explain it :)

Ah ok, that area just looked a bit out of context, a bit unnaturally black-grey :confuse3:

Good, because overall it is a good image regardless of my opinions on what are just a few cosmetic things....and you did specifically ask for constructive feedback :thumbsup:

Mike

[RickS]

Thanks, Russell.

I may play about with it a bit more, Mike, but I'll leave it for a couple of days first. Funny how you look back at an image after a few days and think WTF?? :lol:

[strongmanmike]

Nah, never happens, all my images are absolutely perfect mate, sometimes you guys just see'em all wrong...and convince me to alter them

:P

[RickS]

Of course! :rofl:

[Ross G]

Very nice photo Rick.

Great detail.

Ross.

[Q.]

Would love to be able to do that !
Cheers,
Q

[PeterM]

We are really spoilt rotten on IIS. Some of the best astro imagers in the world. And here's a nudder one showing his talents...again.

[Rod771]

Very nice as always, Rick!

I can see the elephant!! :)

[Fabiomax]

Beautiful shot! Colors so nicely balanced and great details
Regards
Fabiomax

[RickS]

Thanks, Ross!



Just practice, Quentin. I'm sure you can!



You are too kind, Peter :thanx:



Ta, Rod. Bloody elephants! I just can't keep them away from the scope.



Thanks, Fabiomax.