M104 Sombrero

[Rex]

Well I have had an extremely busy few weeks with work etc. I took this image over two nights, back on the 8th and 9th May but only just found time to process it recently. I think I have pushed it as far as I possibly can, and I wish I had better resolution to do it justice, but overall I am reasonably happy with it.
Combination of 86x300sec @ ISO800 and 61x300sec @ ISO1600 with the gear in my signature.
Thanks for looking and any tips or pointers will be well received.
Larger version http://www.astrobin.com/full/186897/B/

[strongmanmike]

Wow Rex, that galaxy halo looks awesome! You can clearly see the dust lane too but I think you should be getting a little bit better res out of that rig :question:, of course the seeing may well have been against you too :doh:.? To me the ball like stars suggest that perhaps you weren't quite in focus :question:...but overall it is a quit a striking image :thumbsup:

Mike

[multiweb]

Great field and star colors, Rex. You've picked up a lot of faint fuzzies and clusters in the halo of the galaxy. Top shot. :thumbsup:

[cometcatcher]

That's a super image Rex! Very deep.

[Rex]

Thanks Mike for the encouragement. To be honest I can't actually remember what the seeing was like those nights, and as you have said could also have been focus as I was trying out Sequence Generator pro for the first time. Trying to focus using the fits files instead of the CR2's I did find quite different. Kind of more pixellated if that makes sense? Of course it could have been my outstanding processing skills that did it :rofl: I had an issue with artifacts around the large red star on the RHS after deconvolution, so I tried something I haven't done before and performed a little convolution on the Red channel only. Not sure if that was the right thing to do????? The other thing I did differently was I resampled the image straight after the original crop to try and get some better resolution. Don't think it did anything to be honest but was worth a shot.



Thanks Marc, I too love the faint fuzzies. I find myself combing through every image I see these days, dreaming about how far away those fuzzies are and just how big the universe really is :screwy:


Thanks Kevin, much appreciated. I just gotta keep at it and eventually it will all come together. I must say that SGP actually makes it pretty easy to get long data runs. Between auto meridian flips and plate solving to ensure the scope is pointing where it is supposed to be. Apart from set up, focusing and going to bed, there isn't a lot more to do.

[Placidus]

An excellent result, especially given the tiny target and 32" focal length. The galactic halo is impressive.

[astronobob]

Wow Rex, thats some awesome looking image, great frame, grouse signal, good colours & Galaxy glow, - theres nothing I dont like about that _ Beautiful result Rex and rather difficult to believe that was done with your gear, but I know you did ;) :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[Somnium]

really nice image, i love this object. you have done such a great job of not blowing out the core. lots of nice faint fuzzies in the image as well:thumbsup:

[TimberLand]

Diffraction spikes always look at home with the stars.

Great job.

[Rex]

Thanks Mike and Trish. I'm going to have another go at this I think without trying all the fancy processing stuff I mentioned earlier and see how it comes out. I find I learn better with trial and error. Eventually I stumble on something that works and then I remember it.



Thanks Bob. I would have thought the tell tale colour splotches in the background would have indicated my gear lol. Something I am trying to learn how to process out. Like I said above, trial and error. ;)



Thanks very much Aiden. I love the faint fuzzies that get picked up in these types of images too.



Thanks Justin. Nothing makes a good star cluster look better than a few diffraction spikes.

[Andy01]

Well done Rex, you should be deservedly well pleased with that effort!

[Rex]

Thanks Andy. I am happy with the overall appearance of this one, was hoping to bring some finer detail in the dust lane out, but wasn't to be. Gives me a goal to head towards next time around.

[astronobob]

Now your going over it with a fine tooth comb mate, and noticing them are the makings of a great imager, that are in you :thumbsup:
I did notice the background, tho the depth of the Galaxy Glow is what remarkably stands out in this.
I wonder if the same amount of Dark Frames might help tease them background colors away, which may then reduce the pain through processing them out, which is daunting and time consuming, I know :driving: :thumbsup:

[Rex]

Thanks very much Bob, slowly but surely I do feel like I am improving. Both in aquosition and processing. I'll give the extra darks a try and see how it goes, thanks for the tip.

[Shiraz]

Good one Rex. You got a lot of halo there - nice.

[RickS]

Very cool, Rex!

[Fabiomax]

Beatiful M104 in a very rich field! I hope to take a picture of this galaxy in the next year!
Cheers,
Fabiomax

[Rex]

Thanks Ray, I hope to get my rig performing as well as yours, but that takes time, and I will get there in the end.



Thanks Rick.



Thanks Fabiomax, I look forward to seeing your rendition.