The Lagoon Nebula RHA

[gregbradley]

A classic object in the sky its really quite a beautiful nebula.
I got to capture the colour data after a few unexpected clear nights recently.

I have been tuning this setup and the mount to cope with the scope and its paying off. AstroPhysics Riccardi Honders Astrograph 305mm F3.8 and FLI Proline 16803 seem a match made in heaven. PMX mount, FLI Atlas focuser and MMOAG with STi guider.

A total of 7 hours all 1x1 binning. I did an hour and half of 2x2 binned colour but I rejected it as it gave different colour look. One advantage of the F3.8 is I can afford to do colour 1x1 in less than the same time I would normally spend getting 2x2 binned colour. Its definitely a 1x1 binned data scope for some reason. 1x1 gave better colours, the golden patch of stars popped more and stars overall have more pop and a pleasant rendering.

I really like this scope.

I would like to do at least a panel mosaic adding the Trifid to it. Perhaps a 4 panel in which case I would've framed it a bit differently. I was a bit worried about doing a mosaic where part of the overlap would be in the main object - hmmm dangerous.

Taken at my home observatory.


http://www.pbase.com/gregbradley/image/160532800/large regular


http://www.pbase.com/gregbradley/image/160532800/original large size, worth a look as images from this scope seem to look best in this larger size.

Here is a crop of the Hourglass Nebula:

http://www.pbase.com/image/160533959/original


Greg.

[multiweb]

Very cool. The high-res is superb. Love that field! :thumbsup:

[Paul Haese]

I think the detail is pretty good and star colour looks quite nice. Of course the stars are nice and tiny. Field of view is nice but the composition is not really how I like it but each to their own.

I am not sure about the actual nebulosity colour and the star field looks a little flat to me and maybe just a little green.

The potential of this scope is becoming more apparent all the time.

[Regulus]

That's a nice photo Greg, and I am looking forward to seeing future offerings from that set up. The 4 panel mosaic sounds like a good project.
Stars are lovely through that scope.

Trevor

[gregbradley]

Cheers Marc. This scope and camera give a great wide field view.



The composition was designed for a mosaic. In hindsight it may have been better to move it up and not worry about capturing NGC6559 but that was the decision at the time. Plus slight rotations between subs over time cost a little in the final crop. A panel mosaic with the Trifid is the minimum, but I may keep going and do panels if the weather is good enough.

I just gave the stars a little pop. Nebula colour may be too taste but technically that is the colour of Ha.

Yes the stars this scope produces are great.



Thanks Trevor. Yes I think it does stars well.

[Stevec35]

Looks good Greg. Maybe it could be a bit more contrasty but it's still a very tasty image. I'm not surprised you are happy with the scope.

Cheers

Steve

[gregbradley]

Good point. I think I can extract more out of it. I have done a little work in PI and uploaded to the same link. I got more out of the core area.

Thanks.

Greg.

Also here's a crop of the Hourglass Nebula showing the core detail:

http://www.pbase.com/image/160533959/original

[strongmanmike]

That wide field of stars certainly looks pretty Hoderesquely schmick Greg :thumbsup: ...but probably one to redo from your dark site I recon to get a better spread of faint fluffy stuff and the close up looks just a bit harsh I recon..?

Mike

[Slawomir]

It's amazing how many stars your telescope is picking up! Great to hear you are pleased with your scope and we look forward to contemplating more of your images Greg :)

[gregbradley]

The CDK17 is going to the dark site next. I am thinking the Honders seems less affected by the small amount of light pollution here. But the CDK more so.




This is one area I am really happy with. The scope is definitely handling stars very well. Its quite often a difficult part of any image. Areas of stars aren't always that interesting but I find these Honders star fields very interesting and vibrant.

Greg.

Greg.

[jase]

How are the other panels coming along Greg? This image certainly needs more space around the objects. Framing is too tight. Fantastic details, yet I'm not sold on colours you've presented. You working from a calibrated monitor? Makes me laugh how many people try to process images on a laptop.

[gregbradley]

This is the first panel. Yes framing is a problem, it is a bit squeezed.

I did a rework yesterday on the colour which is the version you have looked at. I thought they were fine but yeah I am using a laptop. I should upgrade to a proper monitor. You've spurred me along with shame Jase! What do you think - too pink?

I think I'll go monitor hunting on the weekend. Any suggestions?

Greg.

[jase]

Yeah the neb feels too pink Greg. Star colours are great though. Its good to see you paying more attention to those. They either make or break an image.

Monitor? EZIO or NEC. Neither are cheap, in fact it will likely cost more than your laptop did, yet every penny is worth the investment if you are serious about imaging work.

[Rex]

Nice one Greg. I love the vibrant colours and the star field is superb. You get a great FOV with that set up too.

[gregbradley]

Thanks Rex.
Yes I think this scope does stars better than any other scope I've had.
I' ll revisit this one was I get my new monitor.
I am also thinking of reshooting it and framing it differently
as it is now it'll need 3 more panels instead of 2 new ones better spaced
Greg

[Slawomir]

Looking forward to your revision of this image Greg; I am sure that new larger screen will make processing much easier.

[RickS]

The detail looks great, Greg. It's hard to comment on the colour because the image doesn't appear to have an embedded colour profile (or if it does, Pbase is stripping it.)

Cheers,
Rick.

[gregbradley]

Maybe I am missing something here. Are there settings in Photoshop that embeds a colour profile? Is that automatic when you use Photoshop or does it have to be setup? I have ordered a new monitor and I will redo the colour once that arrives as it may be a tad off. I looked at a lot of images on the net and they vary in colour with many being a pinkish colour and some being reddish.

Greg.

[RickS]

I'm no Photoshop guru but I don't think it will embed a colour profile in an image that doesn't have one to start with. You'd need to assign a profile (under the Edit menu.) I find it a useful practice to set up PS to warn me when loading an image file that doesn't have a profile (Edit>Color Settings.)

I normally do all my colour management in PI. I have it set up to use ProPhoto RGB as the default profile and then I use ICCProfileTransformation when I want to produce a final sRGB version for web display.

Cheers,
Rick.

[gregbradley]

Thanks Rick. I'll check that out.

Greg.