NGC 253 single frame

[raymo]

This needed a lot more fiddling and tweaking to arrive at a passable image than M20 or M8 did.
100 secs @ ISO 1600
The second image is the result of stacking the other 19 frames in the
set.
raymo

[glend]

Ah the Sculptor Galaxy! Looks good. I just imaged that last week, it's up on my Astrobin gallery if you want to have a look. PM sent.

[cometcatcher]

There's a lot there for a single frame.

That reminds me I have my 253 to stack.

[raymo]

As I said to Glend in a PM conversation, I had to try all sorts of things to get that result. Two of the adjustments had to be taken to their limits.
raymo

[vlazg]

Hi Raymo, great result, how did you get the double spikes on the stars?

[Atmos]

Usually it is from camera rotation, that's all I can come up with.

[raymo]

Thanks, and Colin is spot on.
raymo

[jsmoraes]

The first image has good details of galaxy. The stars are a bit saturated, not natural.

[raymo]

Hi Jorge, The image on the single frame was quite faint, so I had to try everything in my very thin processing book [if you get what I mean] to
come up with an image that anyone would think worth looking at. I'm
not in the least surprised it has faults. I think it would have been remarkable if it had been much better, [although I imagine that a skilled operator could have done a better job of it].
raymo

[rustigsmed]

Nice one Raymo I like the single sub the most actually! You've managed to even the contrast out nicely as the wings are a lot fainter than the core and you've evened it out perfectly. The stack is probably pushed a bit far for my taste but definitely packs a punch.

Rusty

[raymo]

Thanks Rusty, the stacked image is close to two yrs old, so my
processing has probably improved a little since then. I was quite surprised really, I didn't expect to get anything useable from one frame.
raymo

[jsmoraes]

Raymo, galaxies are very difficult to process. Use of mask is very important, because you can work only on the galaxy area.

Try to learn it with the great teacher Ken Crawford:
http://www.imagingdeepsky.com/Tutorials/Masks/Masks.htm

[raymo]

Thank you Jorge, I'll give it a go.
raymo

[yusbot]

how many years of experience you have taken to get an image like this? I can't wait to produce image like this, but never succeeded :(

[raymo]

Hi Yusfi, I am just starting my 63rd year of imaging, but have struggled
with the digital age, as I'm not very good with computers.
raymo