Eagle Nebula - Toothless the Dragon!

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Taken on 22 March 2015 with my DSLR. I know the colours aren't a typical reproduction however I'm quite fond of the Hubble palette and added some creative license. :)

It's amazing what a change in perspective can bring! If you look closely in the first image you can see Toothless (How To Train Your Dragon), on the right, about to engage in battle with another dragon launching itself at him :P

The second image, simply rotated 180 degrees, brings about a nice "deep space" view of the Eagle Nebula. Finally, a close-up image of the Pillars of Creation. Given the tallest pillar is roughly 4 light years tall, it's not a bad attempt given the target is approximately 7000 light years away! Need to ease up on the heavy processing, but still limited at the moment to ISO 6400 whilst I'm learning. Keen to get out again soon for some longer frames at lower ISO.

Anyway, just thought I'd share what can be achieved with an un-modified DSLR, a high ISO and short subs (11 x 90 sec exposures - guided). Clear skies! :thumbsup:

Cheers
Evan

[raymo]

Great job, but if you are guiding, why are you limited to 6400?
raymo

[Somnium]

I agree, bump down the ISO to 400 or 800 and increase the exposure time. But still a great shot

[Flugel88]

Very nice Evan your end version is looking fantastic.
Your setup produces excellent star colours.
Must be some awesome clear nights up in Gunnedah.

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Hi Ray, sorry 'limited' probably wasn't the best choice of words. I've been using ISO 6400 as it helps me to locate the target easily due to my poor efforts in polar alignment & go-to's. Most of my nights were spent on alignment, leaving me little time left to image. So to get some quick photos I'd run it at a high ISO and take 10 pictures. I was also pretty disappointed with my processing skills until I discovered Scott Rosen's LLRGB workflow. That's made a massive difference to my DSLR images.

I haven't been out with my telescope for months, so sadly all of my images waiting to be processed are still at ISO 6400. Can't wait to get out again soon though and run it at a lower setting with longer subs :)

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Thanks Michael :thumbsup:
The night skies in Gunnedah are very good. My preferred setup location is just out of town which gives me a clear horizon and only a little bit of town glow.

At first I was a little dubious about the LX200 and at times I found myself contemplating an HEQ5, but I'm really happy with the Meade and how it's turned out. I don't think I'll ever out-grow it! :)