The Purple Eye Nebula

[strongmanmike]

Full Moon!!!...? :scared:

Well, in to action go the Astronomik new 6nm narrowband emission line filters! :D

This strangely over looked but beautiful little planetary nebula NGC 6337 is located within the tail of Scorpius and not far from the much more popular target The Bug Nebula.

Perhaps this neglect is because of her small size as the bright central ring is only about 45" in diameter or about the same apparent size as Jupiter, but the fainter outer halo extends it to about 2'

NGC 6337 sits in an extensive faint but rich field of Hydrogen clouds and I have processed them so as they remain soft and cloud like so as not to detract from the little purple eye and the hero of the scene :thumbsup:

The Purple Eye Nebula (http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/161176346/original)

To get a handle on her small size HERE (http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/161176345/original) she is sitting in the vast 38' X 30' hydrogen field

Don Goldman has a beaut write up about it here (http://astrodonimaging.com/gallery/ngc-6337-planetary-nebula/)along with a wonderful shot taken with his 20" CDK at AAO

Mike

[RickS]

A cute little target, Mike, and an excellent use of full moon time!

[DJT]

That's pretty cool. I really like the way it looks like the line of stars in the middle is going through the cheerio

Nice one, plenty of detail and colour:thumbsup:

[Somnium]

Great image mike for such a small target

[Geoff45]

Great image there Mike. Certainly compares pretty well with Don Goldman's shot.
Geoff

[troypiggo]

Stunning planetary and capture. Really enjoy your little obscure targets. Awesome.

[graham.hobart]

That is so cool Mike, I love the wide field shot.
Great stuff as usual.
Graham

[multiweb]

+1 Very cool shot. It's a really interesting object. Looks a bit like a watch with a handle. :thumbsup:

[gregbradley]

A very striking and unusual object very well imaged.

Greg.

[Slawomir]

Thank you Michael for bringing this cute little DSO to our attention and for making it very presentable :thumbsup:

[Leonardo70]

Wonderful Mike, congrats.

All the best,
Leo

[ozstronomer]

Nice one Mike, plenty of detail and colour.

Geoff

[Atmos]

Very nicely captured for such a small target!
I just did some calculations and came up that target making 36x36 pixels on my imaging setup... Possibly a bit under sampled :)

So, awesome job :)

[theodog]

Nice Mike.

Well done.

[SkyViking]

I really like this image Mike, a great little PN sitting in a sea of H Alpha. Nicely processed as usual. Thanks for bringing this one to attention.

[LewisM]

Fantastic Mike - something I have never seen before.

[Nicola]

Beautiful detail on this one Mike! :)

[Camelopardalis]

Looks great Mike :thumbsup: looks like it's looking back at us.

But maybe a little over sharpened :shrug:

(I jest on the latter point btw :D )

[strongmanmike]

Ha, gee thanks heaps everyone :) so glad you all enjoyed the view :thumbsup:

There are so many amazing little PN's out there that tend to just fly under the Lagoon Nebula radar :lol: (nothing against the Lagoon Marc it is a lovely Puce coloured nebula)

Over sharpened huh Dunk? :question: hmmmm?...why, I'll give you over sharpened fella :mad2: :bashcomp: :lol:

Cheers guys :thumbsup:

Mike

[AG Hybrid]

I like it!

[marc4darkskies]

Excellent! :thumbsup:

Overcooked? Nup, Looks good to me! Very impressive details actually Mike! :thumbsup: you must have had some good seeing!

[Placidus]

Delicious!

I can see the purple eye (and it can see me), but it also looks like a watch with a watch-band, minute-hand, and knobs.

Very sharp.

[strongmanmike]

Not sure overcooking was suggested :question: Dunk is just a fellow comedian of aaaalmost similar quality to myself :D but thanks for your assurance Marcus Jucarkis ;) :thumbsup: I haven't noticed the seeing being particularly any better than usual but I certainly seem to have relatively few nights of obviously poor seeing here though...and bloody miles better than my last site in Newcastle when I started using the AG12, that's for sure!

Mike

[strongmanmike]

Thanks Mikey (or was that Trishy :question:) :thumbsup:

Mike

[Andy01]

As Spock would say, Fascinating!

Very cool to see something new Mike - well done :)

[topheart]

Awesome....my favorite colours!!

Very well captured Mike!

Cheers,
Tim

[Octane]

I want to eat it.

Nice.

H

[Stevec35]

Yep - nicely done Mike. I like your planetary nebula images.

Cheers

Steve

[strongmanmike]

Thanks Andy, Tim, H and Steve, she is a little beauty :thumbsup:

Mike

[multiweb]

It has some really cool colors and features. Will definitely give it a go with the C11 at prime. Should be a nice FOV for it. If the gravitational pull of the hourglass doesn't steer me off course.

[strongmanmike]

Mate, you don't have to just do this one, there are dozens and dozens of great targets very similar out there, the number of pretty PN's around 1' to 3' in size is quite high. On my planetarium program I have spent some time clicking on the PN and galaxy icons on the star maps and reading/looking for suitable targets, plus check out Sakib Rasool's Starsurfing (http://www.starsurfin.com/)site for some ideas, it's great :thumbsup:


Mike

[LewisM]

I think you would have a little gas afterwards (BADA BING!)

[multiweb]

I just bookmark your threads :) this stuff requires good seeing though. I don't know how it's been in Canberra but obviously a lot better than in Sydney looking at the clarity of your pics and their stellar profiles.

[strongmanmike]

What the one's you don't actually read...? :sadeyes: :lol:



True, seeing is obviously important as is image scale and decent optics of course :)

Mike

[multiweb]

Yup. It's like FOXTEL. read later when it rains.

[Flugel88]

I love it :D way better than Don's version.
Planetary nebula's are my favorite by far!
Specially these little rarely imaged obscurities.
Thanks for sharing Mike

[Flugel88]

Mike was also just wondering how you roughly went about blending in your HA and OIII data.:thanx:

[Rex]

Another out of left field beauty Mike. Nicely processed and not at all what I was expecting. I have seen this object through the 12 inch dob a couple of times a few years ago with the LVW 5mm and it looks like a little smoke ring through the eyepiece. Thanks for showing the hidden side.

[RobF]

Looks like something out of Tron to me? :D
Kudos for educating us Mike - haven't seen that one before. Great pic.

[strongmanmike]

Well, thanks for the sentiment ;) but while surprisingly very close, when our full res images are directly compared side by side in the same orientation (which I did) and all aspects are considered, the 20" image is slightly superior overall.



Well, roughly, it is a HaOIIIOIII blend with RGB stars pasted in and RGB blended to help colour the Ha background and NGC 6337 itself :)



Cheers Rex, it's always great to compare visual and imaged appearances, if the scope is big enough the difference can often only be the lack of colour in the visual view. I had the pleasure of using a 24" F3.5 dob at SPSP a couple of years ago for several hours and I was amazed at the details visible through the 24" on so many objects. I have a great memory for many objects and how they look in an image and I can tell you, with only a few exceptions, the 24 inch under truly dark skies was showing pretty much everything that appeared in most images I'd taken through 3", 5", 6" and 12" scopes over the years, just without the colour

Mike

[cometcatcher]

Wonderful image Mike! Lovely processing.

I don't know how you guys find these things. I have enough trouble finding the Lagoon Nebula!

[strongmanmike]

Just open the bloody window Kevin :rolleyes: :lol:

Thanks mate :thumbsup:

[strongmanmike]

Indeed, a Tron Light Disc :thumbsup:

Mike

[RobC]

That's a great image Mike. :thumbsup: How do you find these gems ? Looks like you got the correct balance of deconvolution to get the Tron effect. :lol:

Cheers Rob

[strongmanmike]

Cheers Rob :) yeah I am happy with the application of the decon I get on nebula and galaxy details (ie it stays real IMnot soHO :P) buuuut I still haven't mastered a way to get it to look good on most of the stars, at least not using the decon feature in Astroart anyway :question:... so, I don't apply it to the stars.

Mike

[John K]

That's a great image Mike - really 3D looking - great presentation.

[marco]

Lovely details Mike, you are outdoing yourself lately !
Cheers
Marco

[strongmanmike]

Thanks guys :thumbsup: outdoing myself?...is that a compliment, or an insult Marco :question: :lol: :thumbsup:

Mike

[tornado33]

I love the little flecks of ha throughout the nebula. Nice and deep to show the outer parts too.

[Bassnut]

Thats an absolute cracker Mike, youve supprised me with this tiny one, a fair bit more impressive than I wouldve expected :eyepop: ;). Most excellent in many ways.

[h0ughy]

this might be a Fred bad hair with an exclamation on his face moment (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/attachment_browse.php?a=83233):D:he lp:

i do agree though - its a cracker

[Rex]

Now that would have been an experience to remember. I love visual observing but like you say, unless your scope is big enough you just don't see the amount of detail you want to. Would be interesting to have a look at this one in the 24" and compare to your image.

[strongmanmike]

Cheers Scott, have you had a crack at this one with your corneal guided Samson mounted baby? How you travelling mate, feeling any better?

EDIT: Ok, I just read your update in the General Chat, good news, I wish you continued recovery Scotty.



Thanks Fred :)... truth be known, I did think of you while processing this little sucker, fondly recalling that narrow field postage stamp imaging phase you went through on theses sort of targets a few years ago :thumbsup:



Oh Houghy, you're cruel...that was IISAC 2010, by IISAC 2011 (my last IISAC) things had improved markedly....:question: he wore a hat.

Glad you liked the image :thumbsup: (of NGC 6337)



Mate, it was the best few hrs I have ever spent at a scope, was only tiredness that caused me to finish.

Mike

[marco]

Hahahaha, how could you even think it is an insult? :poke::wink2:

Naa mate, love your work more an more, in particular all these high res images of tiny almost-unknown objects where you are able to bring to life tons of details :thumbsup:

Peace :innocent:
;)
Ciao
Marco

[strongmanmike]

Grazie Singnor Lorenzi, Direttore di Authurs tavola rotunda :D

Peace on you too

Mike

[Fabiomax]

Just gorgeous, that detail and colors!,
Cheers,
Fabiomax

[strongmanmike]

Grazie Fabio :thumbsup:

[Rodstar]

Key Mike, that is one I can't remember every observing. Might be just the thing I need to get off my A*S and get out under the stars. Beautiful capture mate.

[Jerry_Lodriguss]

That is really sweet!

Jerry

[strongmanmike]

Cheers Rod, yeah get it into you, I looked at it through the 12" Skywatcher dob while I was imaging it, a nice little fruit loop :thumbsup:



Thanks Jerry, came out very pretty huh? :thumbsup:

Mike

[Shiraz]

another true beauty Mike - what an amazing object. Impeccable image quality.

[strongmanmike]

Cheers Ray, glad you like it :thumbsup:

Hanging to get out again and it is clear here in Canberra too but I just can't bring myself to image under a Full Moon even with 6nm filters :sadeyes:

Mike