Going deep on the Helix - A Teaser

[Paul Haese]

I have been on this project with the FSQ for 26 nights so far.

My goal is to get the really faint outer bubbles of gas that are rarely seen. Only in the last 10 hours have there been signs of the really outer sections. For instance at the 7-8 o'clock position there is a very faint band pointing out as far as the one at 9 o'clock. On the bottom right below the brighter bubble are two faint extensions pointing out at around 5 and 4 o'clock positions. Then on the top left extending out past the two brighter bubbles are more faint spear shaped extensions. And; then on the right are some faint edges to older bubbles.

So far I have collected 79.5 hours which includes Ha OIII and RGB. This image is 43 hours of Ha and is the teaser to project. What amazes me the most about this image is that some of the back ground galaxies are now becoming visible in the Ha and OIII data.

I don't know if I will collect all the data this year but I am going to keep collecting until I am convinced I have captured the faintest extensions. I am expecting to go over 100 hours on this project. Man this object is a faint sucker. I have imaged this object before but those were mere snap shots.

Click here (http://paulhaese.net/HelixNebulaDeep.html) for the 100% full resolution crop.

[gregbradley]

A stunning image Paul. Its a great object that is worth the heavy time investment.

Greg.

[codemonkey]

Amazing, work, Paul. Showing lots of detail and sharp as a pin.

[Atmos]

Wow! That makes me pathetic 1 hour of Ha look like child's play!

[Ryderscope]

Now that is an impressive image and shows great dedication to the cause. From what we see so far with the faint extensions to the nebulosity it is clearly well worth the effort.
R

[Peter Ward]

Nice one. I think I went about 40 hours on it in Ha with the Honders..and really didn't pick up any more outer shell detail, (noise was getting very well suppressed though) hence you are doing well with the FSQ.

There are some deep professional images that also indicate there is not much beyond the "east outer feature"

:thumbsup:

[Fabiomax]

So deep... it is simple amazing the signal you achieved. I'm waiting for 100 hours! I think you could work not just about the weakness areas of the nebula,using so much signal,but also for to have an important contrast to improve the details.
Great job
Fabiomax

[Placidus]

Very, very special.

[topheart]

Well done Paul! It will be interesting to see if you can find more than anyone else has from the ground.

May I ask, how long your sub-frames are??

Cheers,
Tim

[FlashDrive]

That's magnificent :thumbsup:

Col....

[Paul Haese]

Thanks for the comments. :thumbsup:


It's like pulling teeth Greg. After a couple of sessions I try a stack and see what has changed. Most of the time nothing but every now and then some little bit of signal appears. It's a tedious business, I don't know how Rolf puts up with the wait.



Yes with significantly more diameter of the Honders I will need many more hours yet to catch up I would think. I take your point about diminishing returns in this venture. If nothing else noise suppression will continue to build up and enhance the signal more the further I go. Not sure if I will undertake another project like this again anytime soon.



Actually Mike and Trish I used your image as a bench mark and I still think I need to go a long way further to come close to the brightness and detail level.




Thanks Tim. I am doing 30 minute subs in NB. Typically I do 20 subs for colour and luminance.

[Rod771]

Well, I cant wait to see 100 hrs in colour. Its already a craker at 43 mono.

[Slawomir]

Notable effort and a great result Paul.

It is an outstanding project that surely will push a few personal boundaries :)

Inspiring work- thank you.

[RickS]

Certainly deeper than I was able to do at f/9, Paul :) I've only seen a couple of images that show the dim Ha features a little more clearly.

I look forward to the finished result.

Cheers,
Rick.

[Eden]

Some really faint details in there which are not usually seen. Very much looking forward to the final product, but what you've captured so far is impressive as it stands! :thumbsup:

[Octane]

I've also been collecting data on this little guy (in the FSQ)!

This is looking to be an awesome image!

H

[Paul Haese]

Thanks Rod, Rick, Brett and H for your comments.



Thanks Slawomir. I think this will be a test of patience over will. The temptation to process out image is quite strong at present, but if I collect a bit more colour and some more of the NB it will make for a dramatic finished image I am sure. Not to mention it being one of the deepest getting around. Seeing other images coming up ought to be an interesting assessment of how deep I have gone.

[SkyViking]

Very impressive work Paul, looks like you've got a lot of faint extensions. I'm sure the final colour version will be spectacular, looking forward to it!

[Shiraz]

already deep Paul - looking forward to the final image.