Shelob's Lair - NGC 2070

[Andy01]

My interpretation of the famous Tarantula Nebula, in Narrowband.

Following advice offered us by Dr. David Malin at this year's CWAS Astrofest dinner I have left the core reasonably bright to "respect the light" as he calls it.
I have also chosen to use an unusual colour palette that is kind of "otherworldly" to try to bring a mood of unease to this popular and often imaged target.

Framing was a bit of a compromise. I gathered this data over the past few months and shot a few other targets in between, so without plate solving, it's a tighter crop than intended.
I really need a wider FOV!

4.3 Hrs Ha
4.3 Hrs S2
3.3 Hrs O3 (slightly out of focus, hence the slightly blobby stars)

High Res here - http://www.astrobin.com/full/222782/0/

Data gathered from Lake Eppalock in country Victoria and my backyard in Melbourne, Australia.

Thanks for looking, comments, feedback etc. welcome :)

[pvelez]

Spooky! The colours are certainly different - I like it!

Pete

[Camknox]

My favourite southern object. Stunning!

[rustigsmed]

nice one andy, how long were your subs if you don't mind me asking? I don't mind the colour variation you have gone with actually!

edit: never mind Andy I found it on your astrobin page 1200 secs - cheers! I was wondering mostly re: the tarantula core

[jenchris]

Ooh lovely.
That is so beautiful.

[RickS]

Cool colours, Andy!

[gregbradley]

A fantastic image Andy. Love the colour palette. That's my favourite.

Greg.

[Slawomir]

Hi Andy,

I also like the colours and how you managed to visualise dynamic nature of this intense star forming region.:thumbsup:

What could be improved? Maybe dimmer parts of the nebula could be preserved to a higher degree, or maybe it is the positioning of black point :question:

[Ryderscope]

A stunning image with lots of intricate detail. Colour palette is spot on.
Thanks for sharing Andy.

[alpal]

Great picture Andy,
I like the colours too.
That Williams Optics FLT 110 is a high performing telescope.

cheers
Allan

[Andy01]

Thanks Pete, was going for that haunted house feel, glad you like it :)



Yeah cheers Cam, lots going on up there in that region :thumbsup:



Thanks Rustingsmed, Dr.Malin has some very definitive views about how certain dso's should render as images, particularly this one - hence my deliberate treatment of the core. Hopefully I'm interpreting his debrief correctly. :)



Thanks jenchris, something for us all to enjoy whatever interpretation we want make of it, glad you liked it :thumbsup:



Cheers Rick :D



Thanks Greg, it's a big challenge to try bringing something new to a classic DSO, hopefully I've pulled it off. Really appreciate your endorsement, thanks heaps :)

[Andy01]

Thanks Slawomir. You know I did look at the histogram and pondered whether or not to ease up clipping on the black point or stretching it further, but then I thought - it's more dynamic this way, kind of spookier - not my usual approach but what the heck I thought, go for it!
You are correct as always though - more data would render more detail in the fuzzy bits.



Woohoo! Thanks Ryderscope :)



Thanks Allan - appreciate the feedback - yes WO make nice gear that is great value for money and gives amazing bang for your buck, mind you, I've never used a Tak so can't really compare - but it's way better than my old Saxon 'scope :)

[Placidus]

Superb work, Andy. T and I think this is your best narrowband shot ever. The way you've managed the dynamic range, i.e. gotten the faintest, wispiest stuff AND the very brightest detail without making the whole thing look like a flat diagram or map, but maintained the feeling of relative brightness, is magnificent. We like the colours too. :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

PS: I particularly like that you've allowed some of the background to be completely black. The desire to show every last photon we've caught is 'turning to the dark side' - the result of such an egalitarian desire if taken to its logical extreme would be for every picture we take to be a neutral grey - photons everywhere like the cosmic microwave background - nowhere different from anywhere else. By allowing some bits to be black, you've shown where the important interesting and different stuff is, resulting in a very dramatic image.

Mike

[marc4darkskies]

A compelling rendition Andy! Very nice indeed - well done! :thumbsup::thumbsup: You've displayed the structure and dynamic range very well and have "respected the light" for sure. The core is very bright - but it's supposed to be. I'd probably try to show a bit more structure in the core, but that's just me and is not a critisism.

Not sure I agree with M&T comments regarding black sky though :) Your goal should be to find ALL the photons and let them shine - so to speak. I do agree that there is a risk of killing the dynamic range though if your not careful.

Cheers, Marcus

[alistairsam]

Nice one Andy
I like the fine details.

Cheers
Alistair

[alpal]

Yes Andy,
the FLT 110 model was the best refractor that Williams Optics ever made.
They don't make them anymore.

cheers
Allan

[Andy01]

Wow, thanks M&T! Wasn't expecting such high praise. Glad you liked it too.
Regarding your comments about the blacks - when pro photographers assess images, they look for the full range of tones, and blacks need to be black.

I've generally avoided black clipping with the astro images up until now, to try to render all that was captured. However, I think that sometimes there's room for compromise if one's intention is to deliberately create "technical art". To add some mood and creativity to what is usually a very absolute craft, where an image is usually "right" or "wrong" based purely on it's technical merit.

Cheers guys :)



Thanks Marcus, appreciate you taking the time to comment and your feedback is welcome. I think you were in the room when Dr. Malin was addressing us at Parkes, so hopefully I've understood and interpreted his approach correctly:D

I also hear what both you and Mike above have said regarding blacks - and I have to agree with both of you! That said, my comments above in response to Mike's are indicative of my intention with this particular image.

Cheers, Andy