Pillars of Creation (well maybe a smaller version)

[Paul Haese]

I suppose one of the most iconic images of the last 20 years from Hubble is the Pillars of Creation. Its colour and detail is simply beautiful. I have tried to emulate the colour and detail, albeit not to the same stunning levels. I have tried to image this object several times over the last few years. I tried imaging it with the TSA102 and felt it lacked scale. Last year I went to image it with the RC12 but the camera broke down and that killed that idea. I think I am finally going to get around to collecting all the data I need to do it justice.

After sorting out most of the recent elongated stars problem which, I think was a combination of tilt and balance (I still need to tweak the balance a bit more), this image is a short run on NB data of 8.5 hours. I am hoping to pick up a few more hours tonight and then wait for the new moon for the RGB colour. I am not a fan of the magenta stars but I can live with that when I look at the detail of the pillars.

I still think that Harel Boren's image of this target is one of the best amateur images, but I am pretty happy with what I have achieved thus far.

Click here (http://paulhaese.net/M16NB.html) for high resolution image.

Tell me what you like and what you don't like. It's probably a little dark for some.

[Atmos]

It's really nice Paul. I don't think it being darker matters in this area with your FOV. As the Pillars are clearly the main subject not showing up the fainter dusty regions isn't of great importance.

[Somnium]

That is really nice Paul , well done. What noise reduction techniques did you use to get that background so smooth?

[codemonkey]

Nice work Paul. I really like the soft colour transitions from the pillars out. Nice and smooth.

[atalas]

Paul what great detail in the pillars!quite awesome....the colour is wonderful too although I find that the heavy red saturation detracts me from the main structures,still,I think I can live with that!:thumbsup:

[Andy01]

Holy smokin' duckfeathers Batman!

That detail is exquisite :eyepop: Hard to believe it's from an amateur!
I'm tipping when you get around to finishing this, it'll be an early favourite for next years' Malins.

Really top shelf stuff Paul - I doff my hat to you :bowdown:

[Stevec35]

Looking good Paul! It rather resembles my last NB effort on this thing with the STXL6303. To me the red is distracting so I would tone that down a bit. Of course that's only my opinion.

Cheers

Steve

[Paul Haese]

Thanks guys,

I have now seen the red in a darkened room and agree that it needs toning down. Duly toned down. Check the link if you like. I have included a revised thumb nail here.

[Paul Haese]

Aidan I try not to use any noise reduction on my images. Some times it is unavoidable but in this instance it has not been necessary. When I do use noise reduction I use a reveal mask and noise reduce that way. Jim Mysti on his website has the detail on the technique.

[Placidus]

Smooth and crisp and beautiful. Excellent.

[Somnium]

Wow, that is unbelievably smooth for the integration time you have ... i was just doing a comparison to my Ha data and the noise levels are unfavourable, maybe my ML8300 is just a heck of a lot more noisy than your camera

[DavidU]

Smooth as a babies.....
excellent.

[Paul Haese]

Thanks guys for the comments.



I don't know, maybe it is the sub exposure length that is contributing here. I am using 20 minute subs on this target in narrow band. The 8300 sensor does produce a salt and pepper look to the background often and requires a lot of integration time to produce smoother results in my experience. The read noise of the 8300 sensor is as I understand it lower than the 11002 sensor. Maybe Rick or Ray can chime in here for a more comprehensive answer.

[Somnium]

interesting, i might try a few things with binning and exposure length. It is images like this one that really drive me to improve, thanks for posting

[atalas]

Excellent....the stars still have a nice luminosity shinning through them as well.

[gregbradley]

Beautiful round stars. You certainly sorted that out. A very detailed Eagle.

Greg.

[Rigel003]

Beautiful image Paul. Very dramatic and moody with lots of fined detail.

[astronobob]

Gotta Like a Good Eagle - mighty noice Paul

[DJT]

Great image Paul. I think the colour choices are spot on bringing out the detail well and as everyone says, nice and smooth. :thumbsup:

[gregbradley]

Great image Paul. Lovely detail. Only comment is as you point out it may be too dark for some. Its a tad dark for me but not by much. It does make it a bit moody in the darker colour.

I think also the smoothness comes from the full frame size of the sensor versus the smaller size of the 8300 sensor. The 11002 is has several times the imaging area and light collection area of the 8300 chip. SBIG STXL read noise is listed at 11 electrons and the FLI ML8300 is 11 electrons also. QSI's 8300 may be a bit lower. Also scope aperture plays a big part. Big sensor large aperture is still the king formula. I remember really liking Russell Cromans Horsehead nebula and was stunned to find out it was something like an hour and a half exposure time with a 20 inch RC and STL11.

Greg.

[multiweb]

Very smooth with some very nice details. :thumbsup:

[RickS]

I certainly wouldn't have gone that dark, Paul, but it definitely works. I think the smooth result is partly a consequence of the milder stretch but the combination of aperture and the big pixels of the STL11K gives you enough signal to overcome read and shot noise quickly.

An excellent image :thumbsup:

Cheers,
Rick.

[AG Hybrid]

Holy cow! You can see the ionizing gases on the pillars themselve. This is APOD worthy imo.

[rustigsmed]

really nice work Paul, i can see why you went dark if you were emulating the HST shot (i recently watched a youtube vid from nasa going through the ins and out of the pillars) and it isn't bright at all.

cheers

[Flugel88]

I'm always really jealous of those small tight stars Paul i recently took a few test shoots of the pillars with my GSO14 and my stars appear like giant marbles by comparison.

Also i do like the darker rendition very nice.

[Octane]

I absolutely love the dark moody feel to this.

We need to sometimes realise that we're not only creating scientific images, we are making art!

Top work.

H

[Paul Haese]

Thank you to everyone who has commented. I always enjoy reading what people think. Whether it be critique or not.



Thanks Greg. I reckon the black point of each monitor has an impact on how this image looks.

I noted the same thing with the read noise of both cameras.



Thanks Rick, I sort of figured that the bigger pixels were part of the reason for the smoother back ground with the larger aperture. Both you and Greg have confirmed that thought.




Thanks Michael. Which camera are you using with the RC14? Is you guide graph flat? I found tightening up my base guiding parameters impacted the usefulness of the AO. Seeing will make a huge difference too. I often get good seeing at my site. Combine that with the AO and the stars get quite small. Not as tight as some of the more expensive scopes but quite acceptable.



Thanks H. I certainly like to think more of the art rather than the science. I see it as being an essential aspect of public outreach. By making art and displaying our images online we are helping to encourage others to think about the issues that affect astrophotography and spread the science too. People are more inclined to ask science related questions if they think the images look aesthetically pleasing. Besides, I like making pretty pictures, it appeals to my creative side and I am doing this for me after all. :)

[Shiraz]

been coming back to this one - didn't originally like the dark tone, but it is making more sense with more views :thumbsup:. It really is a very dramatic rendition and technically excellent with fine detail and low noise. Very nice work.

[Regulus]

It's a detailed image. It is a bit dark but not so dark that it detracts. In fact all the dark edges just focus your eyes in the amazing detail at the heart of the image.
The toned down red version is superior.
It would be hard to beat it as foundation data set for added data; the details there and ready for a longer exposure.

Nice.

Trev

[Paul Haese]

Thanks Ray, I am inclined to make it a bit brighter with the final image. I do like the dramatic look of this image but think something between this and a bright rendering might be better. I am still collecting data and managed on Friday night to get nearly a complete run on the RGB. My preference would be to get 2-4 hours in each colour and 5 hours in luminance so I can do several renditions.



Thanks Trev, time will tell what I can produce with the complete data set.

[SkyViking]

Awesome shot Paul, a great high resolution image of the pillars! Love the classical Hubble palette too, well done.

[Paul Haese]

Thanks Rolf, that is the appeal I was looking for was the detailing in the pillars. I see a lot of images of this target which appear over sharpened either through use of high pass filtering or by some means. I think it is hard to get that feathery look to the pillars and detail sharp enough to be appealing. I think the Hubble palette lends itself well to this target too.