Carina "Ben Hur" - 60hrs+ (now Astrobin IOTD 15/03/17)

[Andy01]

Hi folks,

Update: Astrobin Image of the Day 15/03/17 (http://www.astrobin.com/286375/0/)


My second attempt at a two panel mosaic of NGC 3372.
Reframed for compositional balance and a total of 60 hrs integration.

Pre-processed in Nebulosity, aligned in Registar and post production done in PSCC 2017 & Nik.

Have to say Registar is pretty impressive , although it means booting between PC & Mac, its well worth the almost Au$250.00

This was bigger than Ben Hur for me because it took almost a month to gather the data and the best part of 3 days to collate & process it all.

Solid learning curve and although I made a few mistakes along the way, it was enjoyable and I've learned heaps from this.

Ha, O3 & S2 10 hrs each per panel, 30 min subs 3nm Astrodons.
RGB 15x1min RGB

High Res HERE (http://www.astrobin.com/full/286375/0/)

Taken from my backyard in Suburban Melbourne.

Comments welcome :)

Andy

[JA]

Nice one Andy:thumbsup:

Great depth together with the colours, esp. in the High Res really create a wonderful impression of a portal to .....

Best
JA

[RickS]

That's a huge investment of time & effort, Andy, and it paid off handsomely.

[Andy01]

Cheers JA - lol, yes that Portal is very "Dr.Strange" now that you mention it. :D Thanks for the feedback :thumbsup:



Hey Thanks for the positive vibes Rick, yes it's a labour of love alright!
I've learned so much from embarking on this project that I'll try a few more large scale objects in the future. :)

[Atmos]

Very nice Andy! Huge and dynamic image that's for sure! Maybe a project for me next year :)

[strongmanmike]

Your usual alternative style and interpretation Andy, cool...Fred would love it! :P Wow, a big effort though well done :thumbsup:

Mike

[Andy01]

Thanks Colin, there's a lot going on in there, WR stars, supergiants, a potential supernova and it's HUGE. Might go 4xpanels eventually :D



Thanks Mike!
As you know I like to image/process the path least traveled.
Now that I have RegiStar, I'm toying with the idea of doing a Peter Ward & getting some closer core data with my bigger scope and merging it in as a superluminance layer.
Hmmm... :question:

[traveller]

Great shot Andy, that SV70 is really getting a workout!
Bo

[Flugel88]

I have never tried a mosaic the thought of processing alignment scares me.
60 hours is epic and it looked worth it the FOV is amazing to see eta with the mistral.
Colours are great too not overboard and wacky as is the case sometimes with narrow band. :thumbsup:

[Andy01]

Thanks Bo - yes it's small but sure punches above it's weight!
Great bang for the buck too :)



Cheers Flugel, yes I was a little but more restrained on the colour palette than some of my previous efforts - I must be mellowing! :D

In truth this was my first real go at a mosaic and if you have decent registration software it's not so difficult, just time consuming!

I trialled six different registration/panorama apps but settled on RegiStar (https://www.aurigaimaging.com/) because it works as advertised with my workflow and is written specifically for Astro. :thumbsup:

[Atmos]

If RegiStsr has been written for astro work, can it stitch unstretched images? Or does it need some light stretching like the others?

[Andy01]

From the Registar website - TIFF, JPEG, and FITS images are supported. RegiStar supports 8- and 16-bit depth internally, but will read higher depth FITS images.

So yes, it works with both un-stretched and stretched images. :thumbsup:

[Stevec35]

Extremely impressive Andy! Superb composition!

Steve

[Bassnut]

wow, huge effort Andy. Not sure about the middle bit but the depth is very impressive and the outer regions are detailed with excellent 3d effect.

[marc4darkskies]

A very compelling image Andy! :thumbsup: Tipping my hat to the massive effort involved!

[Andy01]

Thanks Steve, glad you liked it :thumbsup:



Cheers Fred, hoped you might enjoy it. I'll put the bigger scope on this weekend and get some more data to blend detail back in the middle. :)




Thanks Marcus, not quite done with one yet though, stay tuned! :D

[Atmos]

I have found that Autopano Giga doesn't work so well with unstretched images (cannot find alignment points). I've tried Microsoft ICE and it will stitch unstretched images BUT I have found in doing so also destroys all but the brightest parts (I am stitching vast faint nebulous areas at times). Both programs work perfectly fine with lightly stretched imaged though.

Congrats on the IOTD :P

[Paul Haese]

Welcome to the world of mega data. 60 hours is a huge effort. Detail looks good, as to does the field of field. It is a massive object. Core looks a bit burnt out to me though.

[Windston]

Awesome depth and detail, love it!

[Andy01]

Cheers Colin, an unexpected bonus :D



Thanks Paul, appreciate the feedback. Not done with this thing yet. Planning to extend it out further on both sides and then get some extra core detail with my longer 'scope. Stay tuned...



Thanks Windston, glad you liked it. :thumbsup: