Red Flowers & a Butterfly

[Andy01]

Not too many images of this object out there... actually I couldn't find any!

So here's a two panel HaRGB mosaic of Sharpless Sh2-12 & 13 (aka Gum 67 & 68, RCW 132) featuring M6 created with data all gathered one clear and very cold night in Kilmore, country Victoria, Australia. Moonset was at 1am so it was Ha before 1am and RGB afterwards.

It's an overlooked feint-ish target, but it's rich in Ha and has some pretty interesting Dark tower-like extrusions in Sh2-12 (the big one) and a Masterchef style Ha plate wipe in SH2-13 (the smaller one). My kids think M6 looks like a butterfly fluttering towards red flowers, so ... Paradolia rules again!

Very happy to get the entire data set in a single clear night, despite mist lurking and fog threatening!

Hard to keep the motivation going to get up at 1:30am for the Meridian flip and again at 4am to finish the second panel of the mosaic with the temperature at a chilly 1degreeC. Brrrrr... the joys of manual Ap with a mac - No auto plate-solving or Meridian flips for this diehard!

2 Hrs Ha x 20min subs, 40mins ea RG&B x 5 min subs ea. per panel.

High Res HERE (http://www.astrobin.com/298611/C/)

I'm slowly getting better at processing HaRGB, but as always C&C are welcome :)

[strongmanmike]

A very nice result Andy :thumbsup: I like it becasue it looks like an astronomical object, made of gas and dust and full of stars and not an interpretive artwork with meaningless colours, that could be anything :shrug: :prey: Sorry to be blunt but to me this is astrophotography, well done, the long night paid off :thumbsup: M6 is a beautiful cluster too.

BTW I don't even sleep when I am with my scope...crazy but tough :cheers:

Mike

[Stevec35]

That's just spectacular Andy! Like it a lot.

Cheers

Steve

[Andy01]

WooHoo! Cheers :D

I researched this on Galaxy map and hey, I figured, why not try it?
(it's not another Eta Carina either, lol :rofl:)
Fortunately the sleepless & freezing night's work paid off!

Thanks for the good vibes Mike :)



Hey thanks Steve, dunno why no-one else has imaged this thing in it's entirety, it's pretty cool.
Cheers :thumbsup:

[The_bluester]

I have said it elsewhere but I love the worm eaten look just below the half way point when looking at the full rez version. It has a really 3D look to it.

[Atmos]

Really nice Andy! I don't think it's one I've seen before :)

I'm usually up quite frequently when doing photography so I feel your pain :P

[RickS]

That's a great HaRGB combine, Andy, and a cool object.

[marc4darkskies]

Fantastic result Andy - a very beautiful and compelling image! :thumbsup:

[cometcatcher]

That's just beautiful Andy. I like the various Gum nebula. You've done a great job with this one.

[Andy01]

Cheers mate, makes one wonder what forces are at work to create those shapes... stellar winds? gravity? black holes? It's hard to fathom... 😀



Cheers Colin, yes this object appears to have slipped through the cracks of preferred imaging targets. Maybe now it'll get a good run?
As to all the late night stuff, well it's always nice to look up at a dark sky, regardless of the conditions 😀



Hey thanks Rick, I watched a bunch of LRGB tutorials and picked up a few ideas that seem to have helped get started, then used the Marco Lorenzi Method (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=138473) to blend it all together.



Thanks very much Marcus- wasn't sure how it would work out as it was all new territory- probably could do with double the data, but we takes what we can gets, and I was stoked to get it all in one night. After spending 4 months on Eta Carina, I needed a refreshing change!



Cheers Kevin, I agree the Gums are cool targets.
Looking at Galaxy map, there's plenty more HaRGB targets to try, so hopefully the winter skies will be be clear again to try a few more.
Thanks for the kind words :thumbsup:

[niharika]

Nice blend of Ha and a great image. I like it a lot.

[traveller]

Excellent result Andy,
It looks like part of the eastern part of Aust with Tassie at the bottom.
So maybe rename it Eastern Australia nebula?
Bo

[Placidus]

Bravo, Andy. A lovely composition and a perfect rendering.

Incredibly, we don't think we've ever really looked at M6, (except glancing up at the sky with naked eyes) and so we didn't know it has a beautiful and very salient red giant in it.

[Andy01]

Cheers Raki! Long time no see... This target would probably suit your system nicely in a single frame. Thanks for the nice compliment :thumbsup:



Cheers Bo, imagination is an amazing thing hey. Eastern Australian Nebula... I like it!



Thanks M&T
I've been intrigued by M6 & it's surroundings ever since seeing this close-up image of Marco's (http://www.glitteringlights.com/Images/Open-and-Globular-clusters/i-PL62NBV/A) a while back.

Wiki states it was first seen in 1654 - "Most of the bright stars in this cluster are hot, blue B-type stars but the brightest member is a K-type orange giant star, BM Scorpii, which contrasts sharply with its blue neighbours in photographs. BM Scorpii, is classed as a semiregular variable star, its brightness varying from magnitude +5.5 to magnitude +7.0."

The Bluester & I were having some great views of M6 (& Saturn incl the Cassini division & Enke minima) on saturday night with spectacular seeing through his big CRT 'scope - we thought we could see two orange stars - the big one & a small companion nearby.

Thanks for the kind words :)

[Octane]

Now, that's beautiful. Great work, mate!

Interestingly, I've also been capturing data on this. :)

H

[Peter Ward]

Little Britain sums this sort of thing up pretty well: I'll 'ave that!

Very tidy star colours and h-alpha blend

Nice one :thumbsup:

[Andy01]

Hey thanks H, I'm slowly getting the hang of HaRGB, being a narrowband guy this RGB stuff is new territory for me. Looking forward to seeing your version soon :)



Cheers Peter, appreciate the sentiments, (insert cockney accent) "that's luvley, that is - know wot I mean" :)

[gregbradley]

Lovely image Andy.

Greg

[topheart]

This looks so natural.....Absolutely gorgeous!!
Well done!!
Congratulations!!
Cheers,
Tim

[Retrograde]

Beautiful Andy - such an amazing object (albeit quite faint no doubt) right next to M6.
Lovely smooth HaRGB blend too :thumbsup:

[Andy01]

Cheers Greg, you should have a go at it with that honders of yours :D



Thanks heaps Tim- I had a breakthrough in my RGB processing which really helped with retaining natural star colours, and 5 min subs seem to be working better than 10 with this chip & my OTA. :thumbsup:



Cheers Pete, it's off the radar but well worth visiting.
Most folks seem to just go for M6 but it's pretty cool to go wider & see what's around it. Pretty feint but much brighter than say Sh2-308 so worth a crack.
Cheers :)

[multiweb]

Very nicely processed. Great field. :thumbsup: