Dusting the scope

[Slawomir]

Hi all,

I apologise for not contributing to this forum for a long time. Looks like the wet in north QLD is starting to finally subside, so I unboxed the rig(almost felt like opening boxes with new astro toys) and attempted putting it all together.

Easy target for a starter - a stack of 20-minute subs giving nearly 10 hours in total taken with a 4" refractor. Humidity is still a tad high but the skies were nicely clear during the past two nights.

https://cdn.astrobin.com/thumbs/5bGL9AUyFNiW_16536x16536_wmhqkGbg.j pg


I will try to keep them coming.

Suavi

[spiezzy]

Outstanding work Suavi hope it gets better during winter for you to get out more under the stars does it still get humid there in winter
cheers Pete

[Atmos]

Really nice Suavi!
Such tiny stars :)

[Placidus]

Welcome back!

Your image has a wonderfully three-dimensional feel to it: actual banks of cloud rather than a flat map look. Interestingly, presenting it "up side down" also gives a fresh perspective, enticing us to hunt around for all our favourite bits.

Well done.

MnT

[Slawomir]

Thank you Colin and Mike and Trish,

Yes, it certainly is good to be back. The upside-down orientation of the Lagoon reminds me a bit of the outline of continent of Australia.

This is just a very quick stack/process - I didn't even calibrate the subs.

Keeping fingers crossed for more clear nights.

Suavi

[strongmanmike]

Welcome back Mr Suave :hi:

M8 huh?...Marc's favourite :D nice job :thumbsup:

Mike

[multiweb]

Looking good Suavi. All the interesting bits are in there. :thumbsup:

[gregbradley]

Ridiculously sharp for a 4 inch refractor image. Looking forward to receiving mine!

Greg.

[Slawomir]

Forecasts promises almost clear skies tonight - maybe will finish collecting data for this target then.

Looking forward to reading your impressions with the soon-to-arrive new baby Greg :thumbsup:

[topheart]

Go Suavi!!
Looking sharp there!
Cheers,
Tim

[codemonkey]

A good start, Suavi. Looking forward to seeing the finished product... and welcome back!

[Ryderscope]

A great representation of this popular object. I like the dynamic range and contrast.

[Benjamin]

Really looking forward to what you do with this. Always an inspiration. Kweensland and Klouds seem to be synonymous of late.

[Andy01]

Great tonal range but sharpness appears to be a tad off?
Looking forward to seeing a colour rendition soon :D

[Slawomir]

Thank you all very much for your feedback, I really appreciate it as it helps me to grow as an amateur imager.

Andy, your comment about this image being out of focus and not sharp intrigued me, particularly that you have made similar comments about my images in the past.

Curious, I looked up your images of the same target on Astrobin, one taken with 70mm and the other with 110mm refractor, and made a little side-by-side comparison, without altering your images in the slightest, just aligning all three, with my image taken with 105mm being in the middle. This comparison is purely a result of your repeated comment about lack of sharpness in my images - I will delete the comparison if you feel I breached copyrights.

When looking at star sizes, I think the middle one has the tightest stars, in spite of imaging from humid North Queensland. Do you think that my images appear to be less sharp because I aim at preserving natural structures during data processing?

Images credit (left and right): Andy Campbell

[Andy01]

:)

Hi Suavi,
Maybe it’s a processing choice, maybe it’s because it’s an image of gas & not a hard structure. Then again maybe it’s just me being used to seeing sharpness in day to day professional images!
I’m also a tad paranoid about apparent sharpness due to recent collimation errors in my ‘scopes.
Interesting discussion :thumbsup:
Cheers
Andy
Ps: Your Ha stars should of course be sharper & tighter than my RGB ones, taken under LP :)

[Slawomir]

Well, both of your images of the same target are also narrowband, and light pollution does not really affect the size of stars nor image sharpness ;)

I think it happens too often in amateur astro-imaging that image sharpness is induced by artificially distorting gaseous nebulosity to make an impression of the image being sharp, while in fact small star size gives a truer idea of data quality; IMHO nebulosity should remain soft and without sharp edges, unless we are imaging shockwaves.

[Andy01]

I think you missed my point Suavi, I replaced my NB stars with RGB stars in both of the images you have highlighted :D

[Slawomir]

Fair enough - the box with acquisition info for both images does not have this information on Astrobin, and since there are purple halos around stars, particularly noticeable in the 110mm version, so I assumed all are pure narrowband :P

Looking forward to seeing your sharp image of the Lagoon (without worms) :thumbsup:

[Andy01]

Can’t see another Lagoon happening for me this season, but perhaps instead I can offer this latest image up for your consideration? Ha only, from suburbia :)

https://www.astrobin.com/402553/

Cheers
Andy

[Slawomir]

Very nice (almost) unadulterated data Andy, and I'm glad to see that your 10" scope is producing tighter stars than my 4" :thumbsup:

[Slawomir]

Added a bit more data and reprocessed the image: https://www.astrobin.com/full/405756/0/?nc=user

Started collecting data for colours too :thumbsup:

Thank you for looking
Suavi

[Slawomir]

Hi all,

My third attempt, this time more aggressive processing-wise at preparing luminance while awaiting clear skies to finish collecting OIII and SII. Weather permitting may try NII as well.

https://www.astrobin.com/full/405756/C/?nc=user


Thank you for looking
Suavi

[multiweb]

Sub zero cool Suavi. Really nice! :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

[strongmanmike]

Ooooh.. it's like I am gazing into a..?..Lagoooon :scared2:

Looking good

Mike

[gregbradley]

That latest version is sublime. I am not sure I could get more detail out of the Honders than that. That is very surprisingly sharp and detailed for a 4 inch APO.

That is a very high standard there Suavi. Super sharp without worms and artifacts. Remember that processing routine - its a winner.

Greg.

[Slawomir]

Thank you Marc, Michael and Greg for your encouragement.

There is a bit of a tilt so I will attend to that when I get a chance. Now, if I only could get two clear nights to finish this project :prey:

[Atmos]

Yeah Suavi! Hurry up already! :lol:

[Slawomir]

Thank you Colin. It's raining, again...I was told this is very unusual weather for this time of the year in Proserpine. I must have faith that eventually the skies will clear up.