Get your Antennae up!

[Andy01]

Kinda forgot about this one :lol:

I’ve never considered myself to be a real Galaxy guy, but sometimes it’s cool to get out of one’s comfort zone. Seeing M&T's & Greg's lovely recent renditions, I only just remembered I took this last year, but never finished processing it! :whistle:

The Antennae Galaxies, also known as NGC 4038/NGC 4039, are a pair of interacting galaxies in the constellation Corvus.
They are currently going through a starburst phase, in which the collision of clouds of gas and dust, with entangled magnetic fields, causes rapid star formation.

Nah, to heck with that description - they're Colliding galaxies!
Oh, and they’re 45 million light years distant! :eyepop:

Taken in April last year in one night at a dark site with my former & well loved astrophotography rig! :D

Scope: Sidereal Trading 10" f4 CF Newtonian
QSI 683 WSG8
Astrodon LRGB Filters
17x300 sec LUM
15x 180 sec R,G & B


Here 'Tis big! (https://www.astrobin.com/full/lw8f13/0/)

Link to behind the scenes video (https://youtu.be/dlKDwYRM5mA) :)

[topheart]

Hey Andy,
You are a real galaxy guy!
Good capture - very nice!
Cheers,
Tim

[Andy01]

Ha ha! Thanks Tim, unfortunately fog rolled in at around 1-2am that night, so I’ve attempted to make the most of what data I had. :D

I had M&T’s benchmark rendition on my screen as a reference, but it was a challenge to match with their big aperture & extensive data.

Thanks for your encouragement! :thanx:

[PeterSEllis]

Hi Andy,
Another eye popping shot of the heavens. You certainly know how to bring out the details.

Cheers
Peter

[Andy01]

Thanks Peter, I found that the latest version of APP is pretty awesome at registering one's subs and creating a master LUM layer which when imported to PS really helps! :)
Mind you, Nik filters detail extractor is a handy tool as well when used sparingly!
No substitute for large aperture or more data like M&T's image, (https://photos.smugmug.com/Category/Astrophotography-at-Placidus/i-xB539Cb/0/fe40b219/O/Antennae%20L%2012hrs%20RGB%204hrs%2 0each.jpg) but when we have to use what we have, honing one's processing skills can really make a difference. :thumbsup:

[Placidus]

I suspect we've been late replying because we were really hoping to do some 2x2 binning to get more detail in the hook-back part of the top right antenna. But wind, clouds, and a full moon intervened.

You've shown that really faint curve-back very nicely. Nailed it, in fact.

Not that we're even slightly competitive. No.

Best,
MnT

[Slawomir]

Awesome image Andy, your Newtonian is a really powerful tool :thumbsup:

[h0ughy]

cool looks like a love heart with sweeping arms

[Andy01]

Ha ha! Lol- I originally didn’t publish this after showing a preview to a good friend who suggested there was no detail & my scope must have been out of collimation - so I kind of moved on in disappointment & forgot about it after that!:shrug:

Seeing your fine recent image encouraged me to revisit my data & see what Details I could drag out. No competition with yours though, but thanks for the compliment! :D



Cheers Suavi- it’s gone to a good loving home elsewhere now, hopefully my Tak will soon be as potent! :)



Thanks Houghy, seems that there’s apparent beauty in destruction when worlds collide! :)

[Ryderscope]

Very nice work Andy. I’ve got some RGB data on this one as well, just waiting for the moon to go away to grab some luminance.

[strongmanmike]

Very good galaxy shot Andy, Uber cool galaxies these ones :thumbsup: Interesting framing :confuse3:, the galaxy is kind'a at the bottom of the frame..what was your rational around this aspect in this instance?

Mike

[Andy01]

Hey Rodney, thanks for the nice feedback - looking forward to your rendition soon! :thumbsup:




Cheers Mike, welcome back! :D

I really don't understand the unwritten but widely accepted "Place the target in the middle of the frame" rule! :lol:

So in this case, I chose to place the Galaxy in context with the vastness of space and the surrounding large stars to make a more interesting and dynamic composition. ;)

Good to see you back on the forum!

PS: I mentioned you in yesterday's talk on Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIqgesHS4H4) - go to 1:10:05 mark. :)

[strongmanmike]

Ah, ok, what you said to MnT gave me the impression that perhaps something had gone a little awry with the framing out in the field :bashcomp:, that was out of your control but ok, I understand now.

I'm certainly a proponent of considering composition when taking astroimages, but compared to most nebulae/nebulous regions, that usually have lots going on in them and because of the often smaller field in play, the small circular size of most galaxies means if there is nothing much else of interest in the field, there can be less options for a meaningful composition, at least for a shot of a single galaxy. If desired, for presentation or entering in a competition say, the field can of course always be cropped after processing too, to create a different composition, change galaxy orientation, or include field stars, intriguing background galaxies or even IFN etc to balance the view :thumbsup:

Interesting discussion in that talk :)

Mike