First image post - Fighting Dragons of Ara (NGC 6188)

[CAPAstro]

Hi all !

First time poster here so decided to do it with an image. Hope you like it

This was my very first multi-session, multi-exposure, multi-site project on a single target. 6 nights of imaging, 4 from my backyard (Bortle 5, 423x300s), and 2 from a dark site (Bortle 1, 45x1200s) totaling 50.25 hours integration time.

I decided to apply Starnet++ to reveal all that gorgeous nebula detail. Some may like it some may not

Equipment used:
Skywatcher Evostar ED80
SkyWatcher HEQ5 Pro mount
ZWO ASI071MC Pro @-5C
Optolong L-Enhance DuoBand filter.
Stacked and processed using PixInsight and Photoshop CC

Full version: https://www.astrobin.com/full/eqnt8i/0/?nc=user

[jahnpahwa]

Wow! Amazing effort. A lot of integration time there, pulled out heaps of detail. Super nice!:thumbsup:

[Andy01]

That's a vibrant, bold & punchy colour palette there Carlos, but all looking at your starry versions, it seems that much of the detail that you wanted to reveal, appears to have been lost star removal process. :shrug:

Star removal is not an exact science, but duplicating layers in PS and working only on the starless layer means that you can blink between layers to see what details have been lost. These details can the be recovered using blend modes & masks. :)

See tutorial here by JP Metsavianio. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQlGsM-S8vM)

Have fun! :)

[sizlo]

Beautiful image, congrats! 50++ hours sure takes a lot of patience. Did you split the two narrowband into specific color spectrums or just retain the original colors?

[John K]

Great image - thanks for sharing - there is something special about starless images for certain objects and this is one of them!

[CAPAstro]

Cheers jahnpahwa. Appreciate the comments !

[CAPAstro]

Thanks Andy ! Appreciate your comments. I will have a look at that tutorial you suggested. I still have a lot to learn :)

[CAPAstro]

Thanks sizlo. Appreciate your comments. I didn't split the channels this time but went with the original colors

[CAPAstro]

Cheers John ! Appreciate your comments. The original image was real messy with the stars so I went with the starless. I think it paid off :)

[multiweb]

Very dramatic rendition. Looks like a painting. :thumbsup:

[CAPAstro]

Cheers multi :thumbsup: