NGC253 - The Sculptor Galaxy (WIP)

[cjr]

Hey guys,

I still can't this whole processing thing down who would've thunk it would be so hard! :rofl:

Anyway here is a little image i am working on at the moment.

I have gotten about 9 hours of light data on this one. Currently working on the HA data. Conditions have been good and moon was low, i think a few subs with high cloud may have snuck their way in which I'll deal with in the final stack. 600 second subs at 200 ISO. I have also used DARK, FLAT & BIAS frames when stacking.

Trying to pay attention to the other end of the histogram now which honestly i did really let go. Previously i had always balanced the sky out but never thought about the stars. I used a G1V/G2V star in this and tried to work out the white balance and seemed to have some if not limited success. Hopefully i got rid of that darn red hue that was stuck in my images.

Any advice as always is much appreciated!

I better get onto it i have some perfectly clear skies tonight. Hope you all do as well.


Cheers

[Startrek]

Good effort on a popular Galaxy
You have certainly put some hours into this object
Well done !
My only observation is that your colour doesn’t seem quite right on this object and the same colour bias is blended right throughout the whole image including the Star field.
Maybe try a Star mask to exclude your stars from the main Galaxy and apply a different algorithm to colour your star field.Generally the star field around this Galaxy have a mixture of young and old stars ( blue and orange stars )
Also your Galaxy core could be a tad brighter
Only my personal observations.......

[cjr]

Hi Martin,

Thanks for the comments always appreciate your advice. I see what you mean about the color shift on the stars and galaxy together. I will have another go at trying to get the colours a bit more on point.



I'll also have a go at boosting the galaxy a little bit. I find my monitor at home is so bright i think i have it right then I'll go to the office and i agree it looks a lot more dull than i expect.

Once i consolidate my HA data i have gotten the last two nights I'll have a better attempt at processing it again.

Cheers

[PKay]

You have some good data there Cody.

As Martin suggested, play around with the processing.
I spend hours or even days trying different techniques.

Well done!

[Startrek]

Cody
Another tip is to image galaxies during the dark , makes processing a bit easier especially with colours
Martin