Do the Funky Chicken

[Andy01]

in 1969 Rufus Thomas wrote -
"You flap your arms and your feet start kicking
Then you know you doin' the funky chicken".

Which is possibly what the guys at the AAO were doing when they named the 'Running Chicken' nebula! :lol:

I've presented NB versions of this timeless classic target here with (https://www.astrobin.com/full/0zwss9/0/) and without (https://www.astrobin.com/full/0zwss9/B/) stars, as I'm still waiting for the clouds to clear to capture some RGB ones.

6 Hrs HA x 900 sec
2 Hrs O3 x 900 sec
3 Hrs S2 x 900 Sec

Taken via Stellarmate (while sleeping :D) from my light polluted suburban Backyard in Melbourne.

PS: Just for comparison - Here (https://www.astrobin.com/full/157196/C/) is a version I did 6 years ago, been much water under the bridge since then! :)

[strongmanmike]

Well, I haven't done a roll over to check whether the detail is real or not :lol: but have to say, very nice indeed Andy...both of them (:scared3:did I say that?) :thumbsup:

Mike
they still don't really count though cus yer were asleep while they were taken :whistle:

[Andy01]

Thanks Mike, pretty confident that the details are real on these. :thumbsup:
Oh, and although I didn’t have to, my internal alarm went off & woke me around meridian flip time, so I found myself hopping out of bed just to check all was well with the ‘scope- which of course it was, (loving this automation thing!)just force of habit I guess. :)

[AdamJL]

yeah that's gorgeous. Lovely soft pallette.

[Peter Ward]

Excellent chook.....in fact, Finger Lickin' Good. :thumbsup:

[gregbradley]

Love it. I like the starless best.

You really have the narrowband gig down pat.

Greg.

[Placidus]

This one is superb.

[Andy01]

Thanks very much Adam, Peter, Greg, Mike & Trish for the good vibes.
This is my fourth visit to this wonderful target, each time using a different telescope!
I’ve done wide, ultrawide and tight closeup and each ‘scopes FOV shows a pleasantly different perspective. Nice easy bright target too :D

[AUST2000]

I really like this too Andy. It is interesting to look back 6 years and see that was a wonderful image also. Technology and processing techniques have added a lot. I look forward to looking at what you come up with in 6 years time.:)

[Nikolas]

I really like it Andy the starless image has a real ethereal quality to it a little bit different but really lovely

[markas]

Superb renditions! Guess I prefer the stars to anchor the image, but the starless version is a great photographic abstract.


Mark

[marc4darkskies]

Very nice indeed Andy! :thumbsup: Palette is pleasing to the eye and the large details are smooth but detailed.

Nothing much to pick on but some of those small Bok globs look a little forced and unreal though. :question:

Now, how about some natural palette = less "funky" images! ;)

[Andy01]

Ha Ha, cheers Andrew - yes my processing skills & optics have gradually improved over time, mind you so has the software! :)



Cheers Nik - I prefer the starless one too - ethereal eh, I like that :)



Thanks Mark, something for everyone then :)



Hi Marcus, thanks for your detailed comments. Here is a closeup of the original captured Ha Bok globule detail straight out of APP vs. the finished image for your reference. :D

As to natural palette, nah, you're a master of them but that's really not my thing and sadly my suburban skies are rubbish anyway. If we ever have a star party again, I'll look forward to attempting LRGB targets, but until then it has to be NB for me :lol:

[JA]

Nice image Andy. I really like the way the colours graduate almost as if a rainbow, most evident in the top left. :thumbsup:

Best
JA

[matlud]

Awesome, I like the starless best for this one. Nice that there is still a smidge of green tones visible and has some nice 3D depth to it.

[The_bluester]

Really nice image AC. Maybe we will get lucky this month weather wise and you can come and do RGB from here.

Really interesting to see the comparo back to the old WO scope. It was a nice scope but just seems to lack that last little bit of sharpness. I wonder how it would do if it was brought in to the current era with automated focus so it could be kept as well focused as possible through the whole night.

[Andy01]

Thanks JA - there's some interesting structures in the Hydrogen gas there, it's almost like a barrier holding in the swirling maelstrom of O3 & S2 within. :)



Cheers Mathew, I'm leaning towards the starless one as well, interesting that a few have picked up on the 3D appearance, wonder what it would look like from another viewpoint, say side on? :question:



Thanks Paul, who knows with the weather? Must be almost time for the clouds to disappear when the moon is new for once :lol:

Have to agree about the sharpness. At risk of a bad pun, the 'Tak sharpness' from this big Takahashi 130's optics is really noticeable, (now the tilt & spacing have finally been corrected!) when compared to the WO FLT110. :thumbsup:

[CoolhandJo]

Exceptional colours, clarity, depth and soooo close!

[Andy01]

Thanks Paul, did you mean close as in only 5,000 LY distant or tightly framed? Lol :lol: thanks for the nice comments :thumbsup:

[mswhin63]

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thum bsup:

[Andy01]

Thanks Malcolm :):):):D

[cometcatcher]

Fantastic image. The nebula clouds look so nice. Almost like something out of a scifi movie. The old one is good too!

[Ryderscope]

Nice work Andy. The starless version does have a very artistic quality which can be quite appealing. I have to admit to belonging to the school that leans towards the inclusion of stars due to the inherent 'realness' that they bring. Either way the colours work well and the swirling detail in the nebula is great. I also like the gaping jaws of the crocodile that I can spot in the bottom right quadrant.

[Andy01]

Thanks Kevin, someone on another forum suggested it might make a nice SciFi book cover, that would be pretty cool too! :D



Thanks Rodney, hmmm - stars or starless? Regardless of technique we should celebrate diversity, not conformity, otherwise everyone would be producing the same results, varying only by the sky conditions and quality of the equipment used. ;)

Havn't spotted the croc yet, seems that paradolia is a wonderful thing that works differently depending on an individual's perception and life experience! :D

[Ryderscope]

Totally agree Andy. Funny though how things morph with our processing because as it turns out, I'm working on publishing an image that I've decided may actually look better in the starless version :D

[Andy01]

Hey Rodney, I found the Croc at last! :lol:

Thanks for all the nice comments, nice to see that this image is now "Image of the Day" (https://www.astrobin.com/) on Astrobin. :D

[AUST2000]

Exceptional image and congratulations on getting another Image of the Day :)


Andrew

[Ryderscope]

Congratulations on the IOTD.

[Robert_T]

this is my favourite rendition of this object yet and I thing the bar to strive for. I like stars best ;-)

[Andy01]

Whew! High praise indeed- thanks Robert for the kind words, now how to follow up this thing?:lol::shrug:

[pkinchington]

Hi Andy,
No wonder you get so many images of the day. This image has such an ethereal feel. I love both the starred and starless renditions. How do you eliminate any artifacts from removing the stars with I assume starnet++? :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

Cheers Pete

[Andy01]

Thanks very much Pete :)
Yes starnet++ does a terrific job on all the filtered mono master sets, with very little cleanup In PS required afterwards :thumbsup: