M78

[DiscoDuck]

Had a trip to the Flinders Ranges last weekend. Mostly cloudy and raining! So only managed a tad under 3 hours of RGB data on M78. Added this to some luminance (a bit under 6 hours worth) taken before Xmas.

I would have liked more data - but the cloud and rain have conspired against dark sky trips recently.

Higher res version on Astrobin here (https://www.astrobin.com/full/1dgqhn/D/).

[kosborn]

Looks good! I'm surprised how few examples of this target there are (which makes it a good target to choose). I'm in the middle of acquiring the same object using an ASI2600mc and an f/5 Newtonian. I have 4 hours so far and it's still very noisy so I guess it's a target that needs lots of time to do it justice.

[AdamJL]

That doesn't look good, it looks fantastic. What a stunning shot, so much depth.
Thank you for sharing :)

[multiweb]

The field and res looks real good Paul. :thumbsup:
To answer why it is not often imaged I reckon because it's hard to image. It's far too faint. Especially at that FL too. Although it's still noisy I'm surprised you've got that much for the integration time.

[gregbradley]

Lovely image Paul.

Greg.

[Placidus]

A superb interpretation. The colour is particularly fine. Ok, so is the contrast, and the detail.



I once had a go, a million years ago, and made a mess. You've said the magic words, "Reflection nebula". We'll have another go in Spring.


Mike

[DiscoDuck]

Thanks. Good luck with your image. Yes, it is quite faint. I tried it a few years ago from the suburbs and gave up! I'd wanted more dark sky data than I got as with under 9 hours total it is still noisy.



Thanks Adam.



Thanks Marc. Yes agreed - it is a tricky sucker! :)




Thanks Greg.



Very kind, Mike. I will be sure to try to add some more data to it myself in the spring too.

[Andy01]

That’s a beautiful image, you’ve mastered that RC8, well done! :thumbsup:

[DiscoDuck]

Thank you, Andy. It is a nice little scope - quite portable but can still perform.

[strongmanmike]

You still have that annoying motley noise in the faint areas but otherwise, it's a great shot Paul, colours have been nailed too and your stars look great, top effort dude :thumbsup:

It reminds me so much of mixing paint...

Mike

[DiscoDuck]

Thanks Mike. Yeah. Dunno how to avoid that without just taking more data and/or pushing it into the noise floor and so bringing out much less detail. My processing skillz need an upgrade :help:

[Alchemy]

Dramatic composition
Nice

[DiscoDuck]

Thanks Clive.

[Peter Ward]

Sometimes less is more. I'd push the gamma a little less and subdue the noise in the process...but that's just me.

Great colours. Star profiles are excellent. These "real" renderings are the ones that I really appreciate most in Astrophotography.

A solid M78. :thumbsup:

[Ryderscope]

M78 is a great object to image Paul and you have presented a fine rendition. Faint objects like this can be deceiving as they tempt you to go after them and then do their best to thwart your efforts. Note to myself to have a shot at this when the season comes around again. Thanks for posting :thumbsup:

[AUST2000]

Fabulous image. Love it

[Retrograde]

Wow - that's a superb M78! :thumbsup:

[DiscoDuck]

Thanks Peter. I've tried playing with it a bit (Astrobin). But I think more data is the way to go - sadly will have to wait till next season! :(



Thank you, Rodney.



Thanks, Andrew.


.
Thanks, Pete