NGC1909 - The Witch's Nose

[Stefannebula]

I've always wanted to image the Witch Head! I love the dreamy cloud-like structure, it just has such a 'spacey' vibe!

My FOV doesn't cover the entire face and I didn't want to do a mosaic so I chose this framing which I really like. I think it kinda looks like one of the Nazgul riding a fellbeast in Lord of the Rings🐉

This was a long 20 hours HaLRGB total, with almost half of that being Ha from home. There was barely anything in individual subs and I nearly quit, but I'm glad I didn't, it definitely adds a punch! The LRGB was acquired at the Bortle 2 LMDSS

Full res on Astrobin: https://www.astrobin.com/y9halc/

🔭EQUIPMENT🔭
SharpStar HNT F2.8
ASI183MM-Pro
6nm Astronomik MaxFR Ha filter
Chroma LRGB filters
NEQ6

📷EXPOSURE📷
TOTAL = 19.5h
Ha: 54x600s (gain: 150) -15°C
L: 90x180s (gain: 50) -15°C
R,G,B: 24x300s (gain: 50) -15°C each

[Kuz]

Nice effort . The white over the red makes it pop . :thumbsup:

[JA]

That's a great image Stefan :thumbsup:

Best
JA

[strongmanmike]

An excellent processing job on this Stefan, you have blended the Ha in with the LRGB very nicely, it looks really lovely, it's such a cool object the O'l Witchy head :thumbsup:

Lovely scope too BTW, is it easy to collimate and use?

Mike

[Andy01]

Very nicely done Stefan! :thumbsup:
Great processing & well done on an intriguing, dynamic, original composition :)

[gregbradley]

Love it. Great framing and I like the colour balance picking up the red Ha background as well as the witch.

Is the witch made of dust or gas? I am assuming dust but its not brown.

I just looked it up, its gas possibly a supernova remnant:

https://www.bing.com/search?q=witchhead+nebula&form=ANNTH1&refig=093e53327e784ce488fe62a7b81f5 1fe

Greg.

[multiweb]

+1 Beautiful shot. :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

[Stefannebula]

Thanks a lot! I'm glad I didn't stop with the Ha, it was well worth it in the end :D

[Stefannebula]

Thanks a lot JA!

[Stefannebula]

Thanks so much Mike! Means a lot!

It's been a great scope, it does have a very low tolerance for miscollimation and tilt, but collimation isn't too bad with the right tools, and seems to hold collimation well for quite a while. I checked after driving it up to LMDSS and it was still bang-on :thumbsup:

[Stefannebula]

Thanks so much Andy! Really glad you like it :D
And I definitely took tips from the pros! Your talk on TAIC last year really convinced me to try out different compositions :thumbsup:

[Stefannebula]

Thanks a lot Greg!

Thanks for the info, it's such an interesting object, I haven't seen much that has such beautiful puffy structure

[Stefannebula]

Thanks! glad you like it :D

[Mickoid]

Stefan, a very interesting take on this one, you have managed some vivid colours with your processing and the tight crop has changed the traditional captures of this object. Well done for thinking outside the box and displaying a totally different aspect to this well loved nebula. I shot the Witch last Friday from Bortle 2 skies as well but mine is the typical view so many have done before. Incorporating the Ha into your 20 hours of data has paid off here. :thumbsup:

[strongmanmike]

I've come back for a look at this a few times Stefan, really is quite a compelling image :thumbsup:

Mike

[Bassnut]

thats pretty deep and really pops!. excellent processing.

[Stefannebula]

Thanks a lot Michael! I'm glad my composition worked out, and I'm glad you like it!

[Stefannebula]

Thanks a lot Mike! Really glad you like it :)

[Stefannebula]

Thanks a lot!

[Paul Haese]

Lovely image, great colour balance, detail is sharp and crisp. Thanks for the view Stefan.