M83

[Peter Ward]

I managed to get some QHY600 data in the wee-small hours a few weeks ago
to add to my earlier STX data set.....

Then it rained. Rained some more. And is still raining as I write. So ran with what data I had.

I was going for the Catherine wheel look, so went the bonkers on the colour saturation....

The link is here (http://www.atscope.com.au/BRO/gallery534.html)

[rustigsmed]

Fantastic - top shelf capture/processing Peter.

[floyd_2]

Spectacular mate. There’s so much to see in that shot. Thanks for sharing.

[Dave882]

I’m not sure how much time you were actually able to get before the rain- but the detail you’ve revealed is astounding! One look at this on my phone and I just had to put it on the big screen. Yeah, the saturation is high, but the detail in those Ha starburst regions is wonderful and definitely not blown out.
Absolutely one of the best m83 shots I’ve seen. Congrats!!

[alpal]

Well done Peter,
it's such a pretty galaxy and always a crowd pleaser.


cheers
Allan

[Startrek]

Another super image with exquisite detail down to the core (even with being a tad saturated)
Nice to see an M83 being presented , if this rain doesn’t stop we might miss it this year ?
Well done !!

[Ryderscope]

Definitely a sparkling display and bold presentation Peter. A great rendition of this classic galaxy :thumbsup:

[Peter Ward]

Thanks for your positive comments. I suspect I'll be adding more data next year due the east coast weather that is breaking all flood records as we speak.

As an aside the carpet in my normally water tight Sirius Dome was totally saturated by the recent deluges...now pulled up and hanging out to dry... while I re-caulk all the wall and floor seals. Thankfully the instruments are all unaffected.

Here's hoping the winter skies will be clear....

[AdamJL]

That's a beaut!! We need a higher res version, Peter :) Outstanding image.

Rain has indeed been awful. I've just spent the morning carrying buckets from the flooded backyard to the front yard. It was nearly back to normal but the rain is back and flooding it again.

[Startrek]

Peter,
My experience with carpet ....
When I built my NexDome April last year I thought it would be a good idea to put carpet tiles down firstly to insulate against the cold , secondly for comfort / aesthetics and lastly to minimise crawling insects etc...
Well the carpet tiles lasted a month, the Dome is water tight as has been hammered with bad weather down south ( up to 70km/hr wind and rain ) It is secured to a Merbau decking 500mm from ground level , caulking around the base inside and outside prior to the carpet going down. The carpet tiles were like sponges they absorb any forms of moisture, be it rain around the outside of Dome area , Dew inside and out , you name it. They started to pong after a month, so they had to go ( possibly some rising damp too from under the deck , however under the deck is quite dry as I made a high point at the centre of the area with good fall away on all sides, added some Agg pipes then a good layer of crushed stone )
Since then never had an issue with moisture and Merbau floor inside the deck is the same condition as it was when first installed.
Carpet maybe for some , not for my set up
Yeh I can’t foresee any imaging in March , maybe April , hopefully in May .... it’s been a drag the past 6 months or so for all of us ( observers and imagers alike ) .......

[Peter Ward]

Up until now my carpeted floor has been good. That said the Obs is resting on AC sheet (same stuff you use for bathroom floors) and was siliconed very well.

The (normally dry) carpet and underlay has saved many a fallen accessory over the years.

The game changer for was a de-humidifier... (a picture of it is on my Obs web page (http://www.atscope.com.au/BRO/bardenridgeobs.html))

It's amazing how much moisture these suck out of the air. We ran one in the house recently in our back room....there would have been 10 litres of water in the tank the next morning.



Sorry, I don't upload hi-res work, but have just replaced the first version with
an uncompressed .jpg. (Chrome might still cache the original, hence I'd recommend you purge your browser history) .

This one's quite a bit cleaner.

[John W]

Excellent image Peter - as good as Hubble. Thanks.

[Peter Ward]

:thanx: but seriously... the 11k x 7k Hubble image blows this away.

[Stephane]

This sensational image is as good as it gets. Thanks for sharing Peter.

[Bassnut]

wow, that really pops!. Well done Peter, masterful processing.

[Kuz]

. Magnificent image Peter what else can say
.

[JA]

Superb image Peter with wonderful colour and fine detail. I especially like the colour graduation in the stars giving them that 3D / spherical appearance. :thumbsup:

Best
JA

[Peter Ward]

Ta.. gradation of the stars was not intentional...just ropey seeing during
the RGB exposures ;)







Thanks guys...the data set is getting deep, but I'd like to toss half of it due average seeing.

On a stable night the RC16 delivers beautifully tight stars and can rival high Chilean desert images...but such nights are rare....
Given the current weather just seeing a clear patch is like finding a Unicorn!

[Paul Haese]

Nice image Peter, the detail is outstanding. Pity you have this in light polluted central. We have an opening coming up soon in a very dark sky environment.;)

[Peter Ward]

Dark site...humm....I've been looking for something within 2-3 hours of Sydney for a while. Land prices are often in the $millions. We may have to talk ;)

[LKD]

Man that's an incredible image

[Peter Ward]

Ta Luke. I expect when your new kit arrives you'll be a hard act to follow ;)

[ahmed_haider]

That is an amazing capture mate! so much detail visible, even the smaller/farther away galaxies surrounding M83 are visible in great detail. I'm in sydney too, can I come down to the shire to visit? I'd just like to see the place where this magic happens :)

[Maurice]

That's an excellent image of M83 Peter.
Congratulations.

cheers
Maurice

[RobF]

Holy hole in a doughnut Batman! What a stunner of an image. Best M83 I can recall.

[marc4darkskies]

Been off IIS for a little while, so I missed this.

I'm torn Peter. On the one had I think it's a ravishing and very compelling beauty with wonderful definition. I.e. I like it very much! Nice work! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

On the other hand, with my well known imaging contest judge's hat on, it looks over saturated ... or is that under saturated, doesn't respect the light, is too dark, is too contrasty, is too blue, is too (insert your favourite critique here) ... But, you'll be pleased to hear, I will refrain from doing a "very simple" tweak in PS to correct your mistakes! :whistle: ;) :lol:

[Peter Ward]

Hey Marcus....:lol:

Well... I did say I went bonkers on the colour saturation...aka despite "hoon legislation" that tut-tut's at spinning the wheels on the Ferrari,
letting off some steam occasionally can be good for the soul.

That said I would not rate this "Las Vegas neon" version too highly if asked to judge it at the Malins....and lord knows, IIS is not the Malins.

That said, the data is there and just a few tweaks are all that is needed for
a more "respectful" version. ;)

[multiweb]

Looks great Peter. Beaute colours and details. Benchmark image for sure. :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

[Peter Ward]

Thanks Marc. Too kind. :thanx:

[matlud]

Another great image Peter 👍 What kind of seeing do you usually get at your site? Cheers, Mat

[Peter Ward]

A good night for me is sub two arc sec seeing. Most nights are 3-4 arc sec.

That said, occasionally in winter, with fog forecast in the morning, you can get
very rare 1.5 arc second windows in the wee small hours.

[matlud]

Thanks! That seems pretty similar seeing to what I get. What is your strategy for dealing with the 3-4 arcsec nights -do you cull a lot of subs from those nights, tighten it up with deconvolution?

[Ant0nio]

They don't call it the "Thousand Ruby Galaxy" for nothing. Congratulations on this cracking image of M83 Peter. The colours are vibrant but not at the expense of fine detail & IMO it trumps this; https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190629.html
:thumbsup:

Cs,
Tony

[Peter Ward]

Thanks... very kind of you.



Ta, I'm lucky as on the 3-4 arc sec nights I use a shorter FL scope for wider vistas, rather than chase narrow field subjects such as this.

I tend to reserve the RC16 for 2-2.5 arc sec seeing. I constantly re-assess focus and guiding to ensure FWHM's are as tight as possible as the night goes on and things cool.
Excellent raw data means no decon required ;)

I'd also point out the Alluna 'scope is superbly engineered (hey, it's German) and really can deliver the advertised 5 micron spot sizes across a 35mm frame....
tracking and seeing is always the limitation.

[Nikolas]

Love the colours Peter nice work!