Continuing with NGC300 Galaxy

[Doogs38]

Unfortunately I'm not getting much time with my astro gear atm but recently did manage to get another 2hrs 45 mins of RGB data on NGC300. I now have a total of nearly 5hrs but think I need at least another 5hrs and probably a lot more. I posted an initial image some weeks back with only 2hrs of data and the galaxy was still quite faint and comparatively colourless ... that's certainly changed with the additional data! Can't wait to see what it looks like with a few more hours ... there's numerous galaxies hiding in the distant background. I might even try my new dual NB filter to get out some Ha that I know is hiding in there.

I'm also discovering that the ASI294MC can get a nasty red blotchy colour cast (filter induced?) that is very difficult to remove in post-processing. I tried with a trial version of PI (which did my head in) but ended up reverting to tried, true and tested Photoshop.

SW120ED x 0.85 Reducer/Flattener
57 x 300s UHC-S/RGB ASI294MChe
Darks, flats, dark flats. APP, PS, DeNoise and cropped.

[AstroViking]

Looking good - I can't wait to see what more data gives you.

[oska]

Looking great already Alex. What filter did you use?

[xelasnave]

Excellent effort...I would like to take it on ..
Alex

[Dave882]

That’s really taken form nicely! I think you’ve done an excellent job- great colour, lots of detail, and good balance between detail and noise control. Fantastic! :thumbsup:

[Crater101]

If it's looking this good now, a few more hours and it's going to look fantastic. Well done.

[Doogs38]

Thanks everyone, I appreciate the encouragement! I was hoping for some quality astro time tomorrow night but as usual lately, Canberra’s forecast is for high clouds … fingers crossed for a few hours of clear weather. Alex

[Doogs38]

Hi John (Oska). I used a Baader UHC-S filter for about 2hrs of data, and a standard UV/IR cut filter for the other (almost) three hrs. The Baader is a nice ‘narrow’ broadband filter but it does leave red-brown-ish coloured halos on bright stars.

[Bassnut]

Excellent rendition in the end :thumbsup:. Yes, PI is similar to poking your eye with a sharp stick at least 5 times. PS is still the best last step, cant be beat.

[Mickoid]

Alex, great result despite those annoying blotches. Don't be too hard on yourself, if you haven't already, take a look at this object in the the deep space section taken with a 14 inch SCT. You've done really well with not quite a 5 inch to aquire this result. How dark were your skies?

[Doogs38]

Thanks Michael :-) I’m shooting from a typical Aussie burb with Bortle 5 skies. I do find however that the light dome is a little darker in the wee hours of the morning when either most normal humans are sleeping (:lol:) and/or Canberra selectively shuts of various city/suburban lighting. I did see Dave’s outstanding NG300 image in the other forum and left a comment about the diff in resolving power between our respective instruments … the images from his c14 are terrific!

[oska]

5? that's #&$%#*&^#. I can't do any near as well in 3/4. Great job mate, love the colour. Yeah technically Dave is cheating :p

[Doogs38]

Thanks John. I want what Dave has, so I can cheat too :rofl: