Eta Carina and the Mystic Mountain

[strongmanmike]

Had some excellent seeing again (FWHM 1.4"-1.8") over the weekend up at Eagleview but with the Full Moon it limited my target choice :rolleyes:.

Full Moon was not ideal for collecting OIII and normally I would wait for less Moon to be in the sky but being such a bright object and the restricted field of view, something useful was kind'of achievable, just to provide some colour variation.

I think the good quality seeing and its consistency, is making me feel that I need a finer image scale than 0.84"/pix to take better advantage of it...:question:...not anytime soon though I am afraid, it would cause a divorce...

Happy with the outcome but after lots of fiddling and tinkering/variations, I couldn't choose a favourite version or faming...so, here are three :D

Eta Carina and The Mystic Mountain (https://pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/173371918/original)

Ha Only (https://pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/173368580/original)

Eta Carina and her Keyhole (https://pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/173368581/original)

The Homunculous (https://pbase.com/image/173372897/original)

I know its a well imaged target but I hope you like it none the less :thumbsup:

Mike

[Startrek]

Mike,
Super images from up there on top of the world
At least the moon was traversing quite low
Gee us coastal huggers jump for joy when seeing is below 3.0
Nothing wrong with imaging Carina , there’s so much to explore with bigger scopes
Well done !!
Martin

[Dave882]

That's a fantastic result Mike! Amazing details - I think I like the 'Mystic Mountain" framing best but honestly they're all fantastic. Eagleview must be so rewarding to shoot at!

I think we must be imaging off the same playbook at the moment - I've been attempting some closeups of the Homunculus Neb but with only a couple of clear nights this year still a work in progress to get the best settings. My seeing has been so bad of late I've tried some short exposure shots (0.5sec) of the bright lobes of the HN with some success and APP reporting FWHM around 1.2" on the better subs and pretty nice detail coming through. It's no Eagleview tho...

[alpal]

Hi Mike,
superb image.
you even picked up the oval shape of the Homunculus Nebula -
just like Martin but even clearer - as per his here:
https://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=203069
Is that becoming the new standard for Eta Carinae?

"a finer image scale than 0.84"/pix"
I bet you have been looking at QHY-600 adverts? :)


cheers
Allan

[Dilsh]

Fantastic images Mike. I agree, there is so much in this target at higher focal lengths.

Happy "seeing"

Dilshan

[alpal]

Hi Mike,
just thinking now -
if you could somehow get a 2X Barlow or even a 3X Barlow into your system
and you took video you'd be able to use lucky imaging to really
zoom in on that Homunculus Nebula.
You've got the high quality optics to do it.

I suppose it's too difficult or expensive to set up?


cheers
Allan

[strongmanmike]

Cheers Marty, I'm over the Moon with the seeing quality up there (hate the Moon though :rolleyes:), it was not a given and I was worried but while it's no Atacama, the seeing improvement is significant over Wallaroo..thaaaank God! Yes, the Carina Nebula is a bit like the LMC really, can make several images from the one object :thumbsup:



Mate its magical, the thrill is palpable when I am on site under a dark clear sky! Feels like Christmas morning when I was a kid, every time! One thing that a dark and steady site does, is make your processing easier, much less gradient filled, faint, blurry data, a dream to work with :)..can only imagine what data from Cerro Tololo and La Silla etc must be like to work with!



Sounds very promising and a good approach, hope you get it done, look forward to seeing what you end up with :thumbsup:



Thanks Dilly :thumbsup:



Maaate I'm looking at lots of things...just can't have any more...for a while...a looong while :( :lol:

Aaaactually, the whole hourglass shape is visible and even a little detail (https://pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/173372897/original) in each lobe :D...at just 1120mm FL and without lucky imaging and no AO either, just traditional autoguiding...really need a finer image scale though but until then I'm satisfied with the improvements the site has provided in the resolution capability...so I will juuust have to re-image everything I have ever shot! :question:.. :lol:....:question:



Yeah thought about the Barlow solution but just too fiddly to setup...I'm lazy :P...I'll just stay wondering...:question:... :face:

[alpal]

Yes - I like that Homunculus Nebula shot - it has quite good detail.
Your system is not setup to take high res shots but you're
getting them anyway even at 1120mm FL.


cheers
Allan

[PRejto]

Mike, Those are super shots!

Allan’s idea is interesting. Have you considered this barlow?

https://www.astro-physics.com/baradv

I’ve got one that I used a long time ago on my TEC140. If you want to borrow it I’d happily lend it to you.

Peter

[strongmanmike]

Thanks Peter :thumbsup:

..and Hmmm? this picture (https://www.astro-physics.info/products/accessories/visual_acc/F8vsF16-border.jpg) on the AP site is tempting...:question:

I just hate fiddling with a system that works and works well :face:...I'll think about it :question: :thumbsup:

Mike

[CoolhandJo]

Lovely
Colours and contrast spot on

[Ryderscope]

The composition on this one is a winner Mike making it an exceptional image. The dark areas at the bottom create a base like a bubbling sea that the rest of the image rises upon :thumbsup:

[strongmanmike]

Thanks Paul :thumbsup:



They were my thoughts too, while I wasn't actually thinking of it at the time, HST did a similar framing (https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090524.html) (NB: the full size version is incredible BTW, so make sure you click on it!), so I recon it was in my subconscious :)

Mike

[Retrograde]

That is awesome. Great stuff Mike! :thumbsup:

[strongmanmike]

Thanks Pete :thumbsup:

Mike

[matlud]

Great images Mike, especially the mystic mountain! A great reward for all of the planning and hard work, just fantastic. Cheers, Mat

[strongmanmike]

Thanks a lot Mathew, it's great to fiiiinally be imaging :scared: :lol: and the natural unique location is a bonus ..even if managing 100acres iiiiis a bit of work..aaaand a bit of a learning process :driving: :rolleyes: :lol: :work:

Mike

[Paul Haese]

That looks pretty good Mike. I do wonder what it would look like with a touch of Blur Xterminator applied? I have found it gives a more filigree look to the fine details. It's good to test old favourites at a new site though and gives you a comparison of an old setup and new setup. Are you doing something new altogether?

[strongmanmike]

Cheers Paul, yeah everyone is talking about BlurXterminator and other new fangled palava, all sound great...maybe but until then, happy enough with my current predicament of being locked into Astroart and PSCS3+ :lol:

Just enjoying the journey, going up tomorrow to commission the 18" visual Dob should be much fun, skies are forecast clear too :)

Mike

[LonelySpoon]

Wow.

That's all.

Neville
LSO

[AdamJL]

Killer image, and I agree, compositionally excellent. Nice one, Mike!

[Addos]

Great stuff Mike! Always impressive when you can see some shape in the homunculous!

[strongmanmike]

Thanks a lot guys, I appreciate your simple, friendly positivity, the way it should be, in this fun, even if rather frustrating at times, hobby we partake in :scared: :thumbsup:

Mike

[strongmanmike]

Thanks Adam, yeah getting the two lobes and to show with some texture was satisfying for an 1120mm FL scope, something finer than a 0.84"/pix image scale would help of course but we work with and try and get the best with what we have huh? :) Maxim was showing most of my subs were averaging around 1.8" with some stars measured as low as 1.4" I used no subs with averages higher than 2" :thumbsup: these figures have been consistent up there every session so far, touch wood :thumbsup:

Mije

[alpal]

Hi Mike - you might get a sub one arc second night sooner or later. :)

[strongmanmike]

Maybe wishfully thinking :shrug: acording to Maxim at least, its been pretty consistantly in the 1.5" - 2.0" range..buuuut ya never know I guess? :question: :prey: :lol:

Mike

[alpal]

But - a future dry El Niño pattern may bring better seeing:
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jan/04/australia-could-swing-from-three-years-of-la-nina-to-hot-and-dry-el-nino-in-2023


Australia could swing from three years of La Niña to hot and dry El Niño in 2023.
Australia could swing from three years of above-average rainfall to one of the hottest, driest El Niño periods on record, as models show an increasing likelihood the climate driver may form in the Pacific in 2023.

[strongmanmike]

Ooooh just in time for galaxy season :question: :D

Mije

[Addos]

Thats pretty outstanding seeing given the poor elevations we have on our big rock, not sure you can improve too much more on that without going full lucky imaging!

Maybe we'll all be lucky enough to be alive when she goes through another 'expansion event' and your big 12" beast will come into its own! I was listening to a Universe Today podcast the other day and one of the project leads on JWST was saying the next big thing will be interferometry with phase alignment through quantum tunneling, which coupled with the extra information they think could yield resolutions in the nano-arcsecond range for space telescopes, and near that with ground scopes with AO. I say we start pooling our money now :)

[strongmanmike]

Wow:eyepop: yeah baby bring it on! :lol:

Just looking forward to seeing a woman land on the moon 2-3 years from now :thumbsup:

[marc4darkskies]

:question:

Already told you it's an great image - it still is. I'm sorry for repeating myself! ;)

[strongmanmike]

I'm sorry? I didn't catch that Marcus, you were saying..? :question:

Deaf Mike

[Craig_]

Stunning images!

[gregbradley]

I missed commenting on this image.

A wonderful high res image.

I am particularly impressed by the Homunculus detail.

Your new observatory is starting to show its stuff.

Greg.

[TrevorW]

Very very nice Mike excellent capture :)

[strongmanmike]

Cheers Craig and Trevor :thumbsup:

Greg, yeah happy with the start so far, last night was all visual, finally comissioned the 18" Dob, acquired back in Jan 2022 :)...it's a keeper and had a blast, was worth the wait :thumbsup:

Mike

[Stephane]

Great shot Mike! Really nice images here with excellent detail :thumbsup:

[strongmanmike]

Thanks a lot Stephane, after a number of imaging sessions now since first light in Oct, the extra altitude is clearly resulting in more consistently stable seeing, compared to my previous site, so that's a welcome improvement :thumbsup:

Mike

[Benjamin]

Love the Eta Carina and her Keyhole colour and framing (beautifully balanced and aligned), not that the others are less amazing for what they show and suggest (the mystic mountain version suggests so much dramatic movement, whether on the ‘floor’ or soaring above)

[Atmos]

Great rendition Mike! It’s wonderful resolution that you’ve been able to achieve, just shows what you can get under good seeing! I’ve had a good run of decent seeing in the past but it’s been difficult getting under 2” for a while. So jealous!

Really looking forward to seeing what more your new site and deliver.

[strongmanmike]

Thanks a lot Col, me too :thumbsup: with my improved conditions, even objects Ive imaged before are now back on the radar, it's like I have a new scope :) ..under 2" seeing seems to be my norm now (so far), heck!! a Mewlon up at Eagleview would rock! ;) :D

Mike

[Dennis]

Rather than start a new thread I thought I'd hitch my waggon to Mike's.:)

Whoopee, after months of inactivity I managed to find a clear night.:D

It took a little while for the “muscle memory” to return, not to mention the plethora of updates that came down the wire when I connected everything up. I was trying my new Player One Saturn SQR Mono on the Tak Mewlon 210 F11.5, fitted with the Tak x1.6 Extender. This gave me an FL of around 3864mm at F18.4.

As I was shooting so close to the SCP I didn’t fit an guidescope and decided to test my luck with ProTrack on the SB MX+ which turned out to be a good decision.:thumbsup:

I grabbed 60 x 30 sec frames (no Flats or Darks) and PixInsight did a wonderful job of Aligning and Stacking the sub-frames.

I also grabbed 425 x 5 sec frames (no Flats or Darks) and having just refreshed my PI skills I did not encounter any issues.

The clouds then rolled in preventing any further experimentation.:(

Cheers

Dennis