NGCs 3603 and 3576 (Statue of Liberty)

[AdamJL]

Hi all

First time imaging these objects. They're fun! I'd love to focus on both of these individually one day with a longer f/l scope. I think I say that all the time on every subject I shoot :lol:

Esprit 120 + 1x.
QHY 268M + Antlia 3nm SHO
ZWO AM5
180s each of S2 (30), O3 (35), Ha (49)
5hr 42mins of total integration
NINA & PixInsight
B6/7 skies under 80% moon illumination.

Click through to the full resolution image on Astrobin (https://www.astrobin.com/full/0rf40n/0/) and let me know what you think!

Cheers for looking
Adam

[Stephane]

Wow, that is just stunning Adam. So much to look at, including all that faint background hydrogen and dust.

You’d almost think the statue was modeled after the nebula! I showed your image to my wife and she said it looks like the lady is taking a selfie :lol:

On a technical note, do you find you are ever clipping your histogram subs on the left at just 180s with 3nm filters? I only ask because I have the 4.5nm filters and I am told I’d need at least 5min to get enough off the left of the histogram, if not more.

[Addos]

Thats a real nice shot Adam! Great colours and excellent contrast!



Thats exceptional signal pickup from 3 min subs! I struggle with less than 10 in my setup!

[Startrek]

Really good image Adam
Plenty of faint nebulosity and main region of interest has some sharp detail
Colour is spot on
Your putting pressure on me to buy the 2600MM for Sydney with Antlia 3nm filters

Well done !!

Martin

[AdamJL]

Thanks a lot, Stéphane! I spent ages trying to get some detail out of that faint background. My masks were all stuffed up initially, but got some detail in the end.
I like that selfie thought. A sign of our times :D

No I don't ever clip my histogram. Basically 180s is my default go-to for almost everything, whether that's in dark skies or in cities. It seems to bring through a lot. The dark areas in this image have been enhanced with DarkStructureEnhance and LocalHistogramEqualization. In the pre-enhanced data, they're a darker grey.

That said, are you shooting an offset with your gain settings? On my QHY camera I use Gain 56, offset 25. This ensures that the histogram never clips on the left.
For the 2600MC, I'll use gain 100, offset 50 for the same reason.



Thanks Adam! I guess it depends on what you're shooting. 10mins would be about minimum for the Dolphin nebula, but 3mins seems to pick up all else. I have tried 5mins on the Helix though, because that needs some help as well.

[AdamJL]

Ah thanks, Martin! Kind of you to say so. I'm looking forward to what you can do with a mono camera!

[Swarvy]

Awesome shot mate!

[AdamJL]

Thanks a lot, Adam!

(the Adams are taking over)

[RyanJones]

Spectacular Adam. The detail in the field is beautiful and the stars are pin point. Very nice indeed

Ryan

[AdamJL]

Thanks very much, Ryan! Glad you enjoyed it.

[alpal]

Hi Adam,
That's a top image,
your optics are excellent with beautiful pin point stars in all corners.
The colors look powerful and the dark nebulas above the lady look great too and maybe
they could stand out a bit more with some selective stretching in those areas?



cheers
Allan

[Dilsh]

Amazing shot. The foreground is fantastic but it is the background that impresses me the most.

Thanks for sharing.

D

[AdamJL]

Hi there, Allan

Very kind of you to say! And thanks for the comment on the dark areas. I'll give it a tweak and see how it pans out!
Also, star reduction techniques hide a multitude of sins :lol:
My optics are okay, but shrinking stars really makes them a (pardon the pun) smaller issue.

Cheers
Adam



Thanks a million, Dilsh! Glad you like it :)

[Dave882]

That’s a lovely image mate. Stunning colour and detail. I like the framing, and although you may get more detail at longer fl I really like this view!

[AdamJL]

thanks, David! Pleased you like the framing and colours. Longer f/l would just be a nice to have, but I'm enjoying the f/l options with the Esprit right now. Maybe one day in the future I'll look at some 2000mm+ scopes.