M20 Triffid Nebula in Colour mapped narrowband

[Bassnut]

Hi Guys

M20 Triffid Nebula in Colour mapped narrowband
Ha:SII:Ha:OIII 100:90:100:50 min

A tad "hot" methinks, a lolly pop rendition? :D

http://fredsastro.googlepages.com/home

Enjoy
Fred

[sheeny]

Nice Fred! That's a great gallery you have there!

Al.

[h0ughy]

wow, I know where you were in January??? Awesome imaging, inspiring!!!!!

[Bassnut]

Well, thanks Al and HOUGHY

January?. Well a small portion of that awesome month was spent talking to you Houghy, elephant memory ;-) (umm IIS star party was Jan, yes)

Fred

[jase]

Very inspiring work Fred.:thumbsup: I noticed you favor the SHO palette over HOS. Why is this so? I personally enjoy HOS for emission nebula. SHO is typically the Hubble style of imaging. Have you tried channel blending your narrow band data with RGB before?

[Bassnut]

Hi Jase

I used HOS for the Helix and it worked OK. I tried it some time ago on some other nebs with disappointing results, so I didnt bother again. Youve piqued my interest again though, ill test it with some other nebs. Perhapes the difference between reflection and emission neg is the key.

My filter wheel doesnt carry RGB and NB filters all at once, and swapping is a pain, especially with last minuite target decisions (and haveing only random clear nights, mutinight exposures, despite automation, can stretch projects to many weeks). But yes, a combination of NB and RGB would be interesting, not just Ha lum on an RGB (or the other way round). I dont see many (any?) full mergers between the 2, food for thought.

Cheers
Fred

[jase]

Generally speaking emission nebs are rich in Ha data so you'll probably find them quite red.
You wont see any full mergers of SII,Ha,OIII and R,G,B information as the channels would negatively impact each other. An example blend performed by Mr. Croman is at 15% opacity - http://www.rc-astro.com/photo/id1173.html. This is a matter of personal opinion, but from an aesthetics perspective I think it does enrich the narrowband wavelengths. If you're a narrowband purist, you'd strongly disagree. Again, this is also suited to the target you're imaging.

I guess my point is you don't have to always follow the traditional narrow band palettes as Mr. Fleming shows in his NGC6888 image - http://www.flemingastrophotography.com/ngc6888.html

[Dr Nick]

Wow! Thats amazing! ;)

[h0ughy]

SOrry about the lack of memory, but is there a pic of you so that I may refresh my "memory". :screwy: :whistle:

I am in awe of the images you have produced, and the observatory!:D

[Ric]

Wow, that is some awesome imagery Fred.

[RB]

Stunning work Fred !
A great selection of images and an awesome looking observatory.

[iceman]

It looks like a pretty flower! Well done Fred.

ditto on the observatory! Very jealous am I!

[Bassnut]

Again, thanks Guys.

The Observatory is now automated. Push open, auto close and shut-down. This allows unattended imaging to any time (not through meridian flip though, -acurate repointing and auto guide star re-aquisition is hard, a future project ;-). Ill post some pics on the setup later.

Houghy, I was kidding, I thought thats what you ment by knowing where I was in Jan. A pic, eek, I have to see if ive even got one :)

Jase, good points, when I get enough data, ill try merging RGB at reduced opacity. I must say, one reason I like NB is the sharp detail (and small stars)you can get in urban skies, too much RGB could diminish detail.

This M20 could have been sharper, last night I got another 4hrs Ha, that should do the trick!.

Cheers
Fred