SH 2-308 Dolphin Head Nebula

[joshman]

Here's one I've had to wait several years to be able to image, first it was the fires, then it was the rain, then it was work. But I've managed to squeeze in some early morning imaging time and finally got several hours on this magnificant nebula, After seeing what i've got so far, this is one that I'm going to be coming back to again, I really want more depth in this.

I was very surprised to see the second tiny planetary nebula right at the bottom of the Dolphin, after a bit of searching, I did find that it has a designation - PN G234.9-09.7 (https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=%404700661&Name=PN%20G234.9-09.7), but no "name." So I think I'm free to give it one?

This is just under 9 hours total, ~5hrs OIII, ~3hrs Ha, and 15m each of RGB.

Click here to see it on Astrobin. (https://astrob.in/435xba/0/)

The processing was a fairly standard work flow for my HOO images.
Stars:
LinearFit > Channel Combination > SPCC > StarX > GHS to stretch
NB:
LinearFit > BlurX > StarX > NoiseX > GHS > PixelMath to combine into HOO > CurvesTransformation for colour adjustment

PixelMath to bring the stars back, then BlurX for slight star reduction.

Clear Skies, and thanks for looking!

[alpal]

Well done Josh,
another top image -
we have so many lately -
the standards are very high on this forum.


cheers
Allan

[Dave882]

Amazing shot Josh. Really stunning detail in the head and I love how natural the background looks too. Great work!!

[strongmanmike]

Excellent capture Josh :thumbsup: lovely subtle processing with some nice details and the smaller PN stands out nicely, very cool :thumbsup: There looks to be a tiny bit of star elongation, is this a mount issue? No biggy, just wondering?

Mike

[joshman]

Thanks Allan! I couldn't agree more, the image quality is amazing.


Thanks Dave! The amount of background was a nice surprise, and i'm glad i was able to bring it out. I'm hoping that more exposure time in the future will enhance it even further.


Thanks Mike! That little PN was a great surprise, as it's not something I could ever recall seeing in other captures online. And even after looking around, it's not very prominent elsewhere.
There is quite possibly some star elongation. I was having some guiding issues that i've been putting down to very poor seeing. The coastal air here has a habit of being quite variable. I'm pretty conservative with my subframe rejection, but i might have let a few bad ones through, just so i get an image together.

[InquisiNate]

I love the detail on this image. I have been looking into GHS and this image has convinced me it is the way forward!

[Nikolas]

Great image Josh love the background nebulosity

[gregbradley]

A sensational image Josh.

Greg.

[joshman]

Thanks Nate! GHS is a fantastic and powerful stretching tool. Adam Block has a fantastic video about how to use it (https://youtu.be/ergLZMlkGE8?feature=shared), and of all the ones that i watched, it's the only one that really worked for me in understanding how to use it.


Thanks Nikolas! I love the back ground nebulosity as well!


Thanks Greg!

[keller60]

Very nice. Thanks for posting :thumbsup:

[Kuz]

Josh . Awesome capture mate . One of the best images of the dolphins head that I have seen nice work

[joshman]

Thank you very much!


Thank you for the kind words. I'm inclined to agree. ;)

[Paul Haese]

Beautiful image. Really nicely captured and processed.

[joshman]

Thanks Paul! I definitely want to give this another go with a wider FOV and (weather permitting) a much deeper integration time.

[Ryderscope]

Lovely work Josh, you've presented this classic very nicely indeed :thumbsup:

[joshman]

Thanks Rodney! This one has been on my list for quite a while!

[Eis]

Love this one! Excellent contrast of the red/blue/pink.

[joshman]

Thanks Eis!

[davewr]

Very nice depth and details