NGC 7293, Helix Nebula

[middy]

Let me add another Helix to the mix. This is the best astrophoto I've ever produced by far, so I just had to share it here.

Image details:
457 x 60 sec
65 x 120 sec
Total integration time: 9 hrs 47 mins over 8 nights
OSC with no filters

I think the things that have taken my imaging to the next level are dithering/drizzling and also using the PixInsight workflow by Cuiv the Lazy Geek (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCotRiUIWtg) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCotRiUIWtg). I pretty much followed his OSC broadband workflow to the letter with a couple of minor tweaks. I like his workflow because you can get a decent image with the minimum of fuss (I don't have the patience to spend days tweaking settings and re-processing over and over again).

Hints, tips and comments (good, bad and ugly) always welcome.
Cheers,
Middy

[TrevorW]

Nice , longer subs help to bring out finer detail and edges, if you look at my effort the subs are 360s, I am Bortle 6/7 skies :)

[CaptainCook]

I like your stars...very JWST- I was messing around with trying to recreate this check this out :-)

https://youtube.com/shorts/bvUJfHuUSlk?si=qMCghBk65OJG9jI3

[Dave882]

I really like what you’ve done here - kept it looking quite natural and unforced. Broadband osc I do kinda prefer on this target to the nb as it seems to retain this ethereal transparency. Whatever you’re doing in your processing keep going as it’s working well. Greta job!

[middy]

Yours is nice too. I usually stick with 60s subs. It seems to be a sweet spot for this scope (10" F4) compared to my previous scope (8" F6). Plus, with longer subs I usually end up having to throw out quite a few more because of guiding issues with long exposures. Although, pushing it out to 120s did seem to be OK this time. The guiding behaved itself quite well.



Cool. Some reflector owners go to great lengths to remove diffraction spikes, and here we have a refractor owner trying to put them in. :)
Personally, I've always liked the spikes in my images.



Thanks. I'm still learning the art of applying curves. I have to say, BlurXTerminator did a fantastic job of sharpening the stars, although I did dial down the star sharpening to 0.3. The default of 0.5 is too much IMHO. Ten days left of my trial, but I can see myself splashing the cash for BXT once my trial ends. It's fantastic.

[Leo.G]

That's a stunning image Andrew, I'm sure you're extremely happy with it.
I don't have the luxury of nebulae beyond Orion because of my local, mountains and neighbouring trees that seem to near swallow most of my yard. It seems I get a short period where I may be lucky enough for something to drift across my path but it's gone fast behind trees and mountains.

[JimmyAstro]

Wow Middy :eyepop:

Great image, we obviously have a long way to go in comparison.

What setup did you use to capture?

Any advice on what software you use? Also, thanks for the links we will be sure to check them out.

Thanks in advance.

Helen & James

[Peter Ward]

Very nice.
The star colour variation could use a little work plus some Ha and OIII data would take it to the next level.
That said, the muted contrast and accurate colour looks great. Well done :thumbsup:

[middy]

Thanks Leo. It's the first image I've ever thought worthy of printing. I went to Kmart and printed it 12" x 8". It's currently in a frame waiting to go up on the wall



Thanks Helen and James. I used the ZWO ASI2600MC Pro camera on a Skywatcher Quattro 10" F4 Newt mounted on a Skywatcher AZ-EQ6 mount.

The software I used to process is PixInsight. I started using PixInsight about 12 months ago. It is not cheap and the processing effort is next level, but now that I am getting used to it, it has been money well spent. Before that I used Nebulosity for many years.



Thanks Peter. Yes, I only tweaked the saturation of the background and didn't think to adjust the saturation of the star mask as well. For my next target, NGC253, which I am just about to post, I gave the star mask a double dose of saturation before combining them with the background. Maybe I'll go back and do the same for this image.

As for Ha and OIII, that's a whole other level of effort I don't feel the need for at the moment. Maybe one day. I was always happy with my just DSLR and said I'd never buy a dedicated astro cam, but I eventually relented and bought one. :)

However, if someone reading this wants to donate their Ha and OIII data then I'll have a go at combining them and see how it looks.

Cheers,
Andrew