Ic434

[Paul Haese]

This is a bit of a work in progress. I have not processed much data in the last 12 months because of being super busy each day with Swan Reach and still working on the tools.

The image has an integration of 13.5 hours with LHaRGB data.

Alnitak's flaring has been problematic to reduce. However, I am reasonably happy with the detail. Though I think the image lacks a bit of punch, I just can't place my finger on it.

Minimal sharpening has been applied in order to preserve a more natural looking detail structure. Though it could be too understated :shrug:.

Processing done in CCDstack 2, Pixinsight and Photoshop 2024.

Seeing during capture was quite good on each night, though one nights imaging was completely rejected due to the FWHM measurements being too far out from my comfort zone.

Data collected on an OOUK AG12 with ZWO 533MM.

Click here (https://phaese.smugmug.com/Nebula/i-nhXFHHZ/A) for the larger image

[gregbradley]

It looks terrific already.

One very minor thing that you may be looking at is the dark void under the Horsehead and to the right of the blue tunnel. There is faint Ha there (see my recent widefield image of it in Ha) that is not being shown. More exposure in Ha should bring that up.

Excellent processing.

Greg.

[Atmos]

Excellent detail! My only longer focal length attempt of this region certainly didn’t reveal this much detail. My lowest FWHM over 5 nights was around 2.2 arcsec; not that great.

Very nicely done!

[Peter Ward]

It seems not many in OZ are doing narrow field work of late...more the pity....
as this is one of the finer Equine heads I've seen recently.

Not sure about the yellow areas within the blue reflection nebula :question:

An excellent narrow-field rendition regardless.....which makes it stand out from the pack. :thumbsup:

[Anth10]

Deep image of the horse head Paul. Plenty to like with this one/ intricate details showing through which is at a high standard.
Well done.
Anth

[alpal]

Great picture of the horsey Paul,
it's very detailed -
it seems that you tamed that OOUK AG12
and ended up with a really top telescope.

cheers
Allan

[Startrek]

Paul,
Really nice work from that 12” and square sensor , some excellent contrast
Significantly more detail and res that my rendition and you’ve tamed the rays area from Alnitak beautifully. Although I was quite pleased with my result from my 10” for only 6 hours of data , definitely not enough signal and conditions were quite unstable too.
Well done indeed !!
Martin

[TrevorW]

Excellent work Paul, double the data of Martins helped bring out the finer detail, shame we can't post larger images here as full appreciation of your work isn't really seen unless you go to the linked image :)

[multiweb]

What Peter said. When you start looking at the small faint stars around the field you appreciate how good it is. Amazing. :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

[Paul Haese]

Thanks to everyone for the comments. Much appreciated.



I noted the same myself as I have done a recent wide field of this same area, I suspect that wider field units are more adept at capturing the fainter gas and nebulosity. It might be a case of diminishing returns to pick up that remaining data though. Food for thought!



Any long focal length imaging is quite tough. So many things have to be working near perfection to achieve excellent results. Seeing being king of them all. Last couple of nights here in SA we have had northerly winds and the seeing has been very average, well inside the 2's, I usually ditch those nights as too much smearing has occurred. I am sure for some though, this is more the norm and you have to accept what is present.



Yes noted, the new fashion world wide is wide field imaging. It's more forgiving in general and it captures all the dust and gas easily over the more long focal length systems. We find most of our wide field scopes are rented within hours of advertising.

I am not sure what is going on with that yellow, I have addressed it several times, it is coming close now to being hydrogen colour. It shows up well in the Ha data so it is a puzzle where in the processing this has occurred.



I have two of these scopes Allan which makes for double trouble. One of them I am using the original Wynne corrector and this one uses a Skywatcher asplenic corrector. The other one is on permanent rental and is the better of the two scopes. Still I am quite happy with the results I can obtain with this particular AG12.



It just goes to show what can be achieved from the bottom end of the bigger scopes. I think seeing was really you enemy there. Your colour palette is very good.

The square sensor can be a bit of a challenge though, but also has its benefits.

[strongmanmike]

I agree with Allan, a very satisfying, eye catching rendition of this target Paul, even with the remnants of those rays to the left, they look kinda cool and intriguing :thumbsup: If the seeing cooperates, small pixels on an AG12 work wonders.

You have reminded me that I have 3.5hrs of Ha (https://pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/173262593/original) from over two years ago now, sitting waiting for some colour, taken in below average seeing, for Eagleview (FWHM 1.9-2.3) and at the coarser 0.84"/pix image scale of the old SX camera...like many objects, I need to hit it again with the new SX camera, with pixels the same size as yours and hopefully in better seeing :thumbsup:

Mike

[AlexN]

Stunning in every respect - detail, colour, depth, data quality etc...

Brilliant.

Great to see fresh data from you, too. I can understand Swan Reach taking up a lot of time - but your images have been missed!

[alpal]

Hi Paul,
Wow - I didn't know you had 2 of them!

Still - so you should be happy -
your result is sensational.

cheers
Allan

[Paul Haese]

Thanks Mike, the AGs can perform well in good seeing. Mind you not quite as nice as my RCOS16 but I won't be imaging with that for some time yet I suspect. It has been very popular on our rental list.

Your seeing should present a better image than mine given the altitude assuming you get some clear sky over that way in the near future. ;)



Thanks Alex, I still have one rig I can image with but there are only so many hours in the day. There is now a significant back log of data that I need to process into images. If I do one image every couple of weeks I should have it sorted by the end of the year.



Thanks Allan,

I picked up one second hand several years back when Rick sold his AG12. It's the better of the two and produces excellent data all the time. It is currently very busy under rental with a client.

[strongmanmike]

Oh I get plenty of clear sky time up there, it's marrying up the site visits with it that is the issue, I am still an on-site imager, juggling work, family and the Moon :stargaze: if I were automated or even remote connected, I could be imaging a lot more...I'm an old dog, more content with less these days... and habits die hard....:rolleyes: :lol:

Mike