Galactic Bugs & Mud

[Robby]

Hi,
I ended up back on the obscure object imaging after a local astro guru (cheers Coops :einstein: ) suggested I image NGC5189. He said I'd like it. And like it I did. This is one cool little planetary! Followed it up with NGC6302 (Bug) Nebula and NGC6822 (Barnard's) Galaxy.
All were imaged with C9.25@f/6.3 and 300D DSLR @ ISO1600. Autoguiding as per my usual setup.
Final images were cropped from the original to ease viewing.

1. NGC5189 planetary nebula in Musca. Size 2.5 arcmin. 10x3min exposures.
2. NGC6302 (Bug) planetary nebula in Scopius. Size 0.8 arcmin 12x3min + 9x1min exposures.
3. NCG6822 (Barnards) galaxy in Sagittarius. Size 10arcmin. 11x4min exposures. This one has a very low surface brightness, and is a marginal object to image from my light polluted backyard.

Cheers

[Robby]

Here's a curious comparison between the size of the two planetaries, as the crop was a bit different for each in the original. Sorry about that.
Cheers

[atalas]

Nice work Robby !

Louie :eyepop:

[seeker372011]

well done Robby..the bug is a really tiny object, and you have pulled a satisfying amount of detail

I imaged it with my ED 80 some time ago but image scale was way too small..this object needs aperture

[ving]

great shots robby. you got plenty of detail there :)

nice er... mud

[ballaratdragons]

Excellent Robby! You've done it again.

I found Barnards by accident the first time I saw it. It is supposed to be one of the hardest of the common galaxies to find. I don't have much trouble finding it know I know exactly where it is.

I imagine GoTo would make it simple!

[Brendan]

like wow man. :)
the're some cool images robby

keep them coming.

[JohnH]

Robby,

Great images, can you give us some processing details - did you use in camera noise reduction or separeate darks, did you use any flats, etc etc.

[dhumpie]

Great images Robby! You have two of my all time fave planetaries there.....5189 and 6302.

Darren

[Robby]

Hi John,
Now that would be telling... :).. Seriously I don't do much processing of the images at all. The key is to get as many minutes of exposure as possible. These could do with more. I get longer exposures by stacking many shorter shots and in this case 10x3min or so.
The more shots you can get the better the noise in the final stacked image. Less noise = more push in processing. The only calibration I do is dark frame subtraction. Should do flats as well, but I just haven't bothered so far.
In terms of processing, I mainly concentrate on getting the levels right for each RGB channel. Basically "stretching" the image to raise the black point above the level of background fog, and dropping the white point to a level so that brighter areas are not burnt out. This gives me the most improvement.
Then each individual image will respond to different "other" processing. I do a combination of the following...
- Colour Balance
- Unshape Mask
- Contrast & Brightness adjustment
- Curves (sometimes).
And that's about it. Sometime I finish an image off in Noiseware to reduce the noise, but if you have enough RAW images this shouldn't be necessary.
There are many better techniques than the ones I use, and someone like Eddie T could explain these. I haven't investigated any advanced techniques mainly because...
1. I'm Lazy
2. I can do the above quickly. Usually process an image in ~5mins.
3. I'm happy with what I get.

Hope this helps...
Cheers

[fringe_dweller]

Great captures Robby, those two pn's are also among my personal fave too :) love the bug! plenty of action there. Nice sct the 9.25" - very impressed with them too!
Cheers
Kearn

[Rodstar]

Great selection of images Robby. That Bug nebula is quite unique! The other ones are also quite beautiful.

Thanks for the post.

[h0ughy]

nice shots there Robby! :2thumbs:

[astroron]

In Barnards you have brought out three H11 regeons very nicely, and the Bug and ngc 5189 are quite brilliant. astroron :thumbsup: :cool:

[iceman]

Really nice shots Robby, your images are improving every time! I think the new scope + mount is doing well for you.

[[1ponders]]

Robby is that the true unsharp mask your using (ie your orion shots from earlier this year) or the one in the filters menu?

[Robby]

Nope, just from the filters menu. I have not had much success using the true unshape mask on any images other than M42.
Cheers

[EddieT]

Excellent images of some difficult objects. Well done!