Wooo Hooo! Imaging again! ... NCG1365

[marc4darkskies]

Hi all,

Finally imaging again!!! :party:... after a long hiatus associated with camera, observatory building and weather. This is also first imaging light from my new obs! :jump2:

Alas, I was at the tail end of 1365's imaging season so the windows were short. But I've been wanting to target it since October - so I persevered!

Taken over 3 nights (over 3 weeks because of the weather), I managed LRGB (150, 65, 65, 65). Not sure I've squeazed the best out of the data yet but it looks ok for now. Depending on the feedback I get I may give processing another shot. One thing though, processing galaxies sure is hard!

Anyway, here 'tis:
http://www.pbase.com/gailmarc/image/92967557/large

Full res:
http://www.pbase.com/gailmarc/image/92967557/original

Hope you enjoy.

Cheers, Marcus

[Peter Ward]

Humm.... Galaxies are indeed tough. Stars at full-res look a little square.
Some sort of median filter?

Great effort just the same.

[RB]

Wow, check out the dust lanes !
Beautiful detail Marcus, the core looks like it's florescent.

Lovely image.

[theodog]

Nice one Marcus,
I recon you could squeeze out a little more image from the data.
Looks very nice 'though.

[Starkler]

Yes I cant help getting the impression that you have clipped out the fainter parts of those spiral arms. Worth another try for sure :)

[Ric]

A very impressive image of a very impressive galaxy.

Well done.

[dugnsuz]

...and back with a bang!!!!
Absolutely stunning image.
Cheers
Doug

[jase]

F/11.7! What were your sub exposure times with the 11k? Suspect 15 to 20min subs to get good signal. Perhaps 10min 2x2 RGB subs. Nice details. As previously mentioned, stars aren't round. This looks like a image resizing or jpeg issue. I suspect this may also be compounding some of the details. Well done.

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks a lot guys! :)

Yes, stars have a bright star-like artifact in them - makes them look squarish. Jase is spot on too - should have gone for longer subs (10mins was never going to be enough at that FL - doh! :ashamed::doh:). Consequently, noise reduction had to be pretty heavy so that's where I think the star imperfections are coming from - haven't pin pointed the exact culprit yet though.

Boy, imaging and processing is NOT like riding a bike! If you're away from it too long (and you're not already an expert) you forget stuff! :confuse2:. Maybe I'm just going senile! :shrug:

I'll give it another shot and repost. I could just overlay some clean stars but I think I can squeaze even more detail out of the data - wish me luck!

Cheers, Marcus

[sjastro]

That's a good image Marcus.

The stars do like being the victims of a jpeg compression. The galaxy also looks too yellow. You might want to increase the amount of blue in the colour balance.

Regards

Steven

[montewilson]

Marc ! Welcome back. Nice entree....

What are you using to focus? I can't see a stepper motor in the image of your set-up. I don't trust my fingers!

Will you be coming to the SPSP? I'd like to meet you if you are. Generators are allowed now at the house area.

[marc4darkskies]

Just the finger tips - takes me a while to get the focus right though. Unfortunately, for one set of subs I neglected to focus properly :mad2:. I think one day I'll get myself a PDF - or at least a 10 to 1 microfocuser.

Yep - wild horses coudn't keep me away from SPSP. See you there!



Thanks Steven. No, not compression artifacts - I think it's a combination of the minimum filter I'm using to de-bloat and the high pass filter I'm using to enhance the detail (got to remember to mask off the stars!!). I fixed them - still not perfect but much better. I toned the yellow down a little bit too.



Tried reprocessing today to get more detail and depth. Can't do it - subs are too short. I tweaked the curves a bit to bring out the arms a little better though.

Cheers all, Marcus

[strongmanmike]

Very nice image of a great galaxy Marc :thumbsup:

Yes the noise reduction can make an image look a pit plastic sometimes but your image still looks good to me.

Looooooove your kit and observatory :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup: you and I have effectively the same equipment really just different models/brands:

http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/81003751

We just purchased a house in Newcatsle.... with no bloody sky access (I gave in to the wifes love of trees :doh:) so I am now thinking of seting up at a dark site somewhere :help:or I'll never get to image :( and a Sirius dome setup like yours is a possibility?

MIke

[edwardsdj]

Amazing image at that focal length Marcus :)

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks Mike! :)



Commiserations mate! :( That's a bugger! Thankfully, my story is different. After my wife and I attended the 2005 SPSP she practically insisted I buy a scope. Then, not long before I took delivery in 06 she said "let's move, otherwise when are you going to be able to use it?". We lived in a house where there was zero sky access too. Now I live with practically all-sky access! :D. I'm a lucky man!



Thanks Doug!! Wish I'd taken longer subs though.

Cheers, Marcus

[marc4darkskies]

I did some more processing (I find it hard to stop:shrug:). I found some more dust lane detail and de-processed the core a bit to remove the fluro look. I also reduced the yellowness near the core and some of the noise in the dim parts of the arms.

Before on the left, after on the right - what do you think?

Full res new version:
http://www.pbase.com/gailmarc/image/92967557/original (http://www.pbase.com/gailmarc/image/92967557/original)

Cheers, Marcus

[RB]

Blinking between the images shows you've brought out even more detail in the dust lanes and the colours in the centre have more subtle tones.

Excellent work Marcus !