DSLR Galaxies plus other items

[Alchemy]

Just posting a few images, at least the weather in Victoria has been accomodating to some degree for imaging..... not like further up the east coast.

All the images are shot with cannon 300d and the 12 inch newt usually 360 sec exposures, as many as i can get before it dews over (got a question for you with that)

Anyway to the images; the file names identify each one

1. Centaurus A, interacting Galaxy in Centaurus well known

2. NGC 1808 a pretty little galaxy about 7 x 3 arcmins at mag 10.7 showing some dust lane detail

3.NGC 2442 , galaxy in Volans about 5 x 3.5 arc mins at mag 11.3 better detail and actually captured a bit of detail in the arms too.

4. NGC 2997 in Antilla a bigger face on spiral , a little bit of smearing at the edges of the image .... not to worry though , these things happen occasionally, and for those with a critical eye the color imbalance to the right is due to large temp issues on the night...

5. NGC 2467 some nebulosity asociated with a pretty little cluster of varying colours, the seeing wasnt so good this night so youre only allowed a smaller image as that tends to hide imperfections.

6.RCW 40, off to the more obscure , but this one reminds me of a comet, had a hard time processing this one so sorry about the red stars.

7. Dont need to describe M 42 i have put a version of this one up earlier but this has had more data added and completely reprocessed, note i like the color balance, im sure not all will..... i can live with that.... oh and lots of different exposures in 1 stop increments to try to capture detail in the brighter areas.

8. Last image a red and blue spider... trying to please all. Trailing to left due to not locking down the focuser.... next time ..... but i like the detail in the nebula itself and the mix of red and blue makes different features stand out... again i like the color ...... thats it for the images


QUESTION..... With the weather cooling down i have issues with dew on the newt mirrors, i have a set of dew heaters but dont use them on the main imaging scope for fear of thermal movements etc, i know a dew shield would be the first idea .... but the scope blows around with the slightest breeze and another 18 inches of area would only make this worse..... so who uses heaters while imaging with a newt ... and does it ruin your detail ?

TIP for newbies and such .... shoot as close to the meridian as you can...... more exposures = less noise and better images

Finally a big thankyou for Dave (Tamtarn) who came around and showed me how to setup a web page so i can have a larger offsite image.

http://stormfrontobservatory.googlepages.c om/home

[h0ughy]

awesome:bowdown::bowdown::bowdown: what a fantastic collection

[EzyStyles]

great shots C. No wonder you've been quiet lately been gathering em images all together :)
I don't know about your tarantula it is still too cyan/blue :lol: . I like your new website too. That view you get at your observatory is amazing.

[tornado33]

Great work there. Nice neutral coloured sky backgrounds.
Id use the dew heaters. Thermal movements worry high magnification planetary imagers rather then deep sky at prime focus, and a dewed mirror is worse. I take it your secondary is the one that gets fogged. The tip is to have just enough heat to keep the dew off
Scott

[dugnsuz]

Very, very nice Alchy!
My favs are the NGC 2442 galaxy - great image, and the Tarantula.
I'm turning cyan with envy;)
Doug:thumbsup:

[glenc]

Thanks Alchemy. I liked the images of nebulae best. :thumbsup:

[Dennis]

A breathtakingly beautiful portfolio. Thanks for sharing the results of your hard graft.

Cheers

Dennis

[jase]

Beautifully presented. Indeed, acquiring data when the object is high will certainly bring out the detail. Well done.

[theodog]

I'd agree with Scott.
With the return to more "normal" weather, dew is again going to strike the astro-imager:sadeyes:. Use a heater to just keep the offending mirror above ambient. This may need some investigation to get right.

[iceman]

Wow, what a fantastic collection of images. You've been very busy. Incredible detail in the tarantula, but love all of them.

Way to return with a bang!

[Ric]

A lovely selection of images Alchemy, M42 is very vibrant and enjoyable almost like a painting.

Cheers

[Matty P]

A fantastic collection of images Alchemy, the image of the M42 is amazing.

[Alchemy]

thanks all for looking,




i wasnt sure if people would see red over this or even worse want to have a blue:lol: at least we can all still laugh.



Glen actually pointed out RCW 40 should be RCW 38 - he's right too.



thaks Jase - i also used your SCM process which really helps with fine detail.




Thanks for the tips guys, it is the secondary that goes first, i have a 12inch band at the base i will try it on a setting of 2 next time i am out just to see if it makes a difference.

Matty p, Ric,Ice, Dennis and H0ughy thanks for having a squiz.

hope ive not left anyone out. will talk to you all again at some stage.

[Tamtarn]

What a great selection. Lots of dedicated hours there. Like NGC2442 lots of detail and lots of background galaxies.

More please :thumbsup:

D & B

[strongmanmike]

This is perhaps the best medium focal length DSLR imaging I have seen on this forum?

Your processing has a very 80's proffessional observatory photo quality about it, the Cen A is just exquisit and so natural looking.

The detail you have achieved in the galaxies looks almost too good to be true compared to the sky around them? Do you process the galaxies seperately to the background?

Really Great work!!

MIke

[bloodhound31]

Stunning, just stunning! Good work mate. It's great to dissapear for a while to get some work like this done isnt it?

Salutations to you!

Baz.

[jase]

While I have already commented on this post, I should mention I've come back numerous times to look at this exquisite collection of images. After some observation of the collection, my pick of the bunch would have to be this one - http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=38591&d=1203162798

This is a very special image, that I feel stands out in a few ways. Composition is great and colour balance showing signs of pleasing saturation. Colourful round stars show gradient to white in their core. The galaxy looks graciously hanging there, with glimpses of it's background relatives dotted around the image. Remarkable detail in the spiral arms. All a credit to a well processed image.

Again, well done.

[marc4darkskies]

Wow! That's a beautiful collection of images there Alch! All top notch pics! Well done!! :thumbsup:

Cheers, Marcus

[Phil]

wow great set of photos there you have done a great job there well done.
Phil

[Garyh]

All cracker shots! Alschemy :thumbsup:
That M42 really stands up and hits you.
Excellent!
cheers Gary

[Alchemy]

Thanks to all for their replys and inputs.

jase.... considering you would be held in the highest regards on this forum for your processing abilitys and quality of images ..... im honored.
i have really been doing it so it "looks" right... obviously theres a more analytical way to consider the image..... food for consideration.

Garyh thanks , i must talk to you one day to ask you about your processing as youve been able to lift out the faint arms of one of the galaxys i did here, you put it up as a pair.... i couldnt get both in so only did the one.

Marcus, phil, thanks for looking

Baz, sometimes its just nice to image and do you,re own thing for a while and avoid some of the cut and thrust of debate. (got into that too much a while back.... will leave it alone it in the future)

Tamtarn will put up some more but will be a while off as the moons back , i plan to do m83 first and have a couple other galaxies in mind around the virgo area as well m104, ....

Mike.... re the background , worked on the image a bit, hit it with an s curve in curves to darken background, got a copy of unworked original gave it a slight lift til level of background JUST above background of worked version and then blend the two with lighten mode, getting worked galaxy with only lightly worked background..... thats the simple version anyway , i have to be carefull not to lose data required and at the same time lose unwanted noise. then continue to process, if i do it too early its not a great increase, too late and it looks fake. but essentially the data is still all there just selectively enhanced. i use 3 programs win4 aip for decon and various stretches to reblend, photoshop for much of the typical stuff, lightroom for color enhancing and some noise removal. finally jases SCM (which is the bees knees in my opinion)

heres a larger version of the galaxy as there seems to be a bit of interest in it.

i only started imaging in September 2006 and its been a big learning curve.

oh... and im always open to any processing ideas anyone has.....:)

Cheers

[strongmanmike]

Very emulsion (as in film) like in its feel, I like that. Could be an image straight out of an 80's astronomy text, perhaps a plate by David Malin even? Really excellent work, I'm impressed :thumbsup:

The blending to bring out the trap region in your M42 shot needs some work to keep with your natural processing look but again the rest of the image is really excellent and has that "done with film on a big telescope" look to it.

Mike

[RB]

:eyepop:
Stunning results Alchemy !!!

You've shown that the 300D sure can deliver the goods.

[KISA]

Spectacular!

[Peter Ward]

I like Ngc2070! It's not blue :)

But I'm also suspecting you've mastered deep sky, but have also reached the limitations of your gear.

Need to take another step up into high-res, long FL deep sky. It's a bugger, but very rewarding when you nail it :)

Well done :thumbsup:
Peter

[Alchemy]

Thanks for looking guys,

peter ive still got plenty to explore first, but i will admit a better camera/ccd preferably cooled and wouldnt i love AO, it is on the list of wants (one that takes red pictures too:))

Kisa thaks.

[DRCORTEX]

That pic is gorgeous!

cheers

Lance:D

[peter_4059]

Great collection. The detail in that M42 image is amazing.

[Topher]

Great work Alchemy. Something a newb like me can aspire to (and hopefully surpass, although you have set the bar sooooooo high!).

Keep up the good work.

Chris

[Moonboy]

WOW:eyepop:.
I'll drink to that :drink:

[digby dart]

Beautiful. A delight to view. Thank you.