Going loopy - NGC 3576

[marc4darkskies]

Hi all,

I really did go loopy imaging this object! It took me 4 nights of imaging to gather a mere 7 hours data – one of which I threw away when processing. Clouds, moon and power failures conspired to make what should have been maybe a 2 nighter (yeah – I’m slow) into long drawn out affair over close to 2 weeks.

Anyway, this was my first attempt at using a Ha filter - an interesting processing challenge! It’s really a bunch of NGC objects -3576, 3579, 3581, 3582, 3584 and 3586 . 3576 is actually the little fuzzy off to the bottom right of the centre bright region. The complex is commonly referred to just as NGC 3576 though.

Small Colour: http://www.pbase.com/image/94206350 (http://www.pbase.com/image/94206350)/large (http://www.pbase.com/image/94206350/large)
Full res colour: http://www.pbase.com/image/94206350 (http://www.pbase.com/image/94206350)/original (http://www.pbase.com/image/94206350/original)

Small Ha: http://www.pbase.com/gailmarc/image/94206970/large
Full Res Ha: http://www.pbase.com/gailmarc/image/94206970/original

Image details -- L(R+G+B)HaRGB – 60(60), 120, 60, 60, 60 minutes total with 15, 30, 20 minute subs (L, Ha, RGB respectively).

Comments and critique welcome. I'm sure I haven't finished tinkering with it yet! :D.

Cheers, Marcus

[Garyh]

Beautiful Marcus! :thumbsup:
love those loops and knots in the neb!
Actually looked at a few images of this on the net a few nights ago and decided to give it a go! mind you its not a patch on your image!
great result
Gary

[dcalleja]

Wow - some amazing detail in these images. Really sharp too.

[strongmanmike]

Great result for your efforts Markus.

This nebula is one of my favourites, your Ha looks really good and quite deep.

Are you using the AO with the Tak and SBIG?

I had a look at your house photos on your Pbase site too...I'm very jealous!

Reminds me of what I "used" to have too

http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/observatorygeneral

sigh...one day I'll have that again....:sadeyes:

Mike

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks a lot Gary. Yes, I always look at what others have done, but for this object there aren't a lot of other examples. Are you going to post your attempt?



Cheers mate. Yes, the long (for me) sub exposure times allowed a bit more freedom to apply some sharpening techniques.



Thanks Mike! Yes, I was happy with the Ha data - 30min subs paid off. No, I don't have the adaptors yet to use my AO for the long FL stuff :(. They're on my to-figure-out and to-buy lists though. When my wallet recovers I also need a a PDF - manual focussing every 30 mins is a bugger. I had to thow away one hour of precious data because my focus was off :mad2:.

Yes, I've checked out the pics of your old obs - I feel the pain of your loss!! For a long time all I saw of the sky was a big gum tree. When I bought my scope that's all I had, until the wife suggested we move to a better place to use my scope! :love:

Cheers, Marcus

[RB]

Marcus that's a stunning result, wow I'd love to be able to capture something like that !

I don't remember seeing this object before so thanks for sharing.

Love the full-res version too, you've got some wonderful pink/red hues in the core section there.

[sjastro]

Nice image Marcus.

I noticed you used a synthetic luminance, I assume to boost the S/N ratio on the HaRGB.

Regards

Steven
http://users.westconnect.com.au/~sjastro/small

[theodog]

Very nice image Marcus.
Plenty of effort needed to bring it up to its best.
Well done.

[Ric]

Lovely image Marcus, the loops and swirls are quite stunning.

The depth and colour look great as well.

Cheers

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks Andrew! No, it's not a very popular target for some reason - I think it's a very interesting and pretty object though. I guess it's not the easiest subject to capture well and it's also relatively monochrome (maybe less wow factor :shrug:).

By the way, check out the crop of the brighter core region http://www.pbase.com/gailmarc/image/94240513/large
Plenty of wow there for me! :D



Thanks Steven. The main reason is that my RGB was slightly sharper then my L (cause I was a little careless focusing) and I wanted to bolster the sharpness & star depth of the Lum before I blended in the Ha. It worked.



Thanks Jeff. Yep, spent most of a weekend processing.



Thanks Ric, yes, I'm pleased with the depth - long subs rule! Blending in the Ha with the Lum and the Red channel was tricky. Took me hours to get it "right" and the colour balance pleasing. Not sure what the correct colour of the object is though - I believe a pinky red :shrug:. I think it's looking right - no-one has told me otherwise yet :D ;).

Cheers, Marcus

[Phil]

Wow Marcus stunning well done i think i will have to shot this one myself.
Phil