Moon, Antares, M4 and NGC6144 – HDR photo mosaic

[Dennis]

Straddling the midnight hour of 23rd/24th April 2008, from Brisbane, the Moon slowly glided between the heavenly attractions of M4, NGC6144 and the brilliant star Antares. Due to the immense brightness range of these celestial objects, it was impossible to capture their splendour in a single photo. However, I was able to show what this thrilling cosmic spectacle might have looked like, by producing a photo mosaic from 4 panes covering the stellar background from the previous week, and a photo of the Moon taken just after 1:49am on the 24th April. The size of the original stellar background mosaic is 6048x4923 pixels.

Background star field details:
Vixen ED102S F9 refractor with Canon 40D DSLR camera at prime focus.
The 3 panes spanning M4 to NGC6144 were made up of 10 exposures of 30 secs at 800 ASA.
The Antares pane was 5 exposures of 30 secs at 800 ASA due to being interrupted by twilight, the result of a late start one morning!
Background photos captured over the period 17th to 21st April. Aligned and stacked in ImagesPlus. Processed and stitched together in CS3.

Moon details:
Takahashi Mewlon 180 at F9.6 using x0.8 Flattener/Reducer with Canon 40D DSLR camera.
A composite of 2 photos, exposure of 1/50 sec, 100 ASA on 24th April 2008.
Photos stitched together and processed in Photoshop CS3 with a colour saturation boost to reveal the subtle colours on the Moon. This processed Moon was then positioned against the stellar background using The Sky 6 Professional set for the 24th April 2008 at 1:50am AEST (GMT+10hrs).

So, if your eyes had a sufficiently large dynamic range, this is what you might have observed, if the clouds had cooperated that is! Yawn, off to bed now for some zzzzzds.

NOTE:
1st file is 1600 pixel at 177Kb
2nd file is 1280 pixel at 144 Kb

Cheers

Dennis Simmons

[iceman]

oh wow, that is one of the best images I've seen. Absolutely incredible, Dennis! Really spectacular.

The planning and persistance paid off. Such a 3D feel to it.

Congrats. I can't wait to see this on LPOD or APOD.

[sheeny]

:bowdown::bowdown::bowdown:
W:jawdrop:W!!!!!

Superb, Dennis!

Al.

[dannat]

Double wow:eyepop:

[DJVege]

Duuuude, that's brilliant! Feels like I can pluck the moon right out of that picture!!! Very 3D. Awesome!

[StephenM]

Great work Dennis!

Cheers,
Stephen

[Liz]

Absolutely gorgeous Dennis, well done.

[acropolite]

Beautiful image Dennis, better send that one in to AS&T. You should submit that for the David Malin awards (http://www.parkes.atnf.csiro.au/news_events/astrofest/astrophotography.html).:thumbsup:
Entries close at 5:00 pm on Wednesday, 11 June 2008

[iceman]

Agreed on both fronts, would look beautiful in print.

[Matty P]

:2thumbs: :cool: :bowdown: :clap:

Amazing image Big D!

I hope to see it printed a mag soon.

Very well done.

[Dennis]

Thanks for the nice comments everyone, it certainly was a bit of a marathon effort and at times I almost hit the wall! I ended up missing one bit of the background mosaic as the panes overlapped in a staircase layout rather than a strip, as I didn’t pay attention to the coordinates of the centre of each pane. When I cropped the background Über mosaic, one tiny corner was ahem, missing!

Fortunately, I was able to grab a few exposures on the night and add the segment in, although it had a tough gradient with the Moon so close.

I’m pleased that the weather cleared up in Brisbane for the event, although I did have a Plan B which was to include an almost similar Moon captured on 26th January 2008.

Cheers

Dennis

[WadeH]

That is just amazing Dennis. Its hard to believe they are photos! I can only guess at the amount of work that went into this.

Again well done!!

[h0ughy]

fantastic results Dennis!~ you the main man!!!

[davewaldo]

Well done Dennis! I'm glad you managed to capture the event when it happened and didn't need to use a moon from a different night.

Wonderful to see!

[Dennis]

Hello,

Thanks! Here is a crop from a single frame showing the closest approach as viewed from Brisbane. Exposure of 1/50 sec at 100 ASA at prime focus of Mewlon 180 F12 with Canon 40D.

Cheers

Dennis

[peter_4059]

Fantastic shots Dennis. I haven't seen anything like this before. Must have been a lot of work.

Peter

[Dennis]

Thank you!

I think that the 2 critical success factors in producing this piece of work, in terms of applying technology to the task, were;

The use of Remote Live View on the Canon 40D to help frame and focus the Moon on the notebook computer, and…
Photoshop CS3 for post capture processing.

Without these powerful technical aids, I’m not sure if I would have been foolhardy enough to attempt the mosaic!

I attempted this previously without these aids and the difference is that the Canon 40D and CS3 worked for me, whereas previously (Sept 2006), I ending up working (slaving!) for the DSLR and processing software.;)

Cheers

Dennis

[alan meehan]

dennis simlpy breathtaking well worth the effort,thanks for reminding us we still have anight sky .2 weeks of rain still down here :2thumbs:

[Kevnool]

Ive never looked through this part of the forums but i,m sure glad i picked this image to view 1st well done......must look here more often...cheers kev

[Tamtarn]

That is truly a stunning result :eyepop::eyepop::eyepop:

A fine work of art Dennis. You just have to submit it for publication worldwide.

[Dennis]

Thanks again! I’m pleased that those who missed this spectacle can at least get a 2 dimensional view, care of a bit of Photoshop creativity.

Barb & Dave – you almost got an e-mail last week, begging you for your recent M4 data so I could complete the mosaic, but the clouds did eventually clear up here.

Cheers

Dennis

[firstlight]

Great Shot Dennis, very surreal. I also really like the closest approach image.

[Garyh]

Now thats a bit of work Dennis! but it had certainly paid off!!
Very well done!
cheers

[RB]

Absolutely stunning Dennis, awesome work my friend !!!

Congrats on getting it on Spaceweather (http://spaceweather.com/submissions/large_image_popup.php?image_name=De nnis-Simmons-Moon-M4-Antares-NGC6144-1600c_1208996955_fl.jpg) too.

:clap: :clap: :clap:

[TV John]

Well done Dennis on your initial moon shot, magnificent. The addition of the star clusters is unfortunately lost on me since they would not be at all visible so close to a near full moon. I too have Photoshop which I use to add text or adjust levels etc. I do wonder if this type of collage resulting in an impossible image does anything to encourage future astronomers or astrophotographers.

[iceman]

I don't think Dennis has ever had any intention of displaying this, or misrepresenting this, as an image that could be captured in a single shot. This one, and the one he did last year, has the full capture and processing details so people know full well it's a composite.

It's a beautiful piece of astronomical artwork.

[Dennis]

Hi John

I appreciate your comments and as Mike has explained (thank you Mike), the written details with the mosaic clearly identify this as a Photoshop composite.

I think that most astronomers would easily identify this as a composite and hopefully it would not spoil their enjoyment of astronomy. As long as composites are clearly identified as such, I cannot see any damage to our hobby arising from these efforts.

One spin off that I enjoy from these composites, is getting a newly found sense of scale about objects such as M4, when they are placed in the same frame as our familiar Moon.

I’m afraid that I am also a bit of a technology junkie, using the full array of equipment that I able to afford, in order to provide me with the satisfaction I require from the hobby. I would never have attempted this using my 35mm film camera and the wet processing of a traditional dark room! Notwithstanding that I didn’t have the necessary equipment and skills in those days gone by!

Cheers

Dennis

[Robert_T]

Hi Dennis, long time no speak! I still swing by occasionally to see what's being produced. You see a lot on technically wonderful and stunningly detailed images on this site, but I've got to hand it to you and yours - your images, and this is a prime example, bring art and science together in a seamless and awe-inspiring union that few others can match!

Take a bow!!!

cheers,

Rob

[Dennis]

Hey Robert

Nice to hear from you once more and thank you for the nice words of encouragement.

You do know, don’t you, that my addiction is all your fault. The moment I set eyes your Mewlon 180 I was hooked. It’s all been downhill from thereon; I just can’t get enough of the gorgeous views through this amazing optical tube.:eyepop:

Hope that you and yours are all well and that we’ll see some more cracking hi-res images from you soon.:thumbsup:

Cheers

Dennis

[PCH]

Dennis,

well - of all the things that it may or may not be technically, - possible or not, imho it is simply an awesome picture. :thumbsup:

Great work.

Cheers,

[bird]

Dennis, a simple awesome composite image - congrats!

Bird

[Ric]

What a fantastic image, you've done a brilliant job with this one Dennis.

The hard work and attention to detail has really paid off.

Cheers

[renormalised]

Absolutely fantastic, Dennis!!!!!:jawdrop:

Looks so Sci-Fi.....this shot is only lacking one thing....A piccie of the Enterprise flying across the face of the Moon!!!!!:D

[matt]

Wonderful, Dennis. Terrific work:thumbsup:

[Space]

I love this image !

Cheer.

Good bye.

[Dennis]

Thank you once more for your nice feedback - it certainly was a real pleasure being able to record this scene via the composite.

Cheers

Dennis

[war bird]

well done , nice to see a different swist on the usual astro images around

[marc4darkskies]

This is a breathtakingly brilliant :eyepop:shot and worthy of at least an APOD!! :prey2::prey2: It's artistic yet accurate - and, IMHO, that's what most amateur astrophotography is all about. Fantastic colour on the moon too, plus you've imparted a 3D feel to it as well.

You've created a magical scene there Dennis. Well done!!!

Cheers, Marcus

[davidpretorius]

Dennis, i can only echo the comments from others.

Bloody fantastic!

[Dennis]

Hi Guys

Wow – is this one still doin’ the rounds! LOL!

Thank you for looking and thank you for posting your comments, each one is certainly appreciated.

Cheers

Dennis