Horsehead and Friends from Wiruna

[Astrod00d]

Hi All,

We had a great weekend at Wiruna this new moon. Clear nights from dusk 'till dawn ensured that we were all sleep deprived but nobody seemed to mind. A gusty Westerly kept us all alert.

Here's my first ever attempt at the Horsehead, 6 x 10-minute subs, captured between 3am and 4:30am. I'm surprised at the result.

There's a larger, 1MB imge here http://homepages.ihug.com.au/~robk/astronomy/images/B33_horsehead_08092901.jpg

I welcome comment from the experienced imagers here. I feel my data capture rig is improving, with still a few tweaks needed. I really need some advice on processing... how to highlight faint details while preserving star colour for example. I think a lot more is possible with the data I have here.

QHY8, 127mm APO, EQ6, guided with a QHY5 and ED80 via PHD Ascom pulseguide.

Cheers,

Rob

[dugnsuz]

A very nice horsehead and flame there Rob.
The resolution provided by the 127mm scope tops the ED80 I used for my attempts at this area - markedly so.
I like the colour balance too between the Flame nebula, the blue wispy nebulosity in the centre and that 'blanket' of red behind the Horsehead itself.
Only distraction is the large halo around the bright star, but that too seems to fit!
I like this one - the QYH8 with your scope is a winner.
Cheers
Doug

[multiweb]

That's awesome Rob.Sharp as! :thumbsup: I love the green and blue stuff.

[Striker]

Great image Rob, alot better then what I was expecting to be honest..great job.

[seeker372011]

so that's where you were this weekend

top result there

[Garyh]

That`s a nice HH Rob, beaut colors and all!
Wonder what is causing that Halo but?
Very nice!

[Astrod00d]

Yes, the halo is interesting and I've seen the same thing sometimes with other refractor set-ups.
I think the halo is a reflection off the QHY8 UV/IR filter, in turn being reflected back off the telescope objective. It's only an issue in extremely high contrast situations, such as this one with the bright star in amongst diffuse objects.

I'd like to eliminate it if possible... does anyone here have any advice?

Cheers,

Rob

[Matty P]

Superb image Rob,

Extremely sharp and lovely colours all around. The HH is a lovely object and your image has shows this.

Looking forward to more.

:thumbsup:

[Ric]

That's a cracker image Rob, very detailed and lovely colour.

As Doug mentioned even the halo has its place and fits in nicely.

A top effort.

[h0ughy]

lovely result- I expect to get something like that with the 127 - when I can get to use it!!

[multiweb]

Hi Rob, in your case because you don't have diffraction spikes going all over the place I think you could make a circular mask around the halo, then composite another sub with less DDP without the halo if possible then blend them in and bump up the levels back to the original picture. That could work.

[RB]

Rob that's a beautiful shot !
My only suggestion would be to lift the black point slightly to brighten the background.


I agree, it looks like internal reflection off the camera filter.
Probably try reducing your subs if there's high contrast objects.

[AlexN]

I wonder... If you were to use the clear glass window on the QHY8, then use a T-adapter with a higher quality (baader/astronomik) UV/IR block, if that would fix the problem...

I had a problem similar to this when I used my UHC filter stacked on the UV/IR on my QHY8 imaging Antares.... Although my reflection was much more prominent than that...

[Craig_L]

Very nice Rob. Great detail and colours and very smooth.

[Craig.a.c]

:eyepop: Stunning image. I really like the halo around the star.

[Geoff45]

Have a look at this thread (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=25867&highlight=blue+halos)re star halos. One of the links I gave there has changed. Here is the new url (http://www.astrodon.com/articles_faq/articles_faq/press_release:391,355,49)

[Geoff45]

You can do this in PS, but it's quite complicated to explain.

[Deeno]

Spectacular and colourful image!!!!

[Alchemy]

saved yours for my last comment rob, pick of the bunch, i liked the detail, the composition and variety of color in the various objects.... well done.

[allan gould]

Must be due to the internal reflections within the QHY8 as same scope with 20D gives a different pattern and different extent of flare. See this link http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/attachment_browse.php?a=48481
What has always amazed me is the off - centered blue halos seen with WO scopes which is definately NOT the case with the 127mm scopes here. A bright star can be off-centered but still give a symetrical halo. Sign of good even optics.
PS Great image.

[Tamtarn]

Great first try of HH. Very well done indeed :thumbsup:

[Astrod00d]

Thanks to all of you for the great comments!



Thanks for the great feedback! Yes I think the 127 is probably the best bang for the buck in a refractor at the moment. However I do like the colour correction of the good ol' ED80!


Yep... dark skies called, a loud call and a clear call that couldn't be denied... so I went!:lol:


We're all waiting to see your results with your 127! Get into it mate!


Yes, I think you're on the right track.
I also wonder if I can somehow isolate the spectral content of the flare, then select the circle and subtract the flare's spectral content.


Strangely, I see lots of background detail on my monitor. There's a lot of difference between monitors, I wonder if mine's too bright in the shadows and needs a gamma adjustment?


Yes a filter with superior A/R coatings should help. I wonder if I can get a spec. on the existing filter from QHY?


Thanks, I'll check those out, the more info I can get the better!


A lot of us would like to learn more... I wonder, If you could find time to put together a tutorial I'm sure a lot of folks here would find it useful.:D


Thanks! Seems the 127 is quite sound optically. Just needs a bit of work on the focuser.

Cheers,

Rob

[strongmanmike]

Very nice image Rob

I think your processing looks pretty fine really..? You have captured lots of faint nebulosity below the head, this is the sign of a good HH :thumbsup:

I love the big halo actually it kinda sets the image off and reminds me of the 36" Crossley refletor images at Mt Wilson or the Canda France Hawaii 3.6m :thumbsup:

How was the wind on Fri and Sat nights up at the imagers house at Wiruna? the morning hours were very windy where I was setup east of the main hall, I feared for my kit at times actually plus the seeing was friggin crapola from about 9pm onwards both nights :doh:my focus star was ballooning in and out like it was on a bunggi cord :scared:

Mike

[Hagar]

Lovely image Rob That bloody reflection is the bain of my life but until I get a scope with an IR filter built into the lens and a sealed camera without a filter in front of the CCD we will just have to make the best of it.

[Astrod00d]

Thanks for those positive comments Mike, as you say the halo is not a big issue in the context of the whole image. I'm really pleased with the performance-to-price ratio of the 127mm and the QHY8.

The wind was a bit of a worry wasn't it? Very gusty. During the day Sunday it blew a gale, with dust everywhere and the sky a nasty orange-brown colour, but it cleared up after dark for a really nice night. Sunday night was nicer than Saturday, less wind and better seeing. Actually I'm surprised that my somewhat light-duty rig remained steady and gave me nice round stars.
The house has a bit of a hill to the west and this may have sheltered us somewhat.

That kit of yours has a fair bit of sail area so I'm not surprised you were worried about it, but I think it's sheer mass would keep it quite steady. Perhaps some sandbags thrown across the pier legs would provide peace of mind. :D

All up, it was a great weekend at Wiruna and I'll be back for more.

Cheers,

Rob

[seeker372011]

actually David Malin's HH has a humungous halo from memory

PS Google says my memory was right

see
http://astro.nineplanets.org/twn/b33.html

[Gama]

You will not get rid of the halo by a simple filter change or AR coating regardless of camera. Its just too bright if exposures are long, remember its a 2nd magnitude star !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.
The filters already have a AR coating, and regardless of filter coatings, it is going to be there as long as ANY glass surface is near enough to the CCD sensor. As was mentioned, take some smaller exposures and blend in that area.

Theo

[Screwdriverone]

Astonishing shot Rob,

Even with my limited experienced eye, it shows amazing detail and clarity, great work!

That 127mm sure is a bargain and takes some fabulous images.

Awesome!

Cheers

Chris

[Babalyon 5]

Isn't the halo known as an "airy disc", which surrounds most stars in an image, the brighter the star, the bigger and more noticeable the disc?:shrug: Try doing a shot of Canopus or Sirius and see what happens.

[gerry aarts]

Hey Rob,
Linden last weekend was windy and imaging was difficult.
You obviously had better conditions at Wiruna.
That is one of the best images I have ever seen of ther HH.
Good onya mate.
You processed it beautifully. The halo is also a nice effect in my opinion.
Regards
Gerry