Ngc 6744

[strongmanmike]

Yes it's a repro :rolleyes: but this is only the first one... :P Passes the time while I wait to image again :sadeyes:

I wanted to showcase just the galaxy this time. The conditions on the night were far from ideal with stong winds and poor seeing so extracting detail was challenging and I went light on the noise reduction, as usual, to avoid the plastic look, hopefully I have struck a balance between low noise and a more natural apperance..? I tried to keep the extremely faint galactic cirrus dust visible around the galaxy too and some can be detected on the lower left side of the image. This galaxy is known to be rather blue.

NGC 6744 is a beautiful galaxy in a rich star field and fingers crossed next time I image this beauty the conditions will be more favourable :prey:.

(1.8meg file)
http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/106934751/original

Thnaks for looking (again)

Mike

[Dennis]

A beautiful image Mike, although those few words are rather inadequate in conveying the magnificence of this galaxy and its breathtaking cosmic setting, whilst also acknowledging the effort that went into acquiring and processing it.

Cheers

Dennis

[strongmanmike]

Thanks Dennis

The huge field of the Starfire and ProLine is one thing but on a galaxy it needs to be narrow field. The 1140mm FL provides just enough image scale(1.6"/pix) to reveal most of the detail in the galaxy, of course a steady sky with no wind would have produced a better result :sadeyes:

I brightened the core region and inner arms slightly (without blowing them out) and this engulfed a couple of stars that were visible right near the core but I think the strong central glow helps to give the galaxy a bit more punch and is perhaps even slightly more realistic..?

Cheers

Mike

[Smirnoff]

bloody great Mike!

[dcalleja]

Mike
I think you got it right - a nice natural look. Not pastel and the backgrounds not too dark. Its really well set off against the star field. Very nice indeed

[Hagar]

Very nice Mike. The noise is evident but certainly doesn't detract from the image. Seems a little on the bright side on my monitor but as you say quite a blue galaxy.

Another quality image and it's not Centaurus A.

[AlexN]

Agreed, Top quality result. (and not Centaurus A :D )

[RB]

Top Stuff Mike, that deserves another Guinness ! :)

[jase]

I like it Mike. Rich colours and details. Difficult target to get right given its low surface brightness and diffused spiral arms. Well done on the repro.

[Garyh]

Very nicely done Mike, yes you have brought out the faint outer extensions and show the spiral structure very nicely..
Yes a great image of a difficult and low surface brightness target.
cheers Gary

[iceman]

That's a lovely image, Mike. The colour balance looks spot on.

[richardo]

Nah, not more repro's Mike..... pleeeease, I can't take it any more:rofl:

Yeah big fella, this weather's enough to make a man go take up knitting or something:(

Looks pretty darn good to me Migel. Not an easy object with it's relatively low surface brightness to tweak out distinctive detail.
I love the fov your getting with your scope/ ccd combo. A good balance between in your face and too small.

My nemesis always seems to be M104, the weather never seems to play ball at all.

So lets hope we all have some better weather in the new year, this has got to be the worst run I've ever had...

All the best and I guess we can stand a few more repro's... but take it easy..... ok:lol::thumbsup:

[alan meehan]

thanks mike
this is a real jewel

[Peter Ward]

Agreed. But well worth the effort. When I got the final L data for this image

http://www.atscope.com.au/BRO/gallery20.html

the weather was basically fog every morning for that week around the new moon....brilliant seeing stability...capped off with good gear and an AO with bright guide star....sometimes it all comes together! :)

[h0ughy]

its a 3.7 Guinness piccy Mike

[gregbradley]

Beautiful image. I can't believe you got all this from a 6 inch APO.
Very impressive.

Greg.

[renormalised]

As usual Mike, brilliantly done, even given the conditions. Well done.

[Jen]

:thumbsup: nice work, as usual Mike keep em coming :D

[strongmanmike]

Cheers Greg

The modest 1140mm FL and superb unobstructed optics are adequate to reveal plenty of detail across the board plus you have the large 1.8deg X 1.2deg FOV at good resolution with the KAI11002 (even bigger field with your 16803 chip!) to fit heaps in too. It's a reasonable substitute for a much larger RC with narrow FOV and a bulbous near 50% obstruction really (and quite a bit cheaper even) ...and she's portable to boot :D. I am continually amazed at the results it can deliver with just 152mm, even in poor conditions, it really is a purler of a scope and I feel very lucky to have one.

Mind you, I'd like a bigger high quality RC or CDK or ideally a Keller Corrected Cassegarain RC killer too of course, if had the dosh...and a clear open sky...and a dark location...and an observatory..and.... :doh:

Mike