NGC2070 second light from Coondle

[bluescope]

Hi All

I lugged the gear out to the slabs again last night because the skies were nice and clear and dark. I did another run on the Tarantula and friends and this is the result. I feel my processing is a bit harsh on this version but I also feel it is a marked improvement on the previous night's rushed effort. I intend to keep working on the data and see if I can come up with a better version at a later date.

I hope you like this one for now.

:thumbsup:

p.s. I also did about an hour on Eta Carinae .... still working on it !

details :

9x360 sec plus 1x1200 sec exposures ( Total 1 hour 14 mins )

WO FLT110 F7 Triplet Apo with WO 4" TMB field flattener
SBIG ST2000XCM @ -13 degrees_ NO FILTERS_ self guided with CCDOPS v.5
SkyWatcher EQ6 Pro

Stacked in DSS v3.2.1
Adjustments etc PS CS3

[AlexN]

Must be great to be imaging 1200sec subs without needing filters to cut light pollution! :)

Looks good Steve!

[bluescope]

Sure is Alex .... I might have some filters for sale soon .... I don't think I'm going to need them anymore. I just tried a 1200 sec on 2070 to see how it would turn out .... then I did another 1200 sec on IC434 but for some reason the tracking went to sh%t and I decided to shoot NGC3372 instead .... still to come. It was a pity because 20mins on Horse had loads of bright data .... always another night though.
I still don't think I've done the data on Tarantula justice yet .... glad you like it mate !

:thumbsup:

[AlexN]

I did a few 1200 sec subs of IC434 with my QHY8 from my place (light pollution city) but they came out rather well... I think if you're using a cooled CCD and you can run 20 min subs, theres no reason not to (apart from the core of M42 etc)

Longer the better I say.. I did quite a few 20min subs of 3372 about a month ago now, and they were unreal.. so much signal and so much extension in the nebula it just wasnt funny!

I look forward to your Eta Car. and also to the re-pro's of your 2070 when they come about.. (my best edits of my images usually come after about 2 weeks of trial and error.. I either find what works well, or just throw in the towel depending on the data..)

[bluescope]

Where I lived before moving here I couldn't do any more than 6 min subs after that it was like fog had set in .... so much light polution it wasn't funny. I only lived 2 kms from city centre of Perth.
Here is like moving to heaven .... the sky is just amazing on a clear night when there's no moon around. It's also very peaceful .... just me and the sheep :lol:

:thumbsup:

[AlexN]

Dont go all new-zealand like on those sheep!! :D

[bluescope]

Strictly homo-sapien Alex :lol:

:thumbsup:

[Bassnut]

Well, im feeling cranky, fix the colour. 1hr,14mins exposure, 30 seconds on processing, dont fit.

[bluescope]

Sorry Fred, what do you suggest ?

:shrug:

[Bassnut]

Nope, I fiddled in PS, the backgrounds a bit high, but apart from that, I failed miserably on any possible improvement. My intitial assesment was flawed Steve. Im sorry to cause offence, the image is fine.

[multiweb]

That's quite amazing. You got pretty much without any filter what I get in Ha from my backyard. There's no substitute for dark skies. Awesome shot :thumbsup:

[Garyh]

Nicely done! Don`t think the processing is too harsh at all!
:thumbsup:

[bluescope]

Apology accepted Fred .... I' still going to keep trying to process the data better as I said.

:thumbsup:

[bluescope]

Indeed Marc .... dark skies rule !

:thumbsup:



Thanks Gary !

:thumbsup:

[Hagar]

Lots of detail in this image but I feel you may well have overdone the processing and left yourself with too much data. Looks a little on the soft (off focus side) but that could be attributed to overprocessing.

Sorry.

[bluescope]

No worries Doug, I know it can be improved on. Thanks for looking !

:thumbsup:

[gregbradley]

Nice image.

It looks a bit soft though and could do with a bit of sharpening either smart sharpen in PS or selective sharpening using a mask.

When you say no filters you are referring to light pollution filters?

One shot colour still usually needs an IR/UV filter.

Greg.

[bluescope]

Thanks Greg .... I actually have no filters in my imaging train as I wouldn't like to have my SBIG hanging off a UV/IR filter and with a 4" field flattener etc I don't know how to attach any filters other than perhaps investing in a filter wheel for the ST2000XCM ..... which I suppose would be the way to go. Seems a bit of a waste of dollars to buy a wheel just for one filter though ..... any ideas are welcome ?

:thumbsup:

[Matty P]

Not a bad attempt Steve. Well done. :)

There is definitely a lot of detail showing but the image appears to be a bit soft. Nothing that a reprocess couldn't fix. ;)

Keep up the great work. :thumbsup:

[bluescope]

Cheers Matty, hope you had a nice Xmas !

:thumbsup: