Eta Carinae Region & NGC 6188

[Benny L]

Well we all know that full moon = H-Alpha time :lol:

So I've just come in from imaging these two objects..

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa314/thephotoguy131/Astro/EtaCarinaeHa.jpg

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa314/thephotoguy131/Astro/NGC6188Ha.jpg

Eta = 1 hour, using Astronmik 13nm Ha Filter
NGC6188 = 1.5 hours, using Astronmik 13nm Ha Filter

It is also frst light for my SBIG STL-11000M/Takahashi FSQ-106 imaging rig.:cool:

[leinad]

Wow, They're great !!
Was that one image run, or a stack ?

[spearo]

very bright capture
you've got some serious gear there!
look forward to more with the new equipment
frank

[iceman]

Wow, stunning work Benny. Will you be adding RGB data to them?

[Garyh]

Just got to love the 11K and Tak combo!
Very nice work Benny!

[multiweb]

Some real nice gear there for sure. Two superb shots :thumbsup:

[jase]

Hey! FSQ, STL11k, Losmandy Titan.... hmmm sounds familiar. A "power-packed" equipment combination. ;):lol:

I like what you've put together here Benny. However, IMO you've stretched Eta too far. The midtones appear to merge into the highlights in an aggressive manner resulting too much contrast between shadows and highlights. The transition areas should be noticed. While its great to show as much nebulosity as possible, it easy to lose track and ultimately rich details that you're trying to extract. A nice way of handling Ha data in this form is to perform a very mild DDP stretch - and I mean very mild. The adjustment in some cases is barely percievable. Then finish it off with curves. The mild DDP stretch simply pepps up the data in the shadows giving more control over how far you can take curves to match the midtones. Think of it as three tones (shadows/midtones/highlights) that you need to manage to extract the most out of the dynamic range. You probably know all this being a pro photographer ;)

[Benny L]

haha very true Jase! its like trimming a hedge and saying to yourself "just a lil' more" :lol:

thankfully in this day and age its easy to do a repro easily :)

Cheers for the kind comments guys! I havent done Ha work since I was messing around with hypered techpan back in High School :shrug:

edit: Once the moon goes away I'll be gathering some RGB data for these objects. I cant wait to image them at 7.30-8.00pm instead of waiting till midnight :P