Tarantula the Beautiful !!

[RB]

Last week I had the chance to setup while the moon was in first quarter.
While it was still up I drift aligned and got things ready so I could image The Tarantula Nebula (NGC 2070) in the LMC.

Imaged through the TOA 130 at f/5.8 using both the Canon 20Da and 20D set at ISO 400, 18 x 7 min exp, 18 darks and 15 flats using the EL panel flat box, total exposure was just over 2 hours.

Guided using the Orion ShortTube 80, Orion StarShoot autoguider and PHD on an EM400 mount.

Processed using DSS and Photoshop CS3.

Image is around 1.2MB.

Thanks for taking the time to look.

61522 (http://www.iimagespace.com/page/ds/tarantula.htm)

[Paddy]

Absolutely beautiful, Andrew!

[TrevorW]

Very nice indeed

[M54]

Wow, it really does look like a spider, doesn't it!

[jjjnettie]

Oooh Ahhhh nice.
Thanks for posting the extra info too. It's a real help.

[Bassnut]

Nice work Andrew, a bit monochromatic, but narly looking, its hard making this one not look messy.

[gregbradley]

Fantastic image Andrew. That is one of the best DSLR shots I have ever seen. Fabulous colour and rich star hues. I have often thought the 20Da was the highpoint of Canon's DSLRs. Further evidence of that.

Again,well done on a super image.

Greg.

[manny]

Superb

Manny

[Tamtarn]

That really is beautiful Andrew. Very vibrant! Well done :thumbsup:

[leon]

Andrew that is awesome mate, beautiful in fact, such with such detail and colour, well done indeed.

Leon

[renormalised]

Beautiful shot there, Andrew. Great colours and very detailed:D:D

[Astrobserver99]

Great shot, especially for a DSLR, fantastic detail.

[strongmanmike]

I agree with Fred on this one Andrew, it's quite narly looking :P

It has a unique look to it, dark and spooky, I like it.

I'm not so sure it's the DSLR that makes this one so much as that wonderful scope!

Mike

[Dennis]

Now that is something quite special, very gnarly indeed!. Lovely work Andrew!

Cheers

Dennis

[multiweb]

How cool is this? :thumbsup: How did you manage to stretch the colors like that between the reds and the blues?

[DavidU]

Ssssssuper shot that !
the 20d does well, thanks Andrew

[acropolite]

Love ya work RB, I like the treatment of this one, nice and punchy.:thumbsup:

[h0ughy]

very nice image, well done you must be happy with that effort

[telecasterguru]

Andrew,
Image is amazing and gives me something to aspire to. Great work.

Frank

[suma126]

VERY VERY NICE :thumbsup:

[Moon]

Really nice Andew. Why did you use 2 cameras?

[Rick Petrie]

The red color in that I haven't seen before RB.
Looks very eery and makes it look so deep. Sort of like a redback spider's nest.:P
Great effort mate as usual.:thumbsup:

[g__day]

Impressive - why use two Canon's - espeically if you have the 20Da?

[RB]

Thanks for all your lovely comments everyone.
Glad you liked the image.
I've always wanted to image the Tarantula, this was my first serious attempt at it.
I've always thought it to be a very 'busy' region and as Fred said, it's hard to make this area not look messy.



Marc thanks, this is one reason I used 2 cameras, the 20Da having the better response and the 20D to gain back some of the blue hues.





Thanks for your comments guys, the other reason I used two cameras was that I was able to expose through one DSLR while taking darks with the other then swapping their roles and continue to expose.

A lot of work but worth it in the end.

:)

[gregbradley]

Thanks for your comments guys, the other reason I used two cameras was that I was able to expose through one DSLR while taking darks with the other then swapping their roles and continue to expose

:)[/QUOTE]

Hi Andrew,

2 chips won't have the same noise pattern so this may not be working too well. The dark noise will only be the same for the same chip and will be different for the 2nd chip. Have a look at the darks from each camera and you should see they are not the same.

Greg.

[RB]

Yes I agree Greg they are not the same, I processed each camera's group separately and then blended the two sets.

:)

[g__day]

Andrew,

Just a thought - that is such a stunning shot - especially as its done on a DSLR - why not expand this shot into an article on DSLR processing.

The first shot I took of this target was one of my first guided shots on a DSLR. I was pretty happy with it back then until Peter Ward asked why is it green? I naively asked - oh what colour was it supposed to be? And this openned a whole new door of image processing skills.

Given the Tarantula is such a common target for folk after they have started their entry into guided astro photography - why now explain a bit more for us the steps involved - it would make a great tutorial! The subtle detail in your shot is fantastic.

PS

Could you please post one of your shots unprocessed so we could see the colours comming out of your DSLR.

I remember Jase commenting on my first shot - check your calibration frames (and me asking what's a calibration frame :) )

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=24515

So I guess my shot was atypically of someone first targeting the Tarantula and yours of great gear in a masters hands.

[multiweb]

That is a very interesting technique. Definitely thinking out of the box and the result is great.

[gregbradley]

Oh I see.

Don't you have a darks library or do you take your darks on the night? I take it if you do that its because you want to match the
temperature as close as possible?

But then Images Plus and CCDstack have adaptive darks where the software will adjust your stock dark with the image if it is
a different temp or different exposure length. It works really well. I can't see any difference between them and exact exposure/temp
dark subtractions (but then I have my eyes closed when I look at the results hahaha) no really I can't see any difference. Makes for a
lot of convenience and more imaging time.

Once again fabulous image.

Greg.

[Deeno]

Very Cool RB!!

Really like the processing, a nice departure from the typical "over red" examples.

Cheers
Deeno

PS Good to see you catching some photons

[dpastern]

Another lovely image from IIS! Well done Andrew - that's a fantastic result no matter what camera you used imho. It shows that you can get great images no matter what, as long as you do a good job getting the data of course.

Dave

[RB]

Matthew thank you for your kind words, when I get a bit of time I'll put a small article together explaining what steps I took.

Cheers
:thumbsup:



Many thanks Marc !



Thanks for the info Greg, I seldom use IP now and I've never tried using a 'darks' library, I'll have to give it a go since it surly will make things a lot easier and allow more time to gather 'light' frames.



Cheers Deeno, yes it sure is nice to get out under the stars and do some imaging for a change, even though I had to fight high altitude clouds at times.



Dave, thank you so much for your kind comments, glad you enjoyed the image.
I'm hoping to get out and do some more soon.

:thumbsup:

[Kevnool]

Outstanding work Andrew, Tis a credit to you.
Cheers Kev.

[beren]

:thumbsup: Top work RB, another class image

[Lester]

Outstanding image Andrew, I like all aspects of your image.

All the best for more.

[Alchemy]

an intriging image, look forward to your write up of the processing.

[Kal]

I've been spending too much time in the planetary images section, and missed this great image!

Great shot Andrew, I really like the impression it leaves with the colour balance you have processed - it certainly is a high impact image!

[Ric]

Cracking image RB, you have captured some wonderful depth in this image.

Cheers

[Allan_L]

Sorry RB, I missed this earlier too!

I know nothing about astrophotography Andrew, so I look forward to your book. Can I reserve a copy now!

Despite the above, I feel compelled to say,
Simply Breath-taking, my friend.

Do you bring this gear to the PC?
I am interested to learn more.

Thanks for posting it.

[RB]

Kev thank you so much mate, glad you enjoyed it.


Stuart cheers, I was very happy with the result.


Many thanks Lester, may we all have clear skies to enjoy our wonderful hobby, all the best my friend.


Clive, cheers mate and thanks for having a look.


Glad you stopped by Andrew, yes I loved the colour results too, it's exactly how I was hoping it would turn out like.

Clear skies !


Ricky !!
Thanks mate, glad you liked it.



Thank you so much for your comments too Allan !!
Contrary to popular belief, yes I do sometimes bring the gear to the pony club, although few have ever seen it. ;)

Next time we meet I'll spend some time with you and we'll talk.

Once again thank you to all who replied and all who viewed and enjoyed.

Best Regards
Andrew

[Matty P]

That's a wonderful image RB. The use of two cameras really payed off. Excellent result. :)

Very nice indeed. :thumbsup:

[atalas]

Beautiful work RB !

[spearo]

Well done!
frank

[White Rabbit]

Thanks for that, thats a really nice image.

[Martin Pugh]

Most deserved for pic of the week.

Excellent shot

cheers
Martin

[Quantum629]

Unbelievable shot! I'm not sure if I've seen a better one.

[RB]

Matty, Louie, Frank, White Rabbit and Will (Quantum629) thank you so much for your replies, much appriciated and I'm glad you enjoyed my effort.



Martin, I'm humbled, thank you for your reply.
I'm a fan of your wonderful work.

Cheers

[toryglen-boy]

what a great image, lovely contrast on the colours etc.

excellent !!

;)