NGC 6357 Emission Nebula in Scorpio

[toryglen-boy]

Howdy

NGC 6357 sitting just at the end of the tail of the Scorpion. Taken with a Canon 1000D through an 200m F5 OTA on an EQ6, guided with an Orion SSAG through a Skywatcher 80 guidscope, over a course of 2 nights.

This is 40*10 mins subs, i have one with darks applied, but i liked this one better for some reason. Processed in CS4, Nebula has a rather bright core, and it was a choice as to wether to cook the core for more outer detail or not, in the end it got a bit singed, and it didnt help the fact that this was the redest object i have ever seen, but its still not a bad image, and i hope i am getting better.

thanks for looking.

[gregbradley]

Hey Duncan - aren't you just starting out with imaging?
That's a terrific image for someone who is new to the game.

It is a very red object by the way you are right.

Greg.

[TheDecepticon]

Yes, it is very red! Very good effort, mate! Nice to see a different nebula for a change.:thumbsup:

[toryglen-boy]

thanks guys

I need to stop editing on my laptop, there is alot more to see on there, and for some reason, it looks brighter on there, so when i post stuff on here, and view it on the big TV, it looks rubbish ...

i can see some repros in the future.

;)

[DavidU]

Great job Duncan ! Yes, do the final CS4 color bal on a really good screen.
You should be able to set the R curves without blowing the core.

[RB]

You're making great progress Duncan.
Nice image and wow over 6 hours of exposure, did I read that right?

:)

[toryglen-boy]

LOL yes fella, over 6 hours, its a learning curve, and although i have only been imaging a short while, i am already coming to that point, where the stuff that i really want to image will need a CCD.

This looked far better on the laptop, that said, it looks like it might be clear tonight, so i will take more data, and see if i can get even more from it.


;)

[gregbradley]

I took a CD with some of my astro photos with me to the shop when I was checking out different laptops to check out their monitors. You can't tell so well just by looking at the stock Windows photos.
I found HP Pavillion had the best monitor.

Different screens can make a huge difference plus they need to be callibrated.

Greg.

[toryglen-boy]

i use a Pavillion, a DV7. i will get them calibrated, then post some repro's

;)

[dugnsuz]

Great image Duncan - perhaps a little clipped (hard to tell without having a look in PS). That said, kudos for embarking on an ambitious project in terms of time and effort. That's dedication and ambition right there!!!
Back to the image...you've pulled out some very nice detail in the nebula which gives the image a 3D feel. The burned out core could be fixed with a layer mask using shorter exposures too.
Well done - you're fair sprinting up that learning curve!
Doug