NGC 6960 - Veil (west) Nebula - 6 Hours.

[RB]

I'd like to present my image of The Veil Nebula (west) - NGC 6960.
This is my longest exposed image to date, 6 hours in total - imaged over two nights.

The Veil Nebula (west) is part of the Veil Nebula Complex located in the constellation Cygnus.
It's a relatively faint supernova remnant which has expanded to cover an area of 3 ° after the source supernova exploded over 5000 years ago.
The central star is the supergiant 52 Cygni.

Having exposed for 6 hours has really brought out very faint detail within the neb.
Faint wisps and striations are evident in and around the veil.
The stars are a little more bloated than usual but considering how low it was in the north, the seeing conditions and the fact that I was taking 15 min subs on a DSLR for a total 6 hours I'm more than happy with the result.

This image consists of 24 x 15 min exp (6 hours), 24 darks & 25 flats (EL Panel).
Imaged through the TOA-130 @ f/5.8, ISO 400.
Calibrated and Stacked in DSS and then finished in PS CS3.

I hope you enjoy.

(Image is 1.7MB)

63475 (http://www.iimagespace.com/page/ds/veil-west.htm)

[Octane]

Andrew,

Magnifique!

It looks 3D on my monitor -- the hallmark of a great photograph.

Well done. :D

Regards,
Humayun

[Bloodbean]

Andrew,

Wow that's awesome to look at! I love the contrast of colours. I just spent the past 3 minutes taking it all in. Well done!

Troy

[iceman]

Wow, now that is damn stunning.

Beautifully processed RB.

[toryglen-boy]

Excellent RB, especially for how far it climbs, i used to view it from Glasgow, almsot overhead, so i daresay here, it just peeps above the horizon.

nice vibrant colours, and very well done


:thumbsup:

[h0ughy]

A very very ordinary effort there RB:jawdrop:. I had to pinch myslef to make sure it was indeed real.:whistle:

[Ric]

A wonderful image RB.

The colours are fantastic and really jump out at you.

Cheers

[gregbradley]

That has to be the best Veil I have seen taken from the Southern Hemisphere. Amazing.

Only minor comment is the red in the neb looks like it has a tad too much orange in it.

Stars are perfect and you don't seem to have suffered from it being low on the horizon.

Imaged from a tripod? This would be below my observatory walls I am pretty sure.

Greg.

[multiweb]

:jawdrop: Seen that one in a lot of different flavours but that's definitely something new. Up close and personal. Just love the mix of sharpness/softness in the nebula and the colors too. Awesome. I love it. :thumbsup:

[Rick Petrie]

RB maaaaate you've done it again.:thumbsup:
Excellent clarity and with the striations of blue through the red give it a real cooling effect. Nice interpretation.
Love ya work. :)

[RobF]

Very impressive. Take a bow Sir!......

[matt]

Very nice, Andrew.

Just a minor issue: What do you think's causing the orange halos around many of the stars?

[lacad01]

As Con the fruiterer would say, "Beeewdiful!" :)

[atalas]

Top shot RB!

[alan meehan]

Andrew just so so nice,blue ribbon here.

[seeker372011]

bravo!

[dugnsuz]

Nice wee bit of cosmic snot you've captured there Andrew!!!:whistle:

Just kidding:P - as H says...lovely 3D effect, and to re-use my favourite descriptor...'organic' looking!

6 hours eh!? You're throwing down the gauntlet to one and all there Andrew.

Can't wait to get home and check this out on my 24" iMac - my PC monitor at work isn't doing this justice I reckon.

Few of the larger red stars look a bit bloated as you've said - but the colours in the Veil are stunning.

Sweet!!
Doug:thumbsup::thumbsup:

[strongmanmike]

Yep have to agree with Greg here, excellent shot.

You have mastered your DSLR mate (the brilliant scope helps too :D) , makes me want one...are there many Canon 20Da's around? How much do they go for when they are available?

Mike

[Jeffkop]

Very impressive image !!!!!! and a great reward for those hours

[Bassnut]

WOW, now that is very impressive Andrew, excellent work.

[dugnsuz]

Spectacular on the 24" display Andrew
Worth waiting for!!
Doug

[sjastro]

Very impressive image Andrew.

Steven

[Inmykombi]

Excellent image there RB.

lovely colours and detail.

Well done.

[RB]

Many thanks everyone, glad you enjoyed.
I'm quite chuffed with this one, well worth the effort.



Yep your not wrong Duncan, it transits at just under 20 deg to the north.
Quite low and I'm lucky to have a clear view to the north.
Here's another one I did that is even lower in the north, M31 at only 9 deg.

http://www.iimagespace.com/page/ds/m31.htm



Cheers Greg,
I was expecting the reds to be more subtle too as that's what I'm used to seeing in other images. They turned out a little more bolder and as you say have a bit of orange.
I think it's to do with the amount of exposure that's really brought out those hues through the 20Da.



Thanks Matt, as I mentioned in my first post the seeing was below average and considering it is so low in the north and 6 hours on a DSLR, I expect a little bit of a halo effect.
I didn't want to apply any minimisation routine to the stars so that's how I left it.



Cheers Mike, not sure how much the 20Da's go for now, they are rare I think.
I must say though if anyone is in the market for an astro DSLR, you are better off with a 40D or higher and getting it modded as these new models now have 14 bit colour depth.



Onya Dougie !
Yeah mate 6 hours over two nights, I wanted to give this one my best shot.

I love viewing all these images on my 24" screen, and it's worth posting in a larger size since you get so much more detail coming through.
I'm starting to post my images at 1440px as it's probably a good average size people view them in on their monitors, especially considering that now larger screens are becoming more affordable.
I also recommend to anyone that wants to display images to use a dedicated site to host images on, as you and I do and a lot of others here do, since you loose so much detail trying to downsize to forum restrictions.


Many thanks once again.

[marc4darkskies]

You should be chuffed Andrew!! This is an excellent image :thumbsup::thumbsup: Well done!

Cheers, Marcus

[TheDecepticon]

Very nice image. You can tell a deep, long image when you see one.:thumbsup:

[suma126]

THATS THE BEST VEIL I'VE SEEN YET :thumbsup:

[Robbie]

Ive just got myself a shiney new canon 50d to give dslr photography a go as Ive been using ccd's in the past'
That is a great pic !!! and the most attractive veil neb pic Ive seen to date.

well done you're a legend:thumbsup:

[Paul Haese]

Nice image Andrew, one thing I really like about an image with lots and lots of exposures is how smooth it really starts getting. Your image is a great example of that. Smooth and deep image. Excellent.

[gregbradley]

I wonder also Andrew if there is a bit of blue extinction or extra red/yellow from it being low in the sky?

I looked at the image again and I thought no the red looks fine but there probably is a subtle extra yellow in the red. If you want to play with it use the selective colour tool and chose red and then try the various sliders to produce different shades of red. Sounds like heresy but you
could be adjusting for colour extinction low in the sky. Neil Fleming has an excellent example of the Veil for a colour guideline. Not sure its worth the effort as it is a superb shot.

Do you think the 40D's are better because of the 14bit? I thought your image proved once again the 20Da hasn't been bettered by Canon.
It has its own special firmware, the amp off when long exposure is done, the special chip filter. I wonder what other little tweaks it has. A 50Da would be hot.


Greg.

Cheers Greg,
I was expecting the reds to be more subtle too as that's what I'm used to seeing in other images. They turned out a little more bolder and as you say have a bit of orange.
I think it's to do with the amount of exposure that's really brought out those hues through the 20Da.

[Peter Ward]

Nicely done :thumbsup:

[RB]

Marcus thanks for your kind words, glad you liked the image.
I know it's a long way off but I'm looking forward to catching up with you at SPSP next year for a cold one mate.



Cheers mate, yes indeed, having so much exposure really brings out the detail and gives an image that certain look.



Oh your too kind, thanks Shane !



...and now you made me blush, thanks Robbie.

:thanx:




Many thanks to you too Paul, I love spending as much time on one object as I can, as you know, since it brings out so much detail and really makes processing so much easier.
One look at the histogram and you know you have a winner.

Cheers.



You're probably right Greg, being so low could have effected the colours this way. It makes sense.

I certainly love the 20Da for all the reasons you mention, it's a very special camera.
Just wonder though with all the advancement made now, there's certainly an advantage in the new models with 14 bit colour depth.
For now I'll be sticking with the 20Da though, it has the features I need and as you know was the first camera to have live view, which was a big bonus back then.



Thank you so much Peter.

:)

[orestis]

WOW thats awesome love the detail.perseverence pays off ,doesn't it.
i'm very much that your very proud of this one.

Great image:thumbsup:

orestis

[RB]

Thank you orestis, yes indeed the perseverance has paid off, I like spending a lot of time on one object.

Cheers

[Deeno]

OOOOO.... AAHHHH!!!

Looks incredibly smooth and those tendrils of nebulosity are amazingly delicate.

15 minute subs and a DSLR.....I'm feeling inspired.

Always enjoy your unique style of processing

[Allan_L]

Hi Andrew,
Yes, I can see why you are so happy with this image.
That is beautiful, amazing, .....
All I can say is, who needs hubble when RB can produce this.
Very inspiring.
Hope to see more of your images in a compendium of some sort.....

[Hagar]

Lovely image Andrew. Lots of exposure has painted a lot of detail into this image. Good focus, framing and colour.

Well done.

[bones]

RB, I thought I'd take a squiz seeing you mentioned it last night. What can I say but maaaaaaaaaaaaaaate, very impressive and the processing looks great:thumbsup:. Yet another quality shot. keep 'em coming. Thanks for posting.

[gmbfilter]

The detail is almost a shock!
A hell of a lot of work ...fabulous result

[RB]

Deeno, cheers mate, yeah I was elated with the tendril detail in the neb.
Long subs sure do make a big difference and so does lots of exposure.
Thanks for your kind words.



Many thanks Al, I have been posting individual images on my own website but haven't had the time to put up a main index page but I will soon hopefully when I get a bit of time from work.
I'll post it so you can have a look through my gallery.

:)



Doug thank you so much for looking and for your comments, very much appriciated mate !



Tony cheers mate, I was humbled by everyone's reaction to the image when I arrived at the pony club on Saturday night, lot's of people have enjoyed it and that's what makes all the effort worth while.
You'll have to frequent the deep space and solar image forums more often now to gleen advice for your journey into imaging now that you've picked up a DMK 21 mate !



Geoff I am really happy with how it turned out indeed.
I wasn't expecting so much since it's a dim and low object to the north.

Cheers

[GTB_an_Owl]

C'mon Andrew - tell the true

you've been down to visit Ving at the library and he let you use that photocopier he uses !

note to Ving - make sure he put that book back on the shelf

well done sir Andrew - master of the veil

geoff

[RB]

Cheeky owl ! :lol:
Thanks mate.

Actually now that I think of it, I would like to have a go at Veil (east) as well so I can have the pair, if I ever print these in a book.

Thanks for the idea Geoff.