More in wonderful Ha!

[AlexN]

These two captured last night..

M8 - 8x1200 sec - 7nm Ha
IC434 - 8x1200 sec - 7nm Ha (3 of these captured last saturday night)

M8 could probably do with another 3 of 4 exposures.. Unfortunately I only noticed I could easily fit M20 into the field as well after 3x1200 sec subs were already shot.. I didn't want to go changing the composure after 1hr worth of imaging.. Next time I shoot this area I'll be sure to include both targets!

IC434.. well It could probably do with another 8~10 20min subs to pull out all the really faint dusty stuff.. Im sensing a project coming on with this one.. Its starting to take my fancy..

On another note, I got a new extension tube during the week to give me the correct spacing between the CCD and the MPCC, so now the field is FAIRLY flat.. there is still an element of curvature in full resolution, but you really have to look for it to spot it.. in the small pics, she's real real flat!

Well.. I've not slept in a good 26 hours.. So I'm off to crash for a while..

Thanks for looking!!

Alex.

ps. I also shot 23x300sec subs of NGC300 in colour to fill in the time between when M8 got too low and IC434 got high enough.. Its going to be a real bugger to process though thanks to local light pollution.. that will come after some sleep! :)

[strongmanmike]

Ah, the magic of a few Corona's :drink:

Nice job indeed Big A

Mike

[dugnsuz]

Beautiful images Alex - unfortunately I think you're on the money about the many subs needed to overcome the noise in Ha. Don't you find every image is becoming a 'project' these days!!??
Doug

[dpastern]

Alex - I quite like #1, #2 is good but the framing could be better.

Dave

[AlexN]

Thanks guys.

Mike : :D yes.. Coronas a plenty.. This new setup of mine is great.. once its focused, maxim takes care of exposures/guiding without my input for hours on end.. what else is there to do but drink beer and be merry under the crystal clear skies? :D

Doug : Too right... Im smelling a 25hr project with the horse head.. the difference 1hr 40min more data made to this shot makes me ask, what would a 10~15hr Ha image look like? how much of the feint nebulosity could I pull out? Sounds like a plan/project to me.. especially with 4 or 5 hours of colour from dark skies (and a lend of some bodies eyes what with my colour blindness and all :P)

Dave : I agree, the framing could have been better... as it was I was taking 10 second exposures just to the main star cluster, it took me 30min or so to get it that well framed :D Had I been able to see in those shots that M20 could have been framed too, I would have, however in 10sec M20 was not at all visible. Tonight I'll grab 8x1200 sec with M20 just left of center in the frame and do a mosaic... which will make me want to do two more frames to attach to the top of those two and have a 4 panel mosaic containing what? 7 targets?

Ugh... another project... Oh well... Gotta do something in the hours before horse head rises!

[lesbehrens]

very nice. :thumbsup:

[dpastern]

hehehe Alex, go on, you know you just want another project lol!!! Look forward to seeing the images from tonights data set (hopefully the weather and viewing is good).

Dave

[DavidU]

Very nice ! Was this done with the TMB 80?

[AlexN]

Les, Thanks mate!

Dave, Haha.. I live for projects! :) Its what I do (well.. what I will do from now on..)

Overall I think im just getting bored of taking 1hr total exposure images and having an ever growing collection of mediocre images. where as , I think if from now I push out, and only add 5hr + total exposure images to my gallery, I'll have better chances of getting that one shot that you sit back and think.. Damn.. That was worth the colossal effort!

David - Yes, the TMB/LOMO 80mm F/6 was used for these images at prime focus... I used a Baader MPCC to flatten the field as I don't particularly want a 0.8x reducer.. 480mm focal length is QUIET wide enough..

[RobF]

Really nice going as usual Alex. I'll have to look over your shoulder at how you use Maxim sometime too. Do you set it to dither or use any special guiding plug-ins?

I'll have to check out NGC 300 next opportunity too. Somehow that one has missed creeping on to my radar up to now. Looks like a very nice object - will be keen to see what you come up with on that one too.

Cheers,
R

[AlexN]

Thanks Rob..

Last night was my first night using MaximDL to guide and image at the same time.. I set it to dither by a maximum of 5 pixels, which moves the target by about 8 pixels in the imaging scope.. that is plenty to provide a smoother final image..

Maxim was difficult to grasp for guiding to start with, so many options and configurations that it really seemed daunting, and PHD looked like a nice simple solution. After a conversation with Fred (Bassnut) the other night, I have come to the realisation that lots of options and configurations = increased control and fine tuning capabilities. Control is more important than easy.. Control, once figured out, actually creates easy in turn.. Once its all fine tuned, getting good images is easier! ( Calibration in MaximDL is MUCH faster than PHD too...)

Hahha.. I wont be posting my NGC300 image.. Its horrible.. light pollution won the fight... I'll have another go at it from barambah next weekend if I find time..

Cheers

[gregbradley]

Very good shots Alex.

If you get some light pollution the best tool is Gradient Xterminator, it
does a very good job. There's a free trial.

Greg.

[AlexN]

Thanks Greg.

I have gradient Xterminator plug-in for photoshop, and whilst it removes the gradient, I fear that the S/N ratio is very low.. NGC300 is fairly dim (as Im sure you know) and amongst the light pollution its very hard to bring out the galaxy.. a couple of weeks back I took an equal length exposure of NGC253 and the resulting image was really good, as 253 is quite a bit brighter.. I suspect that 80mm aperture and only 480mm focal length is not the best combination for chasing galaxies (except maybe M31/M33/SMC/LMC)

Alas I will continue to try..

[AlexN]

Despite my continual problems with blending Ha and OSC data.. I gave this a fly and I **THINK** it looks nice.. Please, someone inform me if the colour is horrendous.. however, to me it really looks the goods...

M8 - Ha:OSC (160min : 120min)

Ha from tonight, Colour from 4 weeks ago, colour data taken under dark skies with SS Pro + Megrez 90 FD.. Ha used as lum, blended with colour at 75:25 ratio.. Manually aligned in photoshop (I really want registar! :D)

What do you think?

[gbeal]

LOL, yep, colour is ghastly, but it is in the eye of the beholder obviously.
Gotta love that Lomo though.
Great images,
Gary

[AlexN]

Haha.. .Thanks Gary, Yes colour blindness has its downsides... you know, its great sometimes, yeah chicks, they love it :P but for astro imaging.. eeehh.. I'd be happier without it. :)

I had another go at the colour balance.. what do we think on this one? (possibly still horrible.. who knows...)

haha..

[jjjnettie]

Very beautiful Alex.
Are you getting out there again tonight?

[AlexN]

Thanks Jeanette, Yes I'll be out amongst it again tonight.. left everything setup today.. so its ready to go as soon as the sun goes to bed.. I'll be doing 8x20min on M20 to attempt my first mosaic comprising of 2hrs 40min on M8 and 2hrs 40min on M20.. nice wide panoramic view of the area.. depending on how I go I might get a few more on the horse head.. if Im able to stay up again! :D hahah..

[kinetic]

Ahhh here they are.....very nice Alex :)

Beautiful structure in both of those....
I too have the deficiency you describe.
Mine is only slight and only shows in the dot-picture mdeical
tests but the last few in the book. They get harder as you
go.
It never stopped me becoming a sparkie though.
Only an astronaut :)

Lovely work....I look forward to seeing the many projects ahead
of you!:thumbsup:

Steve

[multiweb]

:eyepop: Ooh yeah! Love the HH. You're on the Ha roll now. :thumbsup:

[AlexN]

Thanks Steve, Yes my deficiency is a little worse than that.. I got 4 pics in to the dot-picture test before I started getting the "colourblind" answer rather than the "correct" answer. This stopped me from achieving my dream.. I was destined to be a F/A-18 pilot for the RAAF.. I had sat all the entry tests, got the right marks at school.. got quite a long way through the selection process and then, the eye test.. Colour deficient = OUT ON MY EAR. well.. I could have had a great job piloting a desk for the RAAF... but no fighter jets.. I opted out at that point.

sigh.. Such Is Life

[kinetic]

Yep a bittersweet symphony....still, how many pilots get to see
the beautiful stuff we do....:astron::cold::camera::cheers :


Oh there's Peter! D'oh :)

Steve

[AlexN]

Peter is a glorified bus driver.. Flying a commercial passenger aircraft would be about as much fun as clipping toe nails..

And yes, had I got into the airforce, I dare say I would never have bought a telescope, and never would have been astro imaging last night, or having the fun little convo we were having last night :)

Im happy with how things worked out

[jjjnettie]

Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans.

[AlexN]

Well said..

[jjjnettie]

Lennon's lyrics can be very profound.

[multiweb]

:eyepop::lol: Errr... Not an expert but I'd reckon it's abit more involved flying an A380 with over 500 dudes in the back depending on you if the s**t hit the fan? IMHO? :whistle:

[Bassnut]

Oh yar, thats suitably over the top, nice one Alex, right up my ally :D

[AlexN]

:D Glad you've enjoyed yourself Fred! :)

I followed your advice, these were all guided with MaximDL.. Very intuitive!

[AlexN]

Yeah... so maybe less like a bus and more like driving a truck through city streets loaded with hazardous chemicals.. yes, there is potential for great disaster and many lives could be at risk if something goes wrong, but things rarely go wrong.. at 30,000 ft doing 800~850km/h theres plenty of time to think about what to do should something go pair shaped.. My comment was based around the fact that an F/A-18 pilot routinely flies at below 1000ft off the deck at 900~1100km/h to a top speed of Mach 1.75, if something goes wrong, its a split second between life and death.. excitement/adrenaline overload! F-111 pilots are trained to fly at 500ft altitude ASL at Mach 1.8, top speed of Mach 2.5 with a few thousand feet higher ASL... There is flying. Then there is flying fighter jets..

No matter whether you're talking cars, motorbikes, planes, boats, rockets or the space shuttle... Power to weight ratio is the difference between Average and Awesome..

[RobF]

They say flying can be hours or boredom interspersed with seconds of terror. I'm sure the airline pilots get plenty to keep them challenged from time to time, and it sure would be nice to get your feet off the ground regularly.

Bummer about the Air Force Alex. I did enough lessons in a light aircraft years ago to go solo, but couldn't really afford the bucks to keep doing it. Sigh...:(

[RobF]

Oops - meant to say too - I prefer the first composite pic by far - even that one a little too pinkish, but the Ha really brings it too life. Very smooth. :thumbsup:

[Bassnut]

I had reason to visit the FA18 site in my work, the pilots there are a bunch of wannkers, you did well to avoid that gig ;-).

[AlexN]

Thanks Rob..

Yes flying is nice no matter how you do it.. I've been up once or twice in jet aircraft, jumped out of a plane or two in my time also... I do like flying.. which is weird considering my irrational fear of heights.. flying is different..

Glad to hear you like the first composite too.. I have the most trouble with my colour vision when it comes to the red/pink/purple area of the spectrum.. so if its a little pinky, thats why... To my eyes its very pleasing, and I suppose, thats what matters in the end... :)

The second one I made more red after I got dad to compare it to a few other M8 images from rob gendler, mike sidonio, greg bradley and peter ward.. he then told me it was a little pink so I boosted the red until i was told it was closer to the mark...

Im capturing more Ha data on M8 right now, this time with the field of view shifted a bit to include M20. should be able to mosaic these together... maybe... depending on my photoshop skills.. :D

[AlexN]

Fred, There can be no question, pilots can be an arrogant bunch of dudes.. flat out.. however, the F/A-18 and F-111 pilots do something for a living that 99% of people on the planet do not.. that makes them feel special.. or superior... hence, the overwhelming sense of self-gratification in their demeanour... As I said earlier, I'm happy with how things turned out in the end anyway.. Here I am, sitting under the stars with a nice glass of bourbon, a few nice bits of glass and a camera enjoying myself no end!

[Hagar]

2 very nice images Alex. I cant help but think you could have used a bit longer exposures or maybe add a bit more to these.

Well done Mate.

[AlexN]

Thanks Doug.. I got 10x20 min on M8/M20 tonight which will be added to the current 8x20min.. and I do plan to add another 13~20x20 min subs to the horse head.. But I'm done for tonight.. after going to bed at 7:30am this morning, waking up at 1pm and then imaging again tonight, I've run myself into the ground.. :)

[Octane]

Alex,

You trooper. That Alnitak Region is very, very nice. I really like the contrast in this.

Regards,
Humayun