The Helix - Reloaded

[jase]

Hi All,
Long time no post...keeping busy, usual drill - you know how it is I feel sure...

May as well go out of '09 with a bang, well at least star shedding material that will go bang or burn out. Have not been actively imaging for sometime while I sort out some equipment woes, so here's a collaborative image with Alvin Jeng of Lightbuckets. Our mission was to top our previous attempt we produced over a year ago when the data was binned 2x2. This time, all data was collected 1x1 and we had more of it, but in reality it didn't make a dramatic difference to resolution given the seeing played a major role. It is however a significant improvement from the previous attempt with cleaner distinction between emission lines as the OIII ejecta shows. The Helix is always a fun target to image given its such a challenge. Here, I've presented the SHO palette which consists of SII:290min,Ha:200min,OIII:280min (total 12.8hrs).

The Helix - Reloaded (http://cosmicphotos.com/gallery/image.php?fld_image_id=196&fld_album_id=11)

Oh, if you're looking for challenge, give the rarely imaged Fornax Dwarf Galaxy (http://cosmicphotos.com/gallery/image.php?fld_image_id=192&fld_album_id=12) a try. Its faint and diffused requiring long subs, particularly if you want to pick up the surrounding nebulosity. I submitted this to Astronomy mag and was notified I was the first person to ever submit this target. Clearly not on everyone's agenda...

Enjoy!:D

I'll get in early...I hope you and your family have a great Christmas along with a safe and prosperous New Year.

Cheers

[En1gma]

Wow.

Love your work and this is no exception.

Rob.

[Octane]

Jase,

That is truly phenomenal.

It looks pretty much like the Hubble image.

Congratulations.

All the best for the holidays and new year.

Always in admiration,
Humayun

[TrevorW]

Great stuff Jase

those lightbucket scopes really do produce good data

[DavidU]

:jawdrop:Mate ! Gawdamn it. Amazing.

[jase]

Thanks Rob. Pleased you liked it.:)




Other than sharing the same colour palette Humayun, thats where the similarities end! Not hard to replicate a hubble palette using PS clipping masks. We acquired considerable data, but most was trashed as the FWHM was too high. The average FWHM was 2 to 2.5, sometimes reaching 4.5 (worst case). I was cautious of using anything over 3, but its amazing how far you can push the data with deconvolution. Tightened everything up quite nicely. Thanks again. :)



Indeed Trevor. The Lightbuckets folks like to push there instruments now and then. I was only too happy to oblige to process the data! :D


Cheers Dave. Pleased you liked it. The Helix kinda puts the Fornax dwarf image to shame. :lol: That said, I'm still a huge wide field aficionado...that is once I get myself up and running again. Thanks again.

[sjastro]

Jase,

Not detracting from your great Helix image, I find the Fornax image more interesting.

For a challenge you should try the Carina Dwarf. :)

Steven

[multiweb]

Very cool picture Jase. :thumbsup: I like RGB versions of the helix close up better because there are soo many background galaxies in this area that don't necessarily show up in NB shots. Still Superb details.

[jase]

Thanks Steven. Indeed, I recall your efforts on the Carina Dwarf. Pretty cool work. May put it on this list, but don't believe is such a wide field target (could be wrong as I haven't researched its angular size). There's not many galaxies to image at 530mm...SMC, LMC, a few dwarfs... Anyway, thanks for checking it out and making comment. Appreciated.



Cheers Marc! Traditional RGB renditions have their place. Everyone does them, some good, some bad. Few tackle it in narrowband. Its not that easy to get the colours right given its quite dominate in Ha so you see many renditions looking really green. Careful blending of Ha and SII is the key and iteratively through a few layers to get the desired rich hue. Thanks again for your comments.

[Garyh]

All that detail!
Superb work like Always Jase!
mmmm 24" RC very nice gear at lightbuckets!
Must give it a go now that we have broadband!
Have a great chrissey break!
cheers Gary

[sjastro]

The angular dimensions of the Carina Dwarf is about 20 X 15 arcminutes.
Size is approximate as the dwarf is incredibly faint.

Might be worthwhile even at 530mm.

Regards

Steven

[Paul Haese]

Superb image and great resolution. Mind you I would expect nothing less than this from a 24" scope. Thanks for posting Jase.

[Jeffkop]

A very fitting reward for your effort Jase, as good as any image of this nebula for sure. So much fine detail around the edge of the "iris" too.

I dont recall a mention of the camera involved in this image???

Thanks for the eye catcher

[strongmanmike]

Nice combine job Jase, great detail and colours too :thumbsup: ...but then ya'd expect that from a 1/4mill proffessional telescope with a master in control of the processing ;) :D

I too got some amazing OIII structure data for my deep Helix earlier in the year

http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/115567607/original

but try as I might I couldn't fully combine it with my Ha and SII without camoflaging it :shrug:...any secret there?

Great job on the dwarf, also some excellent res there for an FSQ too.

Mike

[jase]

Thanks Gary! For sure, you should have a go. The possibilities are endless...collect some high res lum data off their scopes and combine it with some RGB of your own. Hope to catch up with you in the new year and looking forward to seeing some more of your work. Cheers!



Hmmmm, could be onto something there Steven. Maybe able to make a reasonable scene out of it. Noted and on the list... Thanks again.



Cheers Paul. 24" scope can deliver impressive results....but...Having top quality gear at your disposal doesn't make you a pro... you still need to put in the hours. I seriously wrestled with this data. The displayed image was the fifth iteration which I finally settled with. Pleased you liked the end result. If the Helix crossed the meridian higher than 45 degrees from Rodeo, New Mexico, I may have a chance to rival other professional landbased scopes.



Thanks Jeff. Oversampled data craves deconvolution...so I gave it heaps! Surrounding area only PC40, but the towards the core I blended in PC80 and 120 data. This provided most of the detail along with subtle use of PS HPF - too easy to over do it.
The camera used for the Helix image was the Apogee Alta U42. Its a back illuminated camera with a >90% QE, 4.2mp. Very well matched for the 4.8mtr FL of the 24" RC. Not cheap however - US$38.5k. I guess thats where rental scopes come into their own... Thanks for checking out the image and making comment.



Thanks Mike. You've picked up some stunning structure in your rendition. Kudos! In a work in progress image, I've got a similar palette which is a Ha:OIII:OIII blend to really express the OIII ejecta. Its not ready yet, but looks impressive.

Sounds like you struggled similar to me with the blend. I didn't have any problems with the Ha, SII. With the Ha as the base layer, and SII on top. I made the SII layer as lighten mode and stretched the data to a midway point, then dropped the opacity of the Ha layer to taste so the SII highlights were more pronounced. You can stretch the SII further if desired. I then flattened the layer and used this as the reworked SII. Sure, I've probably upset the narrowband purist, but in the quest for aesthetics you'll go to great lengths. You'll find the reworked SII with be a better match for the Ha data.

Where I had to make a compromise was with the OIII data. The stronger I made the ejecta visually, it would simply mute much of the Ha/SII structure. Drove me nuts. I ended up masking it. This was achieved by coping the OIII layer, creating a hide all mask, then pasting the OIII layer into the mask itself to match only where the OIII structure was present. I then simply dropped the opacity of the layer to taste. I'm sure there is a better way of doing it...

Anyway, I hope this helps with your rendition. Thanks for your comments.

====
Thanks All. Appreciated. :2thumbs:

[Tom Davis]

That's a stunner!

Tom

[marc4darkskies]

Nice processing job on the Helix Jase - wouldn't mind getting my hands on such data myself one day! :D

I like your Fornax dwarf shot a lot! :thumbsup: I considered imaging it too but thought it may be a bit, well, dull. My mistake! :screwy: and it's now back on my target list! Shame you didn't have some more image scale at your disposal - 3.5 arcsec/pixel is a little coarse for this object.

Cheers, Marcus

[RB]

Beautiful beautiful shot Jase !

All the best mate.
Hope you have a wonderful Christmas and New Year too.

:)

[Ric]

A wonderful image Jase, the detail and structure captured within the Helix is amazing.

The Fornax is also a lovely image very crisp and clear.

Have a great Christmas.

Cheers

[jase]

Cheers Tom. Pleased you liked it.



Thanks Marcus. Always fun to hit something off the beaten path or provide a different perspective of a regular target. Agreed, sample not ideally optimal for such a target. Nebulous targets don't show major scale differences, but galaxies with their finer details count. Would be be good to see what you could come up with using your rig. Thanks for your comments.



Thanks Andrew. Much appreciated. Hope you have a good one!



Cheers Ric. Pleased you liked both of them. Helix still outshines the Fornax IMO, but both have merit I guess. Have a good one too!

====
Once again, thanks all for your ongoing support. :thumbsup:

[strongmanmike]

Yep, same! :mad2:





Ah huh....:confuse3:....:confused2:... dum ex-strongman is thinking...o - k...got it...I think? :question:



Ya welcome. If I go back and do a Sidonio :P....I'll try your approach, and again, a super job on that big scope mate.

cheers :thumbsup:

[multiweb]

I kind of like the teal green and red mix. Although that NB shot shows way more details. I'll use that as reference when I try to do a bit of NB on it to get the colors right. :) Again superb work as always. :thumbsup: