Orions Sword completed

[strongmanmike]

I managed to get out on Fri and Sat nights, man Saturday night was HOT, it was so hot even the mighty ProLine with its super cooling couldn't get the chip to -35 until 11pm, even at 10pm it was still 29 deg :eyepop:

Anyway I grabbed several hours more each of Lum and Ha and added it to the previous data set giving a total exposure time of 12.5hrs for LHaRGB :)

The extra data has brought out significantly more detail particularly in the outer faint nebulosity.

As usual, you can click on any of the following images once they open and you will see a few other different versions of the data set

Small 40% size, full frame image 1.3meg: http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/120372333/original

Bigger 66% size, full frame image to have more of a surf around 2.5meg:
http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/120372164/original

and this is my favourite bit :):
http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/120518175/original

That'll do now on the great nebula I think...? Not sure the field is big enough to bother gathering any more data, lots to see in there already :thumbsup:

Cheers

Mike

[leinad]

Same as usual when I see your images Mike. Woww!

[TrevorW]

Spectacular :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

[Octane]

Like a watercolour landscape painting.

Absolutely superb.

Although, get rid of that satellite trail, will ya! Or, is that a stray diffraction spike from a nearby bright star?

H

[strongmanmike]

Glad you like it Humi and yes I think M42 should look a bit like an oil painting, I love that look for it :)



Sorry but I left it in on purpose, I love the odd man made trail in images when they move diagonally and aren't too obvious, dunno, I think it is the David Malin influence, there were often trails in his images a generation ago...I'm locked in the 80's :lol:

Mike

[Tom Davis]

That a beauty, Big Mike! Excellent detail and color!!

Tom

[Nightskystargaz]

Mike,

:thumbsup:, very nice :D.

:thanx:,

Tom

[AlexN]

Spectacular is the word of the day :)

Outstanding! Top job big fella, colour and detail are tremendous...

[DavidU]

Just magnificent Mike.

[telecasterguru]

Words fail me. Just beautiful.

Frank

[tornado33]

Lovely shot, particularily the dusty browns of the interstellar dust and the reds and blues of the nebula. Were short exposures needed to stop the core burning out?
Scott

[Bassnut]

Top work as usual Mike, awesome stuff. Was thinking, since you have so much Ha, why not do some OIII and SII and see how that looks?.

[AlexN]

Fred, Are you suggesting some extra data for a... dare I say it.. Repro?

[Bassnut]

Oh no, not a Sid, gaud no, hopefully something ......... much better, from scratch ? :D.

[strongmanmike]

Thanks, glad you appreciated it guys :)

Ah Fred, yes OIII and SII :question: I had intended to do that but as time goes on with lots of weeks in between, a no sky backyard and without an observatory ah sigh..the enthusiasm for staying on a single object caaaan drop off a tad :sadeyes:

Mike

[h0ughy]

lurvely, simply lurvley. i cant wait to image this beasty from my own pad. patience......... your interpretation is pretty Mike

[richardo]

Hey Mike,
long time no comment for me... but I've been hangin' in the back blocks checking out images. Been a pretty poor 6 months here with weather, but have some image projects on the way, but weather is still all over the place.

Holy guacamole:eyepop:, Batman, aaahhh make that Strongman, this is some huge, high res real- estate with your killer setup. I had my mon fairly up there when I first viewed your large image, thought it appeared a wee bit grainy, then dropped it back to where it should be, and voila, mmmmm very nice indeed.
What impresses me with this image apart from the lovely detail in the nebulosity are the tiny stars that are so well defined... that Taka still turns my head. There's a little reflection neb just left and down from M43 that I've never seen...

Thanks for this, most enjoyable!:thumbsup:

Rich

[strongmanmike]

Cheers Mr Doghouse :P



B-I-T-C-H :mad2: :thumbsup:

[Jen]

:eyepop::eyepop: hubba hubba Mike now thats the way i like it :thumbsup::thumbsup:
What a gorgeous pic :love::love::love:

Now get back out there and do some more pics :lol:

[strongmanmike]

Howdy Richardo :hi:

Where you been at :shrug:

Glad you liked the image. Yes I usually favour a very slight grain at times over processed smoothing, always looks better to me than the obviously smoothed/noise reduced look, which is very hard to avoid if you use noise reduction filters.

Do you mean that small yellow nebula? Yes that nebula was a nice surprise to me too.

Shame about your weather :(..been crapola here over Chrissy/New Year then cleared up after I went back to work :lol:..always the way. Paul Haese told me the other day that he had 9 clear nights ina row - bustardo :mad2: ....:lol:

Cheers mate

Mike
oh and I have an Astrophysics Starfire not a Takahashi

[pmrid]

Just stunning Mike. It has 'texture' and depth capped of by those colours. I am in awe.
Peter

[strongmanmike]

Fred has me thinking again...I may also do a few hours each of OIII and SII as well...:question:

But then again I am keen to image something new too :confused2:

[strongmanmike]

Yeh? gee thanks, I'm Glad you liked it Peter :)

[Jen]

:D Yes yes do something new Mike :thumbsup: Even though Orion is my fav :P

[Hagar]

Very very nice Mike the detail has come up a treat. A visual feast to say the least.

[bratislav]

Spectacular shot Mike! Although I can't help but remember your early ASA attempt with the same object, but with only fraction of the exposure duration. Ever missing that large, fast scope ? ;)

Bratislav

[richardo]

Ah, sorry about that Mike, see what happens when your out of the loop....
Yes of course it's the Astro physics starfire.... dopey me..:screwy:

Had to help a friend out for about 5 months, she had a break down. Plus we had one of the wettest winters ever here, good for the land at least. Conditions since have been pretty poor. Have done quite a few lum images from September through, but nothing worthy of posting. Also been getting my mounts drive system running well.
So this years going to be devoted to imaging... well lets hope:rolleyes:

All the best for now.
Rich

[strongmanmike]

Hi Brat

Oh dear, sigh...the ASA N12 it promised so much but delivered nothing :mad2:

That N12 image was a colaborative effort between myself and Chris Willington, Chris also got an N12 around the same time as I did and initially his worked quite well. Chris began o have trouble with it after a short while though and he has since bought an APO. :rolleyes:

The N12 Orions Sword image was indeed pretty good, Robert Gendler even went as far as saying he thought it was the new bench mark image of this field. There are some things I like better in my latest version though and some things I liked about the ASA N12 shot, each has its good points but yes overall the ASA shot was pretty spectacular, 12" aperture at F3.6 is a killer imaging optical specification, that was why I wanted one :sadeyes:

Mike

[strongmanmike]

Glad you liked it Doug :)

[Doomsayer]

A great image for sure.

Re the ASA12
Provided you can stand the cost of a good stiff CF tube (eg from Public Misslies) and can source a good corrector, a fast 12" newt is not that hard to build if you know what you're doing.

Sorry to hijack the thread Mike.

guy

[strongmanmike]

Thanks Guy, don't worry I ahve considered it....:thumbsup:

Mike

[gregbradley]

Great shot Mike. It looks good.

I shot this one in narrowband about 6 weeks ago now and haven't had the chance to process it. Its a great target.

Greg.

[RB]

Mike the tonal range and vast number of hues in there is just amazing.
Excellent capture mate.

:thumbsup:

[strongmanmike]

Wha tha??? you can leave such data just sitting around? :eyepop:
Mike

[strongmanmike]

So glad you liked it Andreus :thumbsup:

Although from experiencing the look of the vast majority of shots of this area, a few people may find my version a bit strong or even a bit "too" colourful :shrug: (:screwy: :D) I have always imagined a deep Orions Sword to be a bit like an oil painting, or as Humi said, a water colour so from the outset when I processed this that is what I had in mind and I am (almost) very happy with how it finished up :)

Mike

[Octane]

It fulfils the watercolour cast with ease, Mike.

Once again, truly beautiful. The mind boggles.

Still, stop juxtaposing the romanticism of your masterpiece and remove the human elements. They don't belong! :tonguepoke:

H

[strongmanmike]

:einstein:+ :nerd: +:painting:= Me :)

[strongmanmike]

Ok...I gave in Humi :rolleyes:

http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/orion_nebula

Mike :thumbsup:

[Tom Davis]

You can buy my N12, it works well :)

I've got my eyes on another scope; it's not ready though. But when it is then my ASA will have to go up for sale. I will miss it though; it has been a great imaging scope.


Tom

[strongmanmike]

Yes.....wouldn't that be a funny twist of fate :rolleyes: :lol: