IC2948 / IC 2944 (Running Chicken), Gum 39 & Gum 41

[marc4darkskies]

One of the more striking images I've seen of the Running Chicken (IC 2948 / IC 2944) is Ken Crawfords NB image here (http://www.imagingdeepsky.com/Nebulae/IC2944/IC2944.htm). While I can't get the resolution of Ken's image, I was pleasantly surprised about how it turned out in LHaRGB. There's a lot to see in this patch of sky!! As well as the beautiful pink hues associated with HII emission, note the faint reflection neb to the right and of course Thackeray's globules (Bok globules discovered in this neb by David Thackeray).

I used F5.5 again (FL 825mm) so I could include the smaller Gum 39 & Gum 41 nebs in the FOV. Total exposure 10.25 hrs.

Small:
http://upload.pbase.com/gailmarc/image/122872808/large

Large:
http://upload.pbase.com/gailmarc/image/122872808/original

Don't forget, when you look at the large full res ("Original") version be sure to use <cntrl -> to zoom out so you can fit the whole image on the screen and <cntrl +> to zoom back in.

Cheers, Marcus

[multiweb]

Truly superb work Marcus. I particularly like how you've managed to keep the blue hues in your processing. The details in the bok globules are outstanding. :thumbsup:

[Octane]

Leaves my paltry effort for dust!

That is magnificent.

H

[suma126]

thats awesome :thumbsup:.

[Garyh]

Beautiful Marcus! just Beautiful..
Full size is definitely worth a close look!

[troypiggo]

That's fantastic! (Next on my list of targets)

[Paul Haese]

Awesome shot, heaps of detail and very finely processed. Colouring is quite nice too. Certainly one of the better images of this object I have seen.

[h0ughy]

so i see you took full advantage of the recent clear nights - WOW what a shot

[TheDecepticon]

That is the best shot Ive seen of this area in colour. The blandness it suffers in a lot of images really drags it down, but this is great! Lots of detail and natural looking colours. Top stuff:eyepop:

[marc4darkskies]

Yes, I often see it rendered mostly red but when I did the initial RGB combine it was obvious that there was plenty of blue. Glad you liked in Marc!



Thanks Humayun! But I liked your rendition ... nice colours ... just not as deep as this one. Anyway, we both produced "poultry" efforts. :)



Thanks Shane!



Thanks Gary!! Yes, I like to post full res - otherwise what's the point of having an 11 MPix camera :shrug:



Thanks Troy. Go for it! - look forward to seeing what you come up with!



Hey thanks a lot Paul - glad you think that. There were suprisingly few examples to use as a reference too, so in a sense I was on my own.



Absolutely!! Seeing was 2 arcsecs or better too :party:. Probably should have imaged something at F11.7 :sadeyes: Thanks mate!


Thanks for that - yeah, I like to make the colours jump out. Not sure why other renditions don't (other than NB stuff). :question:

[Peter Ward]

Nice one. :thumbsup::thumbsup:

[TrevorW]

Scope+camera+good seeing+total hrs+good processing= one fine image

Go to top of the class 9/10

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks Peter.



What??!! Where did I lose the point?? :P:D

[TrevorW]

Didn't want you to get a swelled head !!!!

[zipdrive]

Awsome FOV, beautifully captured!!:thumbsup:

[AlexN]

Fantastic shot Marcus.. beautifully defined detail, razor sharp, great colours..

A real winner.

[gregbradley]

Wonderful image Marcus. It did come out extremely well. It tends to be a bland object so I didn't expect much but yours is vibrant and interesting and wonderful hues and details.

Greg.

[DavidU]

A very impressive effort Marcus.
cheers !

[Tom Davis]

Really nice!!

Tom

[marc4darkskies]

That's OK Trevor. I'm still not 400% happy with my stars yet anyway so I'd probably only give it an 8/10 myself! ;)



Thanks Dave!



Cheers Alex! But I feel a Sidonio coming on to tidy up the stars.



Thanks Greg. I don't think you've imaged this one yet have you? Give it a go!



Thanks Dave



Thanks a lot Tom.

[spearo]

Great detail
love the BOKs
frank

[Lester]

Fantastic image, thanks for the view.

All the best.

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks guys!

[atalas]

Totally awesome!

[jase]

Excellent work Marcus. Should be stoked with such a result. You've managed the reflection neb blend well. Well done.

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks a lot Louie!



Thanks Jase. Yeah I'm pretty happy with it - I stayed true to the colour balance in the raw RGB combine and that paid off ... at least it's different to all the others I've seen on the web!! :D I'm not 100% happy with the stars, I had some star elongation to fix - probably as a result of camera tilt. I need to tighten up my CAA I think. The subtle reflection neb was definitely a bonus!

Cheers, Marcus

[strongmanmike]

A mighty fine image Marcus, lots of depth and detail.

I agree the stars look a little silver and monochrome - almost seperated from the background at the original size, so I openned the original size and then viewed it at 60% and it looks really great.

I would assume you have picked up the reflection nebula because you did a lot of Lum, had you done just a HaRGB you would have missed it I'd imagine?

Good to see imagers posting full res images too....we are a rare breed :P

Top stuff, you have a great FL/FOV to work with

Mike

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks Mike!! Yes, 11x15min Lum subs gave me a lot of signal to work with! It was a pleasant surprise to see the faint stuff was blue! I hadn't seen it in other renditions probably because Ha was the more dominant signal. I had a bit of trouble blending the Ha stars to avoid the dark halo look too but it turned out OK (just).

Cheers, Marcus

PS: Yep - posting full res sorts the men from the boys eh?!!!