Eta Carina - Third & Final Process

[David Fitz-Henr]

Hello all,
I've had one final repro for my Eta Carina image data. I've learned a bit since the first two and have had some good tips from Marc (Ze Frogginator) and Marcus (Marc4DarkSkies). I'm just waiting for some good weather now as I have ironed out the spacing distance for my Paracorr, so should be able to achieve tighter focus in the future which should make it easier to control the star sizes.

Small Version:
http://www.pbase.com/david_fitz_henry/image/125040484/large

Large Version:
http://www.pbase.com/david_fitz_henry/image/125040484/original

Bring on some clear skies !!!!

[multiweb]

Quite a shot David. The details in the neb are hubblesque! :eyepop: Stars colors good but they 're a tad harsh in saturated rings. I know it's hard to have the best of both worlds. Sharp neb and soft stars. All in one a landmark shot. One to aspire too. Certainly one I'll look at as a reference for a long while to come. :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

[astroron]

Nice Image David,:) I agree with Marc, I found the Halo's in the large version disconserting,but other wise the nebula is beautiful:thumbsup:

[David Fitz-Henr]

Thanks Marc & Ron. Yes, I was pleased to get the colours and detail looking so good in the nebula. And yes, I now need to work out the best way to get the stars to look natural - it doesn't seem to be that easy!! I have softened the halos somewhat (using Media filter in PS) and updated the image, but still not great. I tried using curves on the halo, but then some stars end up with dark halos - too little and others have bright halos ... Perhaps the trick is to select groups of stars associated with different parts of the image (ie. in bright neb, in medium neb, outside neb, etc) ??