One more time...NGC 3576

[Peter Ward]

Put a lot of data into this...over 32 hours...I like the dusty bits.

http://www.atscope.com.au/BRO/gallery55.html

[Dean]

top pic... nice colour too :)

[Jaybee]

AWESOME!! so much detail, almost 3d:thumbsup:

[spearo]

Excellent
love it
frank

[multiweb]

Very cool - the brown dust really sticks out. :thumbsup:

[Tom Davis]

I like the dusty bits too!!

Tom

[Martin Pugh]

Fine image Peter. You did a grand job on the hot 'core' of NGC 3576.

Cheers
Martin

[Peter Ward]

Thanks for the feedback guys. Much appreciated.

I keep thinking "more data!" but given the inclement weather in Sydney, I doubt this one will get any more before June 11th ;)

[DavidU]

Top work indeed Peter. GR8 equipment & skill.

[gregbradley]

30 hours is a hell of an effort. Nice to bring out all that dust that is normally hidden.

Greg.

[bmitchell82]

I showed this photo to some friends of mine, and said, tell me who took this photo. response was hubble.... Peter that is a brilliant shot and although its going to take me a long time to get the kind of quality equipment needed to even (on a mechanical/technical level let alone processing skills) match this effort its a bench mark for me to get there.

Thanks once again for the image!

[leon]

I was going to say something like f..., :eyepop:man that is awesome stuff Peter. :thumbsup:

Leon :thumbsup:

[leon]

Dont need to match Brendan, ;) just enjoy.:thumbsup:

Leon :thumbsup:

[RobF]

Stunning work Peter. I've really enjoyed the (Ha) introduction to this object, then being taken along for the ride as more and more data has been collected.

[Peter Ward]

Thanks Leon, Brendan, Rob, Greg...Martin, Tom...well everyone!

Yet another tweaked version has gone up on the web (you'll need to re-fresh your browser) ....so much data, hence it's difficult to know how to handle yet still keep the image looking "natural"

I suspect it comes down to dealer's choice....but I do look at *a lot* if images of the same object on the web to make sure I'm not being misled by poor processing choices or artifacts.

What I personally like is: with patience + CCD you can get good imagery from the 'burbs that reveal faint structures (eg the dust) that really have only been hinted at with emulsion based imagery.

[Paul Haese]

Excellent smooth data and superbly processed. The time shows and you ought to be congratulated for that alone. Having done 22 hours myself I know how much effort is involved in just processing alone. I think this is one of your best or at least in the top 3 of your images.

However, one thing is bugging me and is more obvious in your images now since getting the new camera. That being field curvature. Surely Peter you could buy a flattener or reducer/flattener to correct this problem. It is small and maybe I should not say anything but you have all this wonderful gear and your images are always lovely to look at but there is always this one thing I can see. :)

[Peter Ward]

:lol: Yeah. Well, the reality is one (really expensive) flattner is already fitted....that said, you really have to see a KAF16803 CCD in the flesh to see how big this sucker is...and as yet I'm not sure whether it's alignment, flexure, tilt or all three causing the top edge elongation...which I could crop...but hey....it is what it is...

Nirvana would be nice....but I suspect I need to migrate to a 100mm (backend) RCOS system for this to become a reality.

Can I interest you in a much loved 14.25" RCOS for $35k ? :)

For now, I'll tweak the system, as despite Cindy (Crawford) having a mole, she's still pretty cute.

[PeterM]

Yeah ok, not bad, as the eyeballs pop yet again.

PeterM.

[Paul Haese]

Mate I would love a 14.5 RCOS. Not sure about that price.

I sort of knew that the sensor was big but yes that would significantly alter the capacity of the flattener as these are usually designed for one type of imaging sensor at a maximum size. Maybe some tilt is at fault here too like you said (my system needs work on that too). All good points. Sorry to get on your case, just want to see your images drive me to do better too.

[Octane]

Peter,

Wow -- that's just sensational.

On my 24" widescreen, I feel like reaching in and touching the nebulosity.

Exquisite!

H

[David Fitz-Henr]

That's an awesome image Peter, certainly has a 3D look about it!! You must have found enough counterweights to balance that new STX beast of yours ;)
It may be worth experimenting with the flattener / CCD distance as this can be fairly critical in achieving a really flat field. I found that I could obtain a much flatter field by changing the recommended spacing between my Paracorr / CCD chip from 55mm to 58mm.