Lambda Centauri Nebula IC2944 with Atik 11002M

[Hagar]

I have spent the last couple of nights collecting data on IC2944.
My original capture was to be 50 minutes of each colour and 100 minutes of Luminance. At this point I was a little surprised at how little red data for the nebula I had managed so I decided to capture a little more and also some Ha that I could blend into the lum and the red channel. I captured a further 4 X 15 minute exposures of the red channel.
In total I ended up with: 6.8 hrs of captured images
5 X 10 minute Red
5 X 10 minute Green
5 X 10 minute Blue
5 X 10 minute Lum
4 X 15 minute Red
10 X 15 minute Ha
Combined as Ha+Lum, Ha+Red,Green,Blue as LRGB
Camera: Atik 11002M
Filters: Baader LRGBHa
Scope: Takahashi FSQ106ED at F5
Guided on a Losmandy G11 Mount

Image cropped a little to remove edge problems from alignment drift over the 2 nights.
Hi Res version Here: http://www.darkskyau.com/cm/displayimage.php?pid=273&fullsize=1 Approx 2MB

[strongmanmike]

One of your (if not "the") best images mate.

Great shot

If you could camoflage the halo around Lambda Cen just a little more it would be just about perfect :thumbsup:. Some will say it's too red but it looks quite good even so and you have the whole chicken there all be it upside down :P

Some say that cameras are all the same and it is just the imager that makes the difference..well I dunno...it seems rather coincidental that your images could improve so much since the advent of the Atik11002, looks like you are on a winner there Doug :)

Mike

[TrevorW]

Very nice indeed Doug well done

[Alchemy]

Looks good, agree with mike about the purple halo... Minor detail,

The star colors are impressive. If you look closely in the large image, to the left of the main nebulosity there's a white line..... An asteroid ?

Could possibly do some extra sharpening and layer it in on the lines of nebulosity tombring out more detail, again a very minor point.

All in all pretty good,
See ya

Clive

[Hagar]

Thanks Mike, The halo is a pest I don't quite know what to do about it but there must be a fix. As for the camera I am very happy with what it can do and a little surprised at the resolution gained in the images.


Thanks Trevor.


Thanks Clive, the star colour was my main concern with the Ha Blend.
The white line you wrote about is I think 4 tiny stars very close together. It is evident in each and every file of the stack when blown up to 300%. That is as long as I am looking at the right line. See attached image.

[multiweb]

ha... now you're talking. Impressive. :thumbsup:

[DavidU]

Another monster image Doug.

[h0ughy]

great image Doug

[paulF]

This is awesome!!! I love the way Saturn looks on the left side at the bottom part of the Nebula :)
Great work Doug :)

[Alchemy]

Yep thats the one..... You've been holding out on thte detail, there's even more than your large file showed......excellent

[danielsun]

Beautiful image Doug! I think the camera has made a difference.:thumbsup:

Doug, Photoshop Astronomy by R.Scott Ireland has useful tips for enhancing or reducing star halo's as well as all round processing techniques.
I think it's a very handy book.:thumbsup:


Cheers Daniel.

[gregbradley]

A fine image Doug. Very nicely done.

Greg.

[Hagar]

Thanks Marc.



Thanks David Its big alright the finished TIFF file is 62.5MB


Thanks David



Those stars do look a bit like Saturn. I'm just happy they are resolved well enough to see.





Thanks Daniel Might look at that book. I think I have all the others. The huge CCD and big pixels must make some difference but I just don't know how it will go on the RC8. I am having too much fun with it on the FSQ.



Thanks Greg. I am really enjoying this camera and the high resolution it produces.

[David Fitz-Henr]

That's a great image, Doug!! Good detail and colour in the high-res version - well done !!!

[Hagar]

Thanks David, I just found another way to bring in the stars from a standard RGB version. I have learnt so much in this last couple of weeks working with really good data. It has been very enjoyable.

[desler]

Really impessive Doug, just enjoyable !

Darren

[mithrandir]

In the UCAC3 catalog your four stars, from the bottom, are 053-121547, 053-151560, 053-151572, 053-151585

[Hagar]

Thanks for that info Andrew. What program are you using to get this information and overlay it on the image? It is always interesting to see the actual catalogue details in an image.

[richardo]

Yes great going Doug!
I enjoyed flicking between the two images you posted here.
The full res version is pretty nice to look around as well.

Good stuff.

Rich

[RB]

Now that's a lovely shot, well done Doug !!

Keep up the good work.

:thumbsup:

[mithrandir]

The overlay is from unimap. Once i had the Tycho designations, I could lock CdC on 8976-01401-1 and zoom until it switched to the UCAC3 catalog (4.5GB), at which point those 4 appeared. Edit from the CdC image.

[jase]

Solid imaging Doug. The result speaks for itself. It would appear you are starting to get the Ha+R blends under control. Thoroughly enjoyed the colour saturation you've obtained too. A marked improvement with this set up, though I don't think its solely the gear, but the time you're putting in to the processing. Keep them coming.

[Hagar]

Thanks Jase, I think I am finally starting to put it all together and get a real feel for the processing side of things. It has taken me a while to work up to what I now consider a great imaging setup, now all I need is for the weather gods to be kind to me. The Ha blend is wonderful and imparts the effect I was after but the stars are still the hardest thing to get right but I am getting there, all be it slowly.

[telemarker]

An amazing FOV with that setup. Shows the nebulous detail in all its glory with lovely pinpoint stars. Great image :thumbsup:

[Hagar]

Thanks Kieth, It is an amazing field of view when using this big CCD. I couldn't believe the difference in field between the 8300 ccd and this 11002 CCD. This CCD while not as high a QE as the 8300 has the advantage of a larger well depth and bigger pixels making it a treat to use.