Starless Ha Lagoon

[multiweb]

Collected 10x20min the other night with the C11 while still sorting out cables and stuff. This was taken at prime focus but without the AO as I couldn't find any guide star. Still need to learn and some practice on how to focus the bloody guider. Doesn't take much at all to move in and out :P I guess when I finally find the spot I can leave it there.

So I did a Fred on the processing. There's a bigger version on my gallery here (http://memkxw.bay.livefilestore.com/y1pfqiPoSK9TXw79jtEINhei2QPuFcLsWr4 sFBKK92B8ovhwhBpg5SMFcUSj-y8gwmRpCJtTx4Wg8LesJZjBiti-FQPDnmLHRdm/M8_Ha__starless_f.jpg?psid=1). Thanks for looking. :thumbsup:

[strongmanmike]

Hmmm that's an interesting off the beaten track kind of object Marc, I haven't seen very many examples of this on the web, is this the first time you have imaged it? :P

Ok serious, I would perhaps up the contrast and sharpen it just a tad, but it is a nice starless rendition really, becasue of the FOV it kinda doesn't even look "starless" :question:

Mike

[TrevorW]

Hi Marc how'd you get rid of all the stars ?? also needs to be a bit more contrasty IMO

looks good otherwise

[renormalised]

And....you look up in the sky tonight at M8, lo and behold...no stars!!!:):P A few civilisations in the area are not very happy!!!:):P

Good piccie Marc:)

[multiweb]

Well you know me Mike. Always ready to shoot something new, original, never done before. :P Seriously M8 is right up, it's bright in Ha, easy to find in a finder and great for testing. Thanks for the comments. :thumbsup:


I ring Fred and he comes over with his eraser 2.0 :lol: Nah just the PS healing brush. CS5 has a content aware tool now. Pretty cool. Glad you like it. :thumbsup:


Thanks Carl. :thumbsup: You've nailed it. With the PC and the NSW new privacy laws relating to public use of photos you are not allowed to take pictures of other star systems without their written approval. :)

[renormalised]

The paperwork's in triplicate too:):P

And by the time the approval does get here, it's your 150th great grandchildren that finally benefit from it:):P

Not that they need it, cos' they've been there about a dozen times in the last 10 years, when they've been on school holidays!!:):P

[DavidU]

Nice and eerie looking Marc.
it re mind's me of my starless 47Tuc LOL
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/attachment_browse.php?a=69465

[multiweb]

Is that vogon cruisers I hear above? ;)




:eyepop::lol: Nearly spat my coffee on the keyboard. Thanks David. I needed a good laugh :thumbsup:

PS: This looks exactly like my OAG fov at the moment - now you see my problem. ;)

[renormalised]

Nah....they were wiped out in the "20 Years War" of 3285....that's ancient history!!!!:):P

[CoolhandJo]

Good job on star removal! Looks nice. Can t wait until you get your AO and guide combination working. I read your post and followed the link to starlight express. looks like good gear!

[multiweb]

Thanks Paul. :thumbsup: Yes it's the cheapest way to get flawless guiding with any (cheaper) mount. The G11 is very good but at 3m FL you need PME performance and that's another money bracket so AO is for me.

Cons: Well it's another thing you need to power/connect to and sort out cables and drivers etc.... Also you will have to work a out few things if you want to use coma correctors, field flatteners, filters, etc... that require precise spacing in the image train. I.E. do you put them before or after the AO unit. And there's always the problem of finding a bright guidestar so fast sensitive guider like the SX-Lodestar is the go but it's not included with the AO.

But all together a few intitial setup headaches are worth putting up with compared to splashing $$$$$ on a top of the range mount IMHO. Unless you are of course willing to splash that kind of dow. :)

[CoolhandJo]

You are more than up to the challenge! You will have it singing in no time.. Possibly AO will become mainsrteam soon? I know that there are some exciting products coming to mainstream in the near future. Stuff like gear management units that bolt onto existing mounts and predict and compensate (speed up or down). sort of like AO but mechanical. Also, direct drive mounts (no gears so to speak). I saw a graph the other day for the gear management bolt on unit and the mount was managing a PE peak to Peak of 0.6 unguided!

[AlexN]

Nice! Get that AO running mate... :D

The image is very 'fred-esque' however I think you've done really well..

[multiweb]

Thanks mate. :thumbsup: Trying to! :P

[AlexN]

:) How are you finding the C11 at F/6.3? Its quite a challenge isn't it? Mine on the EQ6 was unwieldy at best... on the G11 you should definitely have more luck...

[multiweb]

That's F/10. No reducer so 2.8m FL. On any mount that's very demanding on the guiding especially 20min subs. In Ha at that FL you won't get much light in so you have to go long. The AO is the only way IMHO. Next to impossible on a G11 with that much weight on. I can't see how. :shrug: The SVX-AO is a great kit though. Just time consuming to work out like any new gear.

[TheAstroGuy]

Marc,

That is super soft and smooth with great detail, nice image mate, i like it at high res too, you can go swimming in that shot. AWESOME!!

Regards

Shane

[multiweb]

Thanks a lot for the kind comments Shane - glad you liked it. :thumbsup:

[Bassnut]

That looks familiar :P. But different, I like it a lot, the extra FOV has certainly added more interest in this image, youve caught some excellent extra neb there Marc, atmospheric, well done :thumbsup:.

[multiweb]

Thanks mate. :thumbsup: It will be interesting to compare with and without AO. Waiting for another USB to serial adapter as it might be the problem according to the MAXIM DL people. :shrug: It's working in the SX software though... :question:

[gregbradley]

Wow, that is a stunner. I love it.

With the serial to USB adapter you may need to check it in control panel/device manager/com port and see what com port number has been assigned for it. It should be listed there. If it isn't you need to reinstall and do your Windows muckaround to get it listed in the device manager. You may need to let the AO unit know what com port number it has been assigned to. I had to do that with the Planewave focuser and the Paramount ME mount before it would connect.

If you have CCDsoft SX has a plug in for the Lodestar and the AO unit there for free and it works on the Lodestar straight off without a fight.

Greg.

[multiweb]

Thanks Greg. I need the encouragement. :thumbsup:


Thanks . Yeah I followed closely your posts re:COMs with Marki and others. I have no problem with COM ports assignments. The problem is with communication under MAXIM DL. I can cycle the AO plate, poll it within the SX-AO Utility and I can drive it with the SX software. Waiting on a Quatech USB to serial see if it makes any difference. Edgeport was also recommended by they don't ship outside US. Quatech as a local representative. If that fails I'll be talking to MAXIM DL about the SX-Universal driver. Posted on CN about the problem in MAXIM as well. Will see if anyone can get me out of that dead end. :shrug:

[troypiggo]

You wouldn't even know stars belong in there. Nice and smooth.

Go the ED80! Oh, hang on.... traitor! :P

[marco]

Tell me the truth Marc, you shoot the sun behind the clouds here, did you?:P

Really nice and charming rendition of the lagoon nebula, it makes me feel like I am lost in space floating just in front of an hungry wormhole..

Clear Skies
Marco

[spearo]

very well done the starless process
i'm impressed
frank

[Octane]

Marc,

That is hot -- well done!

H

[RobF]

Awesome pic Marc, and looking forward to hearing more about your AO exploits.

I think we all must be a bit obsessive compulsive to get into this hobby in the first place :P - I'm sure you'll conquer the hardware issues before long though - no challenge at all if everything worked the first time ;)

[Alchemy]

Very nice, I'm surprised you could do this in Photoshop....... There's no evidence I see, without getting out the pixel-o-rometer anyway.

[gregbradley]

The Planewave came with a USB to serial adapter and software. Prolific.

It works fine.

I also bought one from a computer store. So I could run my Tak mount and Robofocus (both RS232 plugs) and it did not work.

But looking back at it now I would have needed to assign the com port numbers to the software so it would connect and I didn't.

Both the Paramount and the Planewave focuser control unit need to be told which com port to use before they work. As I say the Planewave unit
uses an serial to USB adapter and software patch.

Greg.

[multiweb]

:) Too hard to get Ha through the ED80 mate. Not patient enough. ;) Thanks for the feedback. :thumbsup:


Thanks Marco :thumbsup: Yeah passing clouds in front of the full moon. I've been exposed. :whistle:


Thanks Frank. Glad you liked it. :thumbsup:


Thanks H! :thumbsup:


Thanks Rob. :thumbsup: Getting closer now. Got to sort ou MAXIM DL drivers issues then direct mount drive and I'm good to go.


Thanks Clive. :thumbsup: It's not perfect and I could have spent a lot more time doing it but the long exposures kept the noise down. I'm looking forward to redo it with the AO next time.



I can connect from some programs but not others and I have tried 3 different brands of adapters so I'm now sure it is a MAXIM DL driver issue. That's verified. Talking to their developer now.

[irwjager]

Oh wow. That's just plain spooky and amazing at the same time!

A very special rendition of M8 indeed.

Marc, is it time consuming to get rid of the stars?

[MarkA]

Beauty is in the aye of the beholder.
Well done Marc.
Regards
Mark

[multiweb]

Thanks Ivo. :thumbsup: There aren't that many left with Ha and they're fairly tight so no, pretty easy. I posted a tut here (http://www.multiweb.com.au/astro/tut_01/)a while ago using the dust and scratches filter in PS. Same technique.



Thanks Mark. :thumbsup: Still waiting for yours in RGB. So where's this shot? Posted it yet? ;)

[rcheshire]

That's a beautiful image. Really different.

[multiweb]

Thanks for looking mate. :thumbsup: