not all lost - m42 on a moonlit light polluted evening

[h0ughy]

took this on thursday night , with a stack of 19x10sec, 47x30sec, 14x300sec and 4x605sec exposures, through heavy light pollution with the dog track, neighbours and the moon. that CLS filter is worth its weight in gold - without it imaging would be near impossible. However the colour cast can be a hell of an issue. When i get some time i need to watch the tutorial by Louie on masking, but i fear because i didnt take 1 min or 2 min shots i am shot.....

its crud but at least i got something its only 2h17min worth.

cooled 40D on 127Ed on G11 inthe doghouse obsrevatory

stacked in DSS and processed in Pixinsight.

EDIT NEW improved version here (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/attachment_browse.php?a=85908)

[jenchris]

Bloody Brill!

[dugnsuz]

Nice one Dave - lots of subtle detail in the low-res.
I've always found this simple tutorial a good one for sorting out core problems in M42...
http://www.astropix.com/PFA/SAMPLE4A/SAMPLE4A.HTM

[multiweb]

Beautiful. :thumbsup:

[h0ughy]

thanks

yeah thats the other one ta:thanx:



far too kind with that response Marc;)

[irwjager]

I'd be pretty darn happy with that!
Personally, when it comes to the Great Orion Nebula, I don't mind a slightly blown out core - it makes it look a bit more 3D and I find my brain actually fills in the core for me. But that's probably because I've been staring at that sucker way too much :P

You got a nice mix of exposures there, so creating a 60sec-120sec approximation from those shouldn't be too much of a problem? (bump the levels in the 30sec stack by 2x?)

[CoolhandJo]

Very nice colours and detail regardless of colour cast.

[strongmanmike]

Hey we must have been imaging at the same time :love2:

This is pretty alright Dave, sure no Gendler show stopper but I like it and you should be very happy that this sort of image is possible from Walsend with dog tracks and suburban light pollution hanging like a shade cloth gazebo overhead :thumbsup:

Mike

[h0ughy]

the irony is i didnt use DBE (dynamic background extraction) to removethe light gradient as it was swimming up out of the mud into the murk.... might be another repro......

[Sylvain]

wow super nice! congrats!

[Hagar]

Very nice result David, Smoooth as silk, but you needed those short exposures for the core. It would have been a real ripper with the core masked.

[h0ughy]

thanks

yes it would have improved it - i got photon fever and rushed it - there was only a limited amount of time to do it and i rushed it. the imaging session was not planned at all - just happened . i hope to have another go next week (if it ever clears). i have not shifted the camera so i hope to get it close to the same position as this one and redo some more data

I hope to use this method on the image next time http://pixinsight.com/forum/index.php?topic=2320.0

[h0ughy]

i tried the hdr method in pixinsight - just ran the script no tweaking of it. i need lots more data and lots more practice LOL. For those with a delicate palate please look away. its a horrible mess and i have lots of issues:rofl:

repro.....coming up sorry i had to post the train wreck:P

[marc4darkskies]

Ahh Dave, you're always so hard on yourself! :shrug: Perfectly respectable image IMO. Why don't you layer the less burnt out core of the repro into the original version? Maybe tweak the colour balance for a bit more of a pinkish hue (looks a bit orange to me) and you'll be laughing!

Cheers, Marcus

[h0ughy]

last thursday Al Meehan and I imaged the same area of sky, whilest the orientation of the camera was not the same he got a heap of deep 10min shots and i got a mixed bag of shots , well when they are all combined in DSS and stacked this is the RAW result not stretched or level adjusted (saved from tiff to jpeg for display ;) ) collaberation!!!??? yes its worth it! total stacked image time is 5h 7min plus a few seconds. Both have cooled 40D's, both use CLS filter, note the image is not been processed yet

[alan meehan]

:eyepop:This could be BIG :thumbsup:

[h0ughy]

dont know about BiG, Al, but it is certainly different for me. it is the first ever shot were i have not killed the core - processed it in Pixinsight without having to resort to the masking technique used in photoshop.:question::help:

[h0ughy]

well i tried to subtly layer this into the original posted image to keep it looking "natural" LOL

[irwjager]

Spot on! :thumbsup:

[h0ughy]

thanks Ivo

[h0ughy]

Doug i have redone the image, trying to keep it natural like?

[jenchris]

my eyes, my EyEs, I can't see, aarrgghh!! it's horrible master 'orrible I tells yer. I couldn't help it sir, honest I couldn't, I had to look and now I can't see.

[RB]

That's awesome Dave.
That last one is beautiful, probably one of your best renditions.

Send it to the mags !

:thumbsup:

[h0ughy]

to use those immortal words - YOU'RE DREAMING!:lol:

come off it - there are far better examples on the site at the moment;)

[RB]

I said it's one of your best IMO.......:lol:
Won't hurt to send it in. ;)

[h0ughy]

Lol