Deep M83 and the Universe behind her

[strongmanmike]

This is the other image taken on Saturday night.

After the Eta Carina Ha quickie I only juuust managed to squeeze in the data (5.5hrs) for this before dawn.

The seeing was crap early on and then improved to slightly above average and I used all the data (no luxury of being able to chuck the soft frames unfortunately - I needed'em all) but I still managed to get some reasonable detail out...(god I'd love to have some really good seeing more often :rolleyes:)

I wanted to go deep, to reveal not only the many background galaxies, the beautiful subtle outer and extensive halo that envelopes the galaxy (not simply induced in PS either - it's real!) and the faint arm that extends out to the companion galaxies... but I also knew there were two very faint tidal streams around M83 too :D.... so here is the usual collection to showcase the various aspects - please enjoy the album :)

The basic field at medium size (http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/132836995/original)for general viewing (1 meg)

A tighter 100% crop portrait (http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/132836997/original)for a closer look (640K)

The full frame crop full 100% (http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/132836998/original) res version to swim around (1.7meg)

Deep inside the core (http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/132836996/original) of M83

Here are the ultra faint tidal streams (http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/132837742/original)

Lots to see so hope you enjoy'em all :thumbsup:

Mike

[Octane]

Sensational, Mike.

I had no idea there were so many background fuzzies. Dang!

H

[jones]

I fainted.
What is the gear and what the acquisition details? Thanks!

[strongmanmike]

Cheers Humi

Yes many galaxies and galaxy cluster even, did you check out the tidal streams?..I saw these in Malins shot some years ago but never imagined I could ever reveal them :eyepop:..this should be good teritory for the astrograph :)

Mike



Breath Salva...breath, thanks and glad you fainted :P

Ummm...all the information is under each image ...:question:...people often miss this...not sure why :shrug:

Mike

[jones]

Huh, sorry, that's embarrassing :) Thanks.

[John Hothersall]

That is a rich result for 5.5hrs and the tidal streams are unbelievable considering you reached them in only 5hrs with some poor seeing. You show these galaxies we've seen before in a new light more extensive than they appear.

John.

[Fabiomax]

What a beatiful and interesting image! We should go on the galaxies and try to see what still has not been photographed.
Congratulations,
Fabiomax

[peter_4059]

Superb detail Mike.

[iceman]

Really nice Mike, lovely image.

[h0ughy]

well you pulled this from the bag - how could you get a shot like this in the conditions that were present on Saturday? I am gobsmacked. You are a photon GOD Mike!

[renormalised]

Nice shots, Mike:)

Plenty to see there!!.

[gregbradley]

A very striking, high impact image Mike. You got some very sharp details there. Again you are punching above your weight with the details from a 6 inch refractor. The 16803 and AP152 are an awesome match.

I like the various ways of presenting the image which is your calling card now.

Greg.

[jjjnettie]

Supa Dupa Mike!

[strongmanmike]

Hey thanks everyone, glad you liked it, I was very happy with what eventually came out of the data.

As I said, the seeing was very ordinary at the start of the night hence the reason I started with the quicky on Eta. Once I started on M83 it was pretty low but the seeing had settled slightly but was still causing a furrowed brow with each sub frame download. After midnight the seeing slowly improved and M83 got higher too of course, there was a 1.5 hr stint that showed good resolution and the guide star plot looked very sexy, so I was quietly confident I could squeeze out at least some detail but I have to say, it must be heaven imaging from somwhere like La Palma, man!

Dave, as i said above I guess there was enough good data to make the grade but imagine how good it could have been with consistent seeing for the whole 4hrs of lum! :eyepop: good seeing is much better than decon and unsharp masking...and when you can do both, well, that's heaven :thumbsup:

John and Greg, yes the 12" astroghraph may be an anti climax in some ways :shrug:...surely not ;). It's very useful creating variations of an image to both showcase the appearence better and enable you to reveal things that would be hard to realistically incorporate into a natural looking image...of course a true dark steady sky rules for sure!

Mike

[Tom Davis]

What a great image! Excellent color and detail!

-Tom

[multiweb]

Magic! :thumbsup: Great presentation of all the different views.

[TrevorW]

A superb image Mike, colours are spot on, would like to see what the result would have been if the seeing had been good

[strongmanmike]

Cheers Tom and welcome back...where's the RH :shrug:...hanging to see something :thumbsup:



Cheers Marc too much to see for one image ;)



You and me both. I know my little Starfire well now (we are very close :love:) and I can tell when things are purring and when things are coughing up a fur ball. The site I use these days is ok but it seldom has good seeing but when it does I really notice it I guess..? To see that guide star hardly move from the centroid over long periods makes the difference between a finely detailed image and a so so result. The seeing in Canberra when I lived there was better than where I image from outside Newcastle. For the tidal streams I really need somewhere really dark, like Wiruna, and a larger and faster scope..:question:..ahhh yeeah... that's why I have the AG12 on the way ;)

Mike

[DavidU]

Beautiful Mike ! I always look for your new posts with killa images.
I'm kinda worried about fainting as well when you get the new scope.

[Alchemy]

Nice mike, I like how the ha and dust lanes stand out. Well done on collecting some data.
I've given up until it gets dark early plus the weather improves. Just endlessly cloudy in Melbourne...... I've gone back to 4wd-ing, wet and cloudy just makes that more fun. However still like a peek at a nice image now and then

Cheers Clive.

[RobF]

What a pick-me up to soak in those wonderful images Mike. I feel like I've just downed a cold Crowny! (or 2) :drink: :thanks:

Was the RGB data binned at all? :question:

[alan meehan]

A Beautiful galaxy Mike well done
AL

[Tom Davis]

Still under 3 feet of snow. I'm guessing May before any images :(

-Tom

[spearo]

Nice Mike
Soo much detail revealed in the background
well done
frank

[marc4darkskies]

Very purdy Mike, especially considering the seeing! And wow - very impressive to gather nearly 7 hours of data in one night (incl Eta)! Were you already set up & PA'ed? Don't you focus, take darks etc (?) - very impressive for someone without an Obs! With the still quite short nights, I couldn't even do that WITH an Obs!!

Cheers, Marcus

[Leonardo70]

Fantastic.. Mike, great color and details...

Ciao,
Leo

[strongmanmike]

Cheers Clive

At least you can 4X4 during the day :P

Mike



I'm with ya! on the Crownies :D

No the colour wasn't binned (I never do) not enough RGB of as usual :rolleyes: hence the traces of colour noise but I was pushing it to fit the RGB in all in one night, it was a go go go night that's for sure!



Cheers Al :)



Dang, you must be positively chaffing at the bit! :eyepop:(my AG12 left the UK today :D :D :D)



Cheers Frank, I was really happy with the depth of field feel that teh background had, it really looks like deep space, don't always acheive this but it's nice when it hapopens. The german Spiegel team were famous for acheiving this look check out their NGC 253 (http://www.spiegelteam.de/ngc253.htm):eyepop: easily the best NGC 253 I have seen by an amateur group.



Yeh it all worked to plan and I don't even use autofocus either! :D. I went from just on dark right through to just on dawn, only chucked two 10min subs too! I use library darks and I was taking the last of the flats as the sky was getting very light.

The seeing was only poor for half the night it did improve somehwat and this saved me, I can only imagine how good it could have been with 4hrs of excellent seeing (like Bird had at exmouth :eyepop:).

Mike



Thankyou Leo, glad you liked it

Mike

[suma126]

excellent work mike. i love the detail that you captured :thumbsup:

[Peter Ward]

Cool :thumbsup:

[strongmanmike]

Cheers Shane



Hey, I'll take a "cool" from Mr Ward any day :P

[Paul Haese]

Certainly a nice enough image but looking at this image I get the impression it is a little over done. Just a personal preference Mike.

[spearo]

German team's seems good but yours beats 'em i think in quality.
frank

[allan gould]

My favorite galaxy Mike and my congrats on a brilliant set of photos.

[strongmanmike]

Fair'nuff :sadeyes:.....how about all the background galaxies, the rarely revealed outer envelope or the beautiful bottom double arm extending out to the little background galaxies or the only ever imaged by David Malin before tidal streams - aren't "they" worth a comment...? :sad:

Cheers anyway :thumbsup:



Not their NGC 253, nobody can match that image... that I have seen (so far) RJ Gabany did a beauty 253 a couple fo years ago but I recon the Spiegels is better, simply because of the natural looking deep and high res background :thumbsup:



Glad you enjoyed them (and aren't as hard to please as Paulie :lol:)

[telecasterguru]

Mike,

Truly enormous and the detail and the colours are breathtaking. Still, 5.5 hours is a fair strech in anyones imagination. You only get out what you put in.
Frank

[Paul Haese]

Hey Big Guy, you are right, the image contains a nice display of the tidal streams and there are lots of nice little galaxy's in the surrounding field. I like your star colours too. Maybe my eyes are starting to go mate. Being spoilt by years of your good images, I guess I just wanted each image to be better than the last. :shrug:

[strongmanmike]

:whistle: :lol:

[Ric]

A fantastic collection of images Mike.

Very enjoyable to view.

[prokyon]

Yes, I did! Wow, you are playing in another league. Awesome, very awesome!

Cheers

Werner

[strongmanmike]

Glad you enjoyed'em Ric



Don't know about playing in another league :question:..there are plenty of amazingly good images posted here, but thanks for the compliment
Werner Von Braun :)

Mike

[CoolhandJo]

Looks 3d. Awesome.

[prokyon]

That's true, so I say in the 1st league ;)

[strongmanmike]

Cheers Dr Paulie, it's a bright and reasonably popular galaxy to image that can and has been presented in a number of different colour balances and ways...and this is my way :thumbsup: and hopefully a way that offers something new for a well known target :)

Mike

[tornado33]

Gee what a great presentation of M83, covering everything from the bright inner core to the ultrafaint tidal streams, and the many background galaxies.
Going much shorter in the rgb worked well too, 30 mins each, as the colourful regions of M83 are quite bright anyway, leaving the very long luminance imaging to get the very faint stuff.
Scott

[Octane]

Had to have another look at this. Mike, I viewed this properly on my LCD just then and I can see the depth of the background clearly, now. That's really quite stunning.

It's those slightly brighter foreground stars which help with the illusion of depth. Very cool!

H

[ballaratdragons]

All I can say is . . .

DROOOOOOOOOL :eyepop:

[strongmanmike]

Yes, the careful planning that those with observatories know less about :lol: ..I wanna be one of those again some day :sadeyes:

I'm looking forward to shooting these sorts of fields under really dark skies with the 12" F3.8 astrograph :D

Glad you enjoyed it Scotty :thumbsup:



Nice to know Humayun, glad you felt it worthy of appreciating the interesting bits and nuances of the image :thumbsup:



Cheers Ken I guess that doesn't mean you are just hungry then... :P

Mike

[RobF]

I could have sworn there would be Ha collected to get such tight reds for this one. I love how your eye is drawn in to the centre by the amount of sharp detail and nice smooth outlying arms. Definitely an awesome shot.

[strongmanmike]

You havin a second look too Robbo? :P

No Ha but yes still plenty of red in the arms.

Thanks for looking again :)

Mike

[RobF]

Probably sixth or seventh look more like it..... :whistle: :D

[dugnsuz]

Stunning image Mike - wonder if there's a "Jersey Shore" going on in an outer arm of that galaxy - Jeez I hope we're alone in that regard!
Doug

[Hagar]

Lovely galaxy this one. You have captured so much detail on this little one. You have again lifted the bar somewhat again.

[SkyViking]

What a great image Mike, congratulations :)
You've really captured everything in one image, all the different hues, all the details in the core and all the variations in brightness across the scene - with lots to see in the background as well. Great effort! I dare not imagine what it will look like through your new scope...

It's a great target - I have a ToUCam image of this one from a couple of years ago, but I think I'll just quietly keep that one to myself :ashamed::lol:.

[strongmanmike]

Are you refering to the reality TV show?..not familiar with it.

But I recon there are at least some trilobites in a shallow sea...



Hey thanks Doug it is a great target so I didn't have to do that much.

Mike



Thanks for the positive apraisal Rolf

I am quietly hoping that the feared temprementality associated with operating a large portable super fast corrected Newt isn't so overpowering that I have to fall back on this crappy refractor..oh the pain...:P

Mike