NGC 5128 (Centaurus A)

[marc4darkskies]

Here is my stab (in the dark of course) at this infamous target - thanks to Mr Sidonio ;)!

Funny, even though all the cloud about these days gives me the &^*#s, I seem to get lucky with seeing when gathering Luminance data. In this case the smallest detail visible in the image is about 2 arcsec! On the subsequent night while getting the RGB the seeing was average at best.

I'm pretty pleased with the result so hope you like it too. And unless someone points out a glaring problem with it I promise not to reprocess :)

Small:
http://www.pbase.com/gailmarc/image/134522302/large

Large (4MB) (Use 'Cntrl -' to zoom out for the big picture)
http://www.pbase.com/gailmarc/image/134522302/original

Cropped a little for pleasing composition.

Don't forget too this is done with a measly 5.9" aperture! BTW, the Takahashi TOA-150 is the finest scope in its class ... bar NONE!!! :P

Cheers, Marcus

[Octane]

Marcus,

Magnificent doesn't even begin to cut it.

Lost for words.

H

[h0ughy]

OMG , the detail, the only repro!! THe Man, the mission, the guts, this is the glory!!!!!

[richardo]

Marcus, lovely image for sure!!
There's a lot of tiny stars that I usually check to see how well they're resolved just around the dust lane and this little giant killer has done them very well indeed!!
Lots to see with fainter background galaxies.
Nicely processed as well.

Real Cool!!

Rich

[strongmanmike]

Well Marcus that's a spectacular rendition, the details you have revealed are nothing short of incredible! That looks as if it could have been done with a 16" RC without a problem. Using the extender and the AO unit turns a 6" into a 16" amazing ...the seeing helps for sure as does the AO but clearly you have mastered the art of layered deconvolution too, top stuff :thumbsup:

...you pipped me on resolution :tasdevil: :( buuuut sigh..I am affraid the full extent of the galaxy can't be seen though :whistle: ... sooo I can't pass on the baton yet I am affraid.. :question:...how about we share it? :love2: :D

Mike
BTW...AP + extender + AO would kick TOA butt ;) :lol:

[Ross G]

An incredible photo Marcus!

The detail, sharpness and colour is amazing.

A standard to judge others by.

Thank you.


Ross.

[SkyViking]

Fantastic image Marcus, you must be very happy with that. That dust lane is just brimming over with details :)
And in full screen view this image is simply glorious, the galaxy takes up the whole screen - very very nice! Definitely one of the best Centaurus A images I have seen.

[multiweb]

That is really great. Lots of details I've never seen before like the blue star forming region on the other side of the one that is normally seen. The dust lane is perfectly resolved while keeping the star colors intact with their soft profile. Masterly processed. :thumbsup:

PS: This image really strikes a chord with me. I've just noticed there are a couple of faint fuzzies in the field too. Again top shelf stuff.

[alexch]

Spectacular!

[Stevec35]

Excellent image Marcus. The detail in the dust lane is great.

Cheers

Steve

[Peter Ward]

Very purdy there partner....:thumbsup::thumbsup:

[jjjnettie]

sigh.....so beautiful

[FranckiM06]

It is so fantastic image you did.
Also, I can see you do long sub !
Franck

[TrevorW]

This is a top shot in all catergories, data, focus, guiding, processing, well done Marcus
:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks a lot for the kind remarks everyone! :)



Cheers H!



Hehe thanks Dave! BTW - I'm in the process of setting up my new 64 bit Lappy



Thanks Rich! When the seeing is good the TOA shines that's for sure! I'm glad you went in for a close look! :)



Cheers mate! Glad you liked it!

Yeah, always wondered why you didn't stick a barlow on that old rig - you may have gotten close to matching the performance of the TOA! :P

Full extent eh?! For YOUR benefit only ;) and remembering mine is 1) a mere 1/3 the exposure of your deep image and 2) taken from much less than a truely dark sky, I've attached a compressed version of my hyper-stretched image. You can see it shows quite a bit of the extent your remarkable image does, but not quite with the same quality. Surprising really, only 7.5 hours (3.5 hrs Lum) and not in the darkest part of my sky. Man, if I only had a reeeeally dark sky <sigh> ... watch out!!

The 3 focal lengths my TOA serve me well and gives me a lot of options. I'll still be getting a larger aperture though, but my primary goal will be longer FL work rather than WF stuff.




High praise there Ross, thanks very much!



Thanks a lot Rolf. Yep, very happy with it - and pleasantly surprised how much detail I managed to capture.



Cheers Marc! Yes, I think the larger (for me) stellar profiles for the brighter stars help balance the image. I would normally try to make them a bit smaller. There are a few faint fuzzies in there worth finding so I encourage everyone to zoom in!!



Thanks Alex!



Thanks a lot Steve!



Aw shucks good buddy .. t'weren't nothin! Thank'y karndly
!


Glad you liked it JJ :)

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks Franck!! Yes, the longer the sub you can do the better - that's for certain! When I do HA I go to 30 minutes. If my sky was a bit darker here I'd probably even do 30 min Lum subs too!



Thanks Trevor - it's nice when a good plan comes together! :)

[strongmanmike]

I always thought about it but never got around to it :shrug:...I think the TOA has a better Marcus lens than the AP and that's probably about it :thumbsup:



Yep certainly some outer stuff visible there, nice work, not often seen :thumbsup:...man I sigh with you..dark skies are like the seeing, when they are good it makes all the difference...thing is you never know when the seeing will be good, at least you can plan to use dark skies :sadeyes:



Yes a very versitile system...a nice big RC or ODK would look more appropriate on the PME for sure..and it's all about looks so you could just mount the TOA beside it and use the bigger scope as the guiderscope :P

Mike

[iceman]

Well that's rather stupendous.

Brilliant, Marcus!

[alan meehan]

The finest scope with a damned good captain,thankyou Marcus
AL

[atalas]

Nice work Marcus.

[allan gould]

Marcus
For heaven's sake!!!!!!!!
Whenever I begin to think I'm getting somewhere you pull something like this out of the hat.
Excellent............:)

Allan

[gregbradley]

Well done Marcus, that is a brilliant image. So well executed in all aspects which is a challenge in this very technical subject.

Your TOA scope is almost TEC-like in its performance :lol:

I agree the TOA is an exceptional scope. A reminder at just how nice a good APO is. I got more appreciation out of my TEC180 over the last 4 clear nights with excellent seeing at my dark site. Remarkable instruments. I gave my guide scope the flick and have gone off axis guider all the way and unlimited exposure time, perfectly round stars is the result.

I see you caught 2 jet like structures in the top right side of the Cent A. I was aware of one but I see 2 in yours, one further out.

A nice noiseless smooth background and stars a nice soft glowing look. Lovely.

Nice one.

Greg.

[allan gould]

Greg
Ive looked but cannot see the 2 jet like structures. Can you arrow them in some way?
Allan

[Hagar]

Very, very nice. Detial is amazing and the faint fuzzies are all over.
Interesting now who will be the Centaur for this part of the sky.

The duel begins.

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks a lot mike Mike - it's shaping up as one of my favourite shots actually.



You're too kind - thanks Alan!



Cheers Louie!



Hehe ... sorry Allan! Glad you liked it though! :)



Cheers mate!



Ah c'mon Greg! We all know the refractor hierarchy here. Tak, AP then TEC! :lol:



Hmmm. do you mean the faint bluish linear feature at about 2'oclock from the centre of the galaxy about 7 or 8 arcmins away? It isn't pointing to the centre of the galaxy so I didn't think it was the jet(??)



Cheers Doug!

[CoolhandJo]

Well thats the best really! :). Lovely on all accounts.

[Paul Haese]

Very nice Marcus, love the sharpening of the galaxy. Background is just a little magenta but the galaxy is where the action is occurring. I really like the blue stars showing through. It should figure well in the Malins this year.

[renormalised]

Nope....you're hiding a much larger scope with a cloaking device underneath that little white dome of yours, Marcus:):P Or, you've got a super high resolution magnification thingo attached to the TOA :):P

Excellent shot!!! :):)

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks Dr Paul! Appreciate that!



Cheers Paul, glad you liked it! Don't like my DM chances this year though - too few images and too much competition!

You're making me paranoid about this magenta thing you're on. You mentioned it as well for my Virgo cluster shot. I don't see it - how are you noticing it?



Thanks a lot Carl! No, not using the cloaking device - I just rebadged an Astro-Physics to make it look like a Tak :lol:

[Paul Haese]

Marcus it just shows as a faint caste. Mainly visible in the outer regions. Don't worry too much about it. The main shows is pretty spectacular and if the caste is the only thing then the image has got to be pretty good.

[Deeno]

WOW! Beautiful

[gregbradley]

I noticed the slight magenta hue as well Marcus. I didn't mention it because the image so awesome in all other ways and it is rather subtle.
Magenta is a bit like green. It seems to seep into astro images easily and skew them. Not sure why.

It may depend on your monitor. Try viewing the image on another screen. Its worth adjusting because this image is so awesome and easily the best Cent A I have seen (sorry Mike, you've been pipped).

You should consider adding another 15 hours and just really go for it and make it the alltime best image of this area and send everyone else into apathy about trying to emulate it!!

Greg.

[strongmanmike]

:eyepop:...:question:....:sad::sad: :sad: :abduct:

[tornado33]

Has anyone noticed the capture of the blue optical jet? It is clearly visible in the large image, at about the 2 o clock position from the galaxy centre. It looks like a long blue coil. Its also visible in Mikes deep image, so only the best images of 5128 show it. Well done!

[marc4darkskies]

OK OK. I do see a very slight red/magenta hue in the outer regions of the galaxy. I've adjusted it a bit. Please have another look and let me know whether you think there is still a caste.

I have a phobia for green in astro images so that may carry over into some over correction towards magenta. I have to say though you guys are using a very fine tooth comb !! :)



Cheers Deeno!



I had noticed and so did Greg. I wasn't aware it was an optical component of the jet though.

[telemarker]

Wow, Marcus. First that wonderful M78 and now this! Your combination of the Tak and extender is giving some fantastic up close and personal images with fine detail in these targets. Processing is second to none as well. So.... What next?

[Paul Haese]

Yep that looks better. :)

[marc4darkskies]

Cheers Keith! Yep, when there's good seeing putting an extender on a top class APO like the TOA makes a difference! Glad you liked it (and M78)!



Phew!! Thanks for pointing it out!

[RobF]

Congratulations on such a stunning image Marcus. Just sublime - you've made my day staring into the depths of that one. Awe inspiring stuff. Thanks for showing us the high res. Hope you don't mind it living on my desktop(s) for a while :D

While the resolution is astounding, I'm blown away by the rich but subtle colours you're achieving in your processing. Sigh....

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks a lot Rob! It's cool to think one of my images has such an impact! I'm glad you enjoyed it so much!

[gregbradley]

There is also what appears to be a 2nd jet at 2:15pm and right on the outer fringe. I haven't seen that before.

Greg.