Dark Doodad - very deep view

[Antu]

Hi All,

During the fall time I've been imaging the famous Dark Doodad molecular cloud in Musca. It turned out to be very complex region. I think this could be the deepest image of the Doodad which have been taken so far (please, correct me if I am wrong).

The image was obtained at my remote observatory in Atacama desert in Chile:

http://www.atacamasky.com/Doodad_yb.jpg

Telescope: Takahashi FSQ106ED
Mount: ASA DDM60 Pro
Camera: SBIG STL-11000
Exposure: L:R:G:B = 2100:300:300:390 min

Enjoy and all your comment, critics, suggestions are highly appreciated !

Best regards,
Yuri

[iceman]

Just stunning, Yuri. Thanks for that view. Brilliant!

[erick]

WOW! :eyepop: That is amazingly detailed. No longer the mysterious Dark Doodad - it is fully exposed now!

[madwayne]

50 odd hours on one object, that is insane in a cool kinda way :).

Stunning image Yuri and thank you for sharing.

Wayne

[oosh]

That is incredible Yuri.. and yes, what an insane exposure time! Well done in any case.

[Hagar]

Absolutely magnificent. 50 hrs WOW that is committment.

What else can you say.

[multiweb]

:eyepop: That is so cool. Love the res and star colours too. Agree 50h is huge. That's about the combined clear skies time we had in Sydney for 2010-2011. :question:

[gregbradley]

Magnificient Yuri. Are you now the new dust king?

We haven't seen any dust images from Thomas Davis for a while.

Do you have any photos of your observatory? What altitude is it?

Is it deep inland or near the coast?

Greg.

[marc4darkskies]

Wow!!! A stunning image in every respect Yuri!! :eyepop: 51 hours is an outstanding effort!

No criticism from me ... just unabashed jealousy because you can image from the Atacama Desert ... and I can't!! :sadeyes: :(

I'd be interested to see details of your observatory.

Cheers, Marcus

[jjjnettie]

Mind blowing!
Stunningly beautiful!

[strongmanmike]

I love this bit :rolleyes: :lol: :thumbsup:

Beautiful, deep and very interesting image Yuri.

I haven't seen a deeper version of this area..?

Mike

[Satchmo]

Its a kind of new renaissance for amateur astronomers isn't it , in a world now where despite all the technology and huge apertures available to the professionals that an amateur astronomer with a relatively modest investment and a load of dedication and patience , can produce unique views of the universe unobtainable in any other way, that humankind has never seen before :thumbsup:

[renormalised]

Absolutely stunning!!!!

50 hours....I'll bet you're glad you don't have to guide the old fashioned way. Your eyes would have to be traded in for new ones by now!!!:):P

[Octane]

That is so unbelievably beautiful.

Nothing much further to add, really. Mind blown.

H

[Chooka]

What a fantastic photo!

It looks a bit like the smoke monster thing in Lost...

[SkyViking]

That's absolutely amazing, what an image :) 50 hours is a true marathon effort and it certainly pays off. Oh and the night sky in Atacama is just gorgeous.
'Antu', that's the name of one of the VLT scopes. Where is your observatory located? Near VLT by any chance?

[Derek Klepp]

One of my favourite deep sky objects in great detail thanks for the post

[allan gould]

Image of the week?
Sublime.

[erick]

month....year....decade? Maybe not quite decade, but............!!!!!

It should step straight into APOD, no problem at all. Well done, Yuri!

[atalas]

Very nice.

[richardo]

What can I say that hasn't been said before...... mmm, how about, DELIRIOUS !!:eyepop:

Huge dedication, and surly an APOD!!
Superb view:thumbsup:

Congrats on a new record for imaging time!!

Rich

[John Hothersall]

An amazing piece of work and great commitment in time producing breathtaking quality.

John.

[Paul Haese]

Lovely work Yuri. Great exposure time with perfectly natural looking details and star colours. Top work.:thumbsup:

[ballaratdragons]

I'm drooling!!!!!!!

Absolutely stunning :eyepop:



well, a tad more than a 'Modest' investment ;)

[Enrique]

Que maravilla de foto!:eyepop: Felicitaciones,

Enrique

[CoolhandJo]

Great contrasts. Lovely :)

[Antu]

Thanks for all your comments, guys ! I really appreciate them. The observatory is located in Atacama desert in Chile. It's about 200 km inland from the coast, the altitude is ~2500m. Unfortunately we still don't have a web-site, but it gonna be coming during the next month. I'll keep you updated. In attachment I post two images - the dome and the FSQ106 installed inside. The mount is ASA DDM60 Pro, and the camera is SBIG STL-11000. Focusing is done using Robofocus.

[Lester]

Thanks for the wonderful view, and looking forward to more. All the best.

[Jeffkop]

Well thats the dandiest dark doodad display ... truely !!!!
I'de be perdy happy if that was my dark do .... oops better not go there.
Great image

[strongmanmike]

:eyepop: :bowdown: :thumbsup:

[Liz]

Nearly made me cry ... so beautiful Yuri!!

[Ric]

An excellent image Yuri.

I just love that name "The Dark Doodad" astronomers do have a sence of humor.

[Jeffkop]

I grew up with "doodad" too Ric so I have always thought is was Aussie slang for something ya didnt know the name of ... looks like it originated from somewhere else ... unless some early Oz astronomer .. ya know ole Mr doodad named it.

[erick]

In 2008, 'twas written:-

"The Dark Doodad was named only 20 years ago by American amateur astronomer and writer Dennis di Cicco upon seeing an image he took from Alice Springs in central Australia."

http://www.oneminuteastronomer.com/OMALibrary/dark-doodad.html

[Peter Ward]

Just sublime. One of the best images seen here for some time.

[Doomsayer]

Bravo! a tour de force....

guy

[Paul Haese]

Great place for an observatory Antu. Really interesting to have a large volcano in the background. Is it still active or is it dormant?

[john_drummond]

I won't say the word that exploded from my lungs when I first saw your image Yuri! Roughly translated it means WOW, FANTASTIC!

Cheers and thanks

John Drummond, NZ

[RobF]

Thanks so much for sharing. Just stunning. :cheers: