The floating Lagoon - AG12

[strongmanmike]

Here is Last nights effort - especially for Marc :P

Taken under severe light pollution too :sadeyes:

I was very surprised to be able to extract the faint blue curtain that envelopes the main nebula and the section below the nebula looks distinctly like a falling curtain or sheets of a water fall in front of the background stars - cool :)

This is an LHaRGB and processed to look as natural as possible :question:

This scope is a light sucker...I can only imagine what it will do under dark skies :eyepop:

No crops this time just two versions:

Large version (http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/136792938/original)

Small version (http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/136792934/original)

100% resolution crop (http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/136795422/original)

Oh and here is Homer Simpson (http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/136809438/original) in the Lagoon :P

Cheers

Mike

[alexch]

Whoa! Lovely vista and very natural colours.

Cheers,
Alex

[renormalised]

Very nice, Mike:)

I actually like the smaller version, the image appears brighter than the large version.

[rcheshire]

What you can do with good equipment! Is that Ha as luminance. Usually Lagoons look too red. I like this rendition. The detail is life like. Amazing!

[SkyViking]

Very nice image Mike, you must love that scope.
The colours are great and I really like how it has such a soft look while still brimming with details.
Even the little Hourglass is showing some features, that's not often seen in M8 images I think. Any chance of a high res crop of the Hourglass? :)

[Octane]

That glow is magic.

Beautiful work. :)

H

[gregbradley]

Good one Mike. You must be happy with that.
Super processing to retain that natural look.

Greg.

[strongmanmike]

Yes the subject of my image here is a little more obscure than what you went for on that Tasco at a Palma but I like a challenge :P



See what you mean Carl but of course you can just shrink the large version in your browser to fit on your screen, this gives the best view :thumbsup:



Cheers Rowland, yes nice gear is good to use but there are a whole gammut of processes and tribulations involved with using this large out in the open portable rig, it is no easy task getting to this final image :)



Thanks Rolf... I tried to respect the light :rolleyes: :lol:



Ditto what I said to Rolf Humayun ;)



Thanks Greg, all the effort is worth the result :thumbsup:

Mike

[multiweb]

Noice!... :D Amazing amount of details in the core's whispy bits and you've captured that blueish outer veil quite nicely. I've only got it under dark skies so quite an achievement under LP. Well done. :thumbsup:

[Ken]

Wow great result, how long were the subs?
Clear skies Ken.

[p1taylor]

That is really natural looking and detailed.

peter

[strongmanmike]

HI Rolf, I just posted a 100% resolution crop (http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/136795422/original)

The seeing as usual was pretty ordinary (I'm sick of it actually) but a bit of decon and mild sharpening shows a bit.

Mike

[strongmanmike]

Well if you didn't like it nobody would :lol: :P

Just posted a 100% res crop (http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/136795422/original) to show the inner details



Thanks Ken, I used 5min subs on this one.



Thanks Peter, that was my intention on this one, after doing mostly narrowband from my light polluted site I though I'd have a crack on a moonless night :D

[John Hothersall]

Getting that blue veil with light pollution is bragging, when dark skies finally make themselves available the contrast and depth could be staggering. Detail is vgood at 1.6"/pix it looks HiRes.

John.

[strongmanmike]

Cheers John, I just posted a 100% res crop. (http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/136795422/original)

Dark skies will be good for sure and hopefully some good seeing :prey:

Mike

[desler]

That really is something Mike. Natural, Colour everywhere, I love it.


Darren

[John Hothersall]

Yes amazing detail but perhaps a bit too blue in the central area but may be caused by that outer blue veil which you have to bring out because its so unusually strong.

John.

[strongmanmike]

Cheers Darren, I am glad you think so, as after a number of narrowband images recently that was my brief on this one :thumbsup:



My understanding is that this curtain of reflection nebulosity actually passes across the face of M8, so the central areas are indeed afected by this blue-ening :).

Mike

[Peter Ward]

Nah. Not convinced. To blue.. But 'purdy just the same :thumbsup:

[atalas]

Sweet !

[strongmanmike]

Hmm?..perhaps..?

But not necessarily ;)

See: http://www.starshadows.com/gallery/display.cfm?imgID=364

Particularly note: "The processing itself was fairly straight forward, and even simple stretching of the RGB combined frame showed far more blue than most of us are used to seeing in this nebula."

I remember reading somewhere else about the blue across the Lagoon too but after a quick search I haven't found it yet...

Mike

[Tom Davis]

Wonderful image, Mike! :thumbsup:

I have always wondered about the blue halo of M8. I don't know of you remember but when I had my Ap155 in Oz I shot the M8 region trio and noted the blue halo. Man, did I get an ear full from folks around the globe that this blue halo did not exist and that it was from my processing. I have seen it since in other deep M8 images. It is nice to see it again in yours. I am beginning to believe that it is real.

-Tom

[strongmanmike]

Of course it's real mate.

It is even in the La Silla 2.2m image (http://www.eso.org/public/images/eso0936a/) although they show it as more of a grey but sheesh grey, blue, meah same thing, there ain't much difference :D the bright areas of the nebula are clearly being blueified too, shame the framing cut off the lower dust curtain I reveled in my image but I can see the start of it at the bottom in the 2.2m shot

We are just ground breakers mate - like Schiaparelli and Lowell ...:question: :lol:

Mike

[strongmanmike]

Here is Homer Simpson (http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/136809438/original) in the Lagoon

:P

[Paul Haese]

Looks good Mikie. Huge vista too. Well done for such short subs.

[Paul Haese]

Well I have it in my shot too Tom. Must be the skies here; perhaps they are darker than else where.:)

[suma126]

looks very deep that's why it looks like its floating . exellant work :thumbsup:

[tornado33]

Well done. Theres traces of the blue halo in a pic I took with the 300mm lens, but yours shows it very well indeed. There is blue reflection nebulosity all around the Lagoon in your pic, but only the deepest pics like yours will show it. That little reflection nebula towards top left is very well shown too. Top class effort mate. That fast light bucket coupled with the big chip camera is showing its stuff.

[jase]

Excellent work Mike. There is no doubt the blue halo is present, alas I agree with Peter in that the image is too blue. Equally the pink hues of the nebula look rather muted, lacking vibrancy. It may help if you balance your black point better (as per the attached). Raising the blue black point would address the "too blue" issue. Personally I'd also be raising the black point of the other channels to get more saturation, but thats a matter of taste. This aside, a top of the shelf image in all. Details are exceptional and you've handled the vast dynamic range of the target very well. Well done.

[strongmanmike]

Howdy Jase

He, he, I must be a non conformist...I balanced it intentionally like this :lol: I know some prefer a little less blue and that's fine but it is clear my eye prefers a slight blue bias :shrug:. However, it makes no difference to the existence of the envelope and curtain and they remain slightly blue regardless nor does it change the fact that there is blue in the Lagoon (http://www.cocktails.eu/recipe/blue+lagoon) :D. Sure adjusting the histograms adjusts the colour from less blue to more grey, plus it blackens the dark areas in the image and gives the colours more contrast. Sometimes I like all this but in this case I didn't like what it did to the image and it was more muted colours and grayer dark areas that I was after - call me stupid :P.

That's the fun thing about this game, you can apply rules and regulations to images but it isn't necessarily always the answer :)

Cheers for your thoughts though and in a perfect world they would be very sound ....I'm just not perfect :lol:

Mike

[CoolhandJo]

Great to see new detail like the blue veil! awesome

[jase]

Whatever floats your boat Mike! :) Rules and regulations? If you know of them, please do tell! :D I think what you are trying to say is there is not right or wrong - completely agree. As the creator, you're the only one that needs to be happy with the image! Again, top image. More please!

[strongmanmike]

I'll try :)

I re did the histograms and you now have me umming and arr'ing :question:

As I noted during the original processing, fully adjusted histograms makes it look too dark and stark..?.....:driving:...

looking at the original, a fully adjusted version and a 50/50 blend of the two together on the screen there ain't much in it really (semantics?) and teh envelope and curtain are still there but more blue-grey now..maybe I go halfway :rolleyes: you're drivin me crazy now :screwy: :lol:

...or maybe I just leave Homer alone :question:

Mike

[gregbradley]

Yes it is definitely there as mentioned it does require dark skies and a deep image to pick it up:

http://www.pbase.com/gregbradley/image/124811617

Another to shift the blue histogram with more control may be with the selective colour tool. Its a pretty awesome tool.

Looking at your image again that is quite remarkable that you picked up so much blue reflection nebulosity in light polluted conditions. Amazing really. For my personal taste I think its pretty spot on as-is only for me I would prefer a bit deeper contrast but that would come from a dark site.

Greg.

[marco]

Nice one Mike :) First time I saw the blue emission in M8 was on this Wolfang Prompter image:
http://www.astro-pics.com/m8plm.htm

I suppose it is real, for sure the way to precess the image is changing a lot the final result and that depends also on the the personal preference of the photographer..

Clear Skies
Marco

[multiweb]

This outer blueish thing is definitely there. I had hints of it as well on a widefield (https://skydrive.live.com/?cid=6930d3ad12d5044c&ref=1&id=6930D3AD12D5044C%21863&sff=1#cid=6930D3AD12D5044C&id=6930D3AD12D5044C%21924)I did from very dark skies. Is is more of a grey tone though.

[strongmanmike]

There is no doubt that the blue curtain I have picked up below the main nebula and the extensions around the outer periphery of the main nebula are real, it is the general blue bias I have retained across the image that Jase questioned and that's perfectly valid - this is the personal preference thing I guess.

Wolfgangs image is very vibrant and colourful for sure and looks great but it doesn't have the real look or perhaps I mean subtle :question: that I was after in this instance and again that's not criticism, after all what is real anyway in this game of ours?..it is what is in the creators eye :thumbsup: There have been plenty of times I have wished to display an object with more punch and colour...just not this time I guess..? Maybe it is because I am imaging from a heavily light polluted sky, so creating a vibrant colourful version was the bit that didn't seem real? ie a more muted delicate approach seemed more appropriate..?

Funny game this imaging :lol:

Mike

[gregbradley]

Maybe you're getter older Mike and like the muted colours now? heheheh:rofl:

Greg.

[marc4darkskies]

Nice shot Mike!

Buuut, to be completely honest, I'd prefer to see more vibrancy in the pinks (but not as fluro as Wolfgang's version!) and a little less blue cast to make the other colours pop.

Cheers, Marcus

[strongmanmike]

He he I've tried a few variations and I can't warm to any of'em :shrug: :screwy: :lol: