LDN 1773 - Pipe Nebula

[jase]

Hi All,

Having enjoyed imaging the Snake Nebula (B72) recently, I thought I'd have a go at acquiring data on a nearby starfield. The Pipe Nebula has been a well seasoned target for many so its hard to bring something different to a common scene. Anyway, here's my rendition;

LDN 1773 - Pipe Nebula (http://cosmicphotos.com/gallery/image.php?fld_image_id=239&fld_album_id=11)

The Pipe Nebula (aka LDN 1773, Barnard 59,65-67 and 78) as its name implies is a smoking pipe shaped dark nebula located in the constellation Ophiuchus (the Serpent Bearer). This cloud of gas and dust spans a large area of the sky and forms the hind quarters of the Dark Horse Nebula, an even larger dark nebula complex. The stem of the pipe comprises of catalogue items B59, B65-67, with the pipe bowl as B78. The nebula’s opaque clouds absorb and block the starlight of the background Milky Way stars.

Still trying to catch up on processing previously acquired data. This one was acquired back in August. I went for a traditional RGB for this image as I've always enjoyed the rich star colours that this composition delivers. Also being a relatively bright area, its possible to get away with not acquiring luminance. incorporated basic PI routines into more familar flows such as DBE, HDRWavelets to bring out the super faint dust structure, but most of the work was still done in CCDStack and Photoshop. Calculated framing, the FSQ/U16M FoV isn't large enough so two panels were required. Very little effort was needed to match the two panels. What I do enjoy with the image is the contrasting hues of the milky way scaning from top to bottom. Bright stars at the top unobscured by dust which progressively alters towards the bottom of the image.

Thanks in advance for check the image out. :)

Ps. For those interested, there is now an annotated version of the Octans Nebulae (http://cosmicphotos.com/gallery/image.php?fld_image_id=231&fld_album_id=9) available on the image page.

[John Hothersall]

That is a fantastic dust track with jet black areas to it. Just love the colour glow around the bright stars.

John.

[jase]

Thanks John. Its quite an interesting target to process keeping the milkyway stars intact. I'm pleased you liked it.

[ballaratdragons]

Jase, truly a stunning capture of a stunning area of sky.

Beautiful contrast. Well done mate :thumbsup:

[jase]

Cheers Ken. Good to hear from you. Thanks for checking out the image. Appreciate the feedback.

[Martin Pugh]

Very nicely composed Jase. Love the contrast in this.

You're pretty good at this mosaic work!

Martin

[Ross G]

A beautiful photo Jase.

Amazing detail and colours anf I love the tonal range and composition.

Thanks.

Ross.

[iceman]

This is a beauty, Jase. I really love dark nebula images and this one is no exception.

This is now IOTW (http://www.iceinspace.com.au).

[iceman]

This is a beauty, Jase. I really love dark nebula images and this one is no exception.

This is now IOTW (http://www.iceinspace.com.au).

[RickS]

A stunning image, Jase!

I'm trying to process 5+ hours of LDN 673 at present and finding it quite challenging.

Cheers,
Rick.

[gregbradley]

That is a super image Jase. I think these mosaics are a great format.

Greg.

[strongmanmike]

Yeh great shot Jase, cool choice of target.

Some lovely subtle bits here and there, quite majestic, nice work! :)

Mike

[Lester]

Wonderful view Jase, thanks.

[jase]

Cheers Martin! The composition appeared most logical to frame the object. It does provide an interesting perspective. Thanks for your comment.



Thanks Ross! I'm pleased with the final colours. At first I thought the panel differences were gradient related, not the transition to the richer parts of the dust shrouded Milkyway.



Thank you kindly Mike. I am very much honored for this image to be selected as IOTW.



Cheers Rick! LDN673 is a cool target. Hope to see your result soon - take your time to work the data over to see what its capable of. Thanks for your feedback.



Thanks Greg! Its difficult to call two panels a mosaic these days so I'll use the term loosely. Thanks for checking the image out.



Cheers Mike! Pleased you liked it. Thanks for the feedback.



Thanks Lester. Appreciated.

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Thanks all :)

[desler]

Stunning Jase, Stars are really are quite something, beautifully processed and presented image.


Darren

[Paul Haese]

Nice Jase. The golden hues mixed with the dark dust makes for a really nice looking image. Love the whispy detail.

[jjjnettie]

I swooned as soon as I opened the image. Wow Jase.
You've done this one to a turn. Stunning! :D

[TheDecepticon]

A well deserving image of the week, great job!:thumbsup:

[marco]

Really well deserved IOT Jase, perfect image in any aspect

Cheers
Marco

[atalas]

Well deserved IOTW Jase! spectacularly presented in this two panel mosaic.

[Garyh]

Very nice Jase!
Look at all those pinpoint stars!
Not to mention that dusty stuff :thumbsup:
I wish I had a TAK!

[Octane]

The maestro adorns us, yet again, with another celestial masterpiece of a concerto.

Your composition and stellar profiles are love, my friend.

H

[RobF]

Yes, you make it all look so deceptively easy Jase - so smooth your eye just drinks it in without letting your brain worry about just how technically demanding the collection and processing would be. :)
Top shot! :thumbsup:

[peter_4059]

Amazing stuff Jase. The colour transition in the surrounding star field really caught my eye. You've done a great job with the mosiac.

[richardo]

Beautifully put together, with forethought on this mosaic to present an object rarely seen at this resolution Jase!

Gotta love the intensity of the star cloud, just so much top take in, in one image.

Great!

Rich

[jase]

Cheers Darren! Stars tend to make or break an image but its difficult at times to get the right balance. Small stars emphasise the extended object whereas if stars are the feature, its ok to leave them regular sized as the come straight off the chip. Thanks for your feedback.



Thanks Paul! I'll attribute the faint structure of dust to PI's routines of which I'm still getting a handle on. Fun learning though!



Thank you kindly JJJ! Am pleased you enjoyed it!



Cheers Gray. Thanks for checking it out!



Thanks Marco. The data set was hit and miss at one stage due to poor red filtered skyflats, but it came out well in the end. Appreciate the positive feedback.



Cheers Louie. The two panels seems to fit the scene well. I did contemplate reusing the B72 image and doing a four panel mosaic, but wasn't the optimal time to be doing this work. Thanks for the kind words.



Thanks Gary. Yes, pin point stars to the edge. This set up has taken a while to get such a flat field with a big chip however. All working quite well now.



Thanks H! Appreciate the kind words. I don't mind a challenge when it comes to composition. Providing the viewer with a different perspective on a common target is always fun. Thanks again.



Thanks Rob! I never said it was easy. All images have their problems, even those taken from dark skies. Two panels is certainly easier than four, eight or twelve but the process of matching doesn't alter just the quantity of work. Am pleased you enjoy it.



Cheers Peter! I would normally look at a wide field image of the area to determine the presence of gradients. In this case I thought the colour transition was a gradient, until I referenced a wide field image which implied it was real. Thanks for checking it out.



Thanks Rich! The MilkyWay starfields with either dust or bright nebulosity really provide a pleasing contrast to each other. There are a few clusters in the area presented. I'll perhaps look at producing an annotated version of the image soon. Thanks for your comments.

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Once again, thanks all.:)

[Tom Davis]

Such a beautiful image. One of the best I've seen of this object.

Tom

[Leonardo70]

Jase ... congratulations ... the best i have seen about this object ...

All the best,
Leo

[LucasB]

It is an absolute pleasure viewing your images. I love the full high-res versions that you post. I get lost in them for ages!:thumbsup::thumbsup:
Lucas

[Ric]

A stunning image Jase, I could stare into this one for hours.

[Hagar]

Great image Jase. Even the tiny stars are resolved well. Great stuff.

[Alchemy]

Nice work.

Some images are like rock music, bright and attention getting, others are like some nice quiet jazz, pleasant to consume and enjoyable, this is very much in that class. Enjoyable to look at and strangely tranquil, a very nice composition.

[jase]

Thanks Tom! A bit of dust never hurt anyone right...you've collected plenty in the past with no side effects!



Cheers Leo. Appreciate the kind words.



Thanks Lucas! I'm pleased you enjoy full resolution. Sometimes its the only way to completely enjoy the scene...by swimming around in it!



Cheer Ric! Thanks for taking the time to check it out.



Thanks Doug! The stars are straight out of the camera. Sometimes I shrink them to accentuate the nebulosity, but it didn't look right for this image.



Cheers Clive. Music is subjective making it difficult to appeal to all. I think you're on the right track though, this probably sits well with an easy listening station. Muted tones, no heavy hydrogen alpha red guitar riffs. All good. Thanks for checking it out.

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Thanks all :)

[CoolhandJo]

Wow - a masterpiece! Love the wide field and detail

[jase]

Thanks Paul! Appreciated.