Dark Doodad Mosaic

[Paul Haese]

This image is a two panel mosaic taken over the last couple of nights.

Long on my list of things to image and a request from one of our society life members moved it further up the list.

The globular cluster is NGC4372. It is around 10" in diameter. The dark doodad is a stellar nursery which is probably the closest to Earth. It was first coined thhe dark doodad by Dennis di Cicco in 1988. It is a really cool looking object and quite dusty.

Click here (http://paulhaese.net/NGC4372andDarkDoodad.html)for image.

Comments welcome.

Edit - just for those that love resolution I have attached a crop of the globular at full resolution. I think you will agree the stars are nicely resolved.

[astroron]

Nice image, your pic really gives one the real shape of it:thanx:
In the scope it is too large to get the overall shape.
Cheers

[mill]

Love the contrast between the cluster and the bright blue star and the doodad.
Nicely done.

[TrevorW]

Have to agree there

Cheers

[iceman]

Really nice Paul. Can you get rid of the satellite trail? It's the only distracting thing..

[Paul Haese]

Thanks guys.

I have included a full res crop of the globular.

Mike, only one way to rid those is to do lots and lots more subs to eradicate them. I might have to sort this in the coming month. I am not overly fussed by the trails but it might be nicer if removed.

[Rigel003]

That came out really well Paul, and you got the whole hockey stick bit in the frame. I didn't realise you'd put so much time into those subs. The glow around the bright blue star looks definitely like there was a a bit of thin cloud at some stage.

[Paul Haese]

Thanks Graeme. The figures are a bit misleading. One panel has 60 30 30 35. The other has 50 25 25 30. I figure the amounts could be combined together.

I did several focus runs last night for the second panel and slept in between each run. I was getting a little tired after our previous nights efforts. Focus did not shift from about 12pm last night.

The mosaic could do with another two panels directly underneath these two. It would show the little bit I missed. Maybe in the coming months.

No cloud last night and the halo is present, so it is most likely a minor reflection coming off an internal surface. I took an extra 3 subs in the blue and each of these have the same minor halo. It is not too distracting though. I sort of like the effect. :)

[Rigel003]

Oh I'm getting my nights mixed up. You took the 2nd panel last night! :P
Well amazingly the forecast is for sunny all week so plenty of opportunity to get the extra two.

[Peter Ward]

Damm your pristine clear skies :)

Nice one :thumbsup:

[atalas]

Nice work Paul,looks great! Oh,AA5 has a new cosmetic filter called "Line Filter"does a great job in removing these satellite trails...no artifacts that I can see remaining.

[Stevec35]

Nice Paul. I love the contrast between the globular and the dark nebula.

Cheers

Steve

[Ross G]

A beautiful photo Paul.

Sharp and detailed.

I love the rich colours and composition.

Thanks.

Ross.

[allan gould]

Beautiful mosaic with the Takahashi. That scope really delivers exquisite detail.

[gregbradley]

That's a great image Paul. I think these widefield scopes really sing with Mosaic shots.

Greg.

[strongmanmike]

Eeek there seems to be a large dark smudge on your CCD window Paul :scared:

Yes I like the close crop...I see a star fish in there :whistle:

Very nice result :thumbsup: I had that on my possibles list for the AG12 if I get to dark skies soon and your image has strengthened its chances.

Mike

[Tandum]

Paul, how do you combine the subs? If I use sdmask, tails from aircraft don't show up in the result.

Nice image.

[multiweb]

Very smooth Paul. Love the resolution and the colors you've got in the whole field. Very nicely done. :thumbsup: One I'd like to image as well. On my list to-do.

[SkyViking]

That's looking very nice Paul, some great colours and an interesting field as usual. I'm always looking forward to your images :)

[Paul Haese]

Not pristine enough to do planetary imaging though. Seeing was good but not good enough for planetary work.



I'm using CCDstack and previously the data rejection has elminated the trails. This is one of the last Lum subs, it got rid of the other parts of the trails but not here. I will play with the settings and see where it has failed.



Yes your field of view would gobble this up nicely Mike. I am really happy about the result, there is something quite nice about dark dust and other celestial objects in the field.



I use median combine in CCDstack. Usually it works quite well but I suspect there is a fault in the setting I used.

Thanks everyone else for the replies. Proof positive I put the mount back together correctly I would say.;) Looking forward to my next mosaic now.

[RickC]

Hi Paul,
another great image, I like this area of the sky, a lot of interesting things happening
well done

Richard

[Virgs]

This image shows the result of all the tinkering to get the mount right. Most people here do not know how much time Paul has spent on making sure this mount points, tracks and is balanced. He has agonised over the niggles and now it is a sweet thing and more importantly gives him repeatable results night after night - just as advertised. Next big step will be when the 12 inch is loaded up and I am looking forward to those results, having already been privy to a glimpse of what is to come. Oh and the image is a cracker too!

[Peter.M]

The dark doodad displays deep detail, delightful.

[Paul Haese]

Nice alliteration there Peter. That is a six for.



Thanks Tony for the support. :thumbsup:



I have several DSLR images of around that region, that need to come off the camera. You are right the whole area is full of intersting objects.

[Star Catcher]

Excellent detail in there Paul. Thanks.

Ted

[erick]

Very nice, Paul.

[Paul Haese]

Thanks guys.

[cventer]

This is a wonderfull object Paul. Full of contrasting colors and interest. Nicely processed.

Not one you see often. I would love to try this but not so sure how it would go from light polluted back yard.

[Paul Haese]

Thanks Chris.

It is in a relatively bright part of the Milky Way so it should show up with relatively short subs. Worth a try. For the colour I did 5 minute subs binned 2x2 and for the luminence I did 10 minutes at 1x1. For a mosaic it is worth using the mosaic function in the sky. Set that up first before slewing to target.

This image really needs the other two panels I had planned for it to give an overall picture and some space around the object. So next month I will have to get that done.