M20 - last hurrah version 2 ;-)

[swannies1983]

After thinking I wouldn't be able to get out anymore with my wife soon to give birth, the clear sky last night was just too tempting. So I collected another 1hr 40mins of M20 before the clouds started rolling in.

Details
Scope: 8" Newt
Mount: EQ6
Camera: unmodded 400d
Exposure: 32x5mins @ ISO800 (2hrs 40mins total exposure time)
Lights, darks and flats stacked in DSS with processing done in PS.

Higher resolution here (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47268787@N05/7238527306/in/photostream/)

Feedback welcome :D

[AlexP]

Love the colors. Well done !

[naskies]

Nice one. The faint dust in the background looks a bit splotchy to me - is that a processing artefact or how the dust actually appears?

[swannies1983]

Thanks Alex and Dave. Not sure about the splotchy appearance of the dust. Which bits are you talking about?

[astronobob]

Nice going Dan, always a tough decider eh, Lol , , Not much beats a clear sky, Top show for a hurried mission, great colour BTW !

[swannies1983]

Spent a bit more time processing the pseudo luminance layer and combined it with the the colour data. Not sure if it makes any difference compared to processing just the RGB image, but I'm really liking this method as noise has been reduced in the fainter outer regions of the reflection nebula but detail is still preserved. Not bad for 2hrs worth of data. Hopefully I can collect a few more hours in a couple of months time.

Image here (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47268787@N05/7301143934/in/photostream/)

[Craig_L]

Well done with the unmodded 400d Dan. Did you use a light pollution filter?

[strongmanmike]

The latest version is excellent Dan, the colours are lovely :thumbsup:

Mike

[swannies1983]

Thanks Craig and Mike :)

Craig: Yes, I used a hutech light pollution suppression filter. Allows me to go out to over 10mins @ ISO800 if needed. Would normally only be able to image to about 5mins otherwise.