Lagoon to Eagle in Hydrogen alpha

[multiweb]

Had a great week of imaging since last Sunday until last night. Clouds are back now but I managed to do 6 panels totalling about 30h of data. Tuesday was the best night by far. Seeing was ok. Saturday/Sunday were windy and the other nights the seeing wasn't great but the transparency was good and the air was dry so it did helps.

I shot these with a QHY9 and an SMC Pentax-M 150mm lens stopped down to f/5.6 and the subs vary from 20x to 30x10min. Baader Ha 7nm.

I did a couple of versions of this file as it is pretty big at about 8000px wide.

There's a 75% version here (http://www.astropic.net/astro/M16_to_M8_ha_150mm_fff.jpg). [10MB - 5342x2779]
a 50% version here (http://www.astropic.net/astro/M16_to_M8_ha_150mm_ff.jpg). [5MB - 3816x1985]
and one HD version here (http://www.astropic.net/astro/M16_to_M8_ha_150mm_sf.jpg)[1.6MB - 2076x1080]

I also did a platesolve which is available here (https://public.bay.livefilestore.com/y1psRI6kSMKTMzaAp7vu7vkAah4383SFZCJ mM2zbSqhdeKWA__TcYAsTEyV5SnoBXpQ4Gk C3FE4jKVpMZN4fQQY-A/M16_to_M8_ha_150mm_sf_T.jpg?psid=1) [1.2MB]. Stacked with CCD Stack, saved as scaled TIFF files then registered in registar. The panels were then blended in Photoshop, noise reduction, levels, etc... If you need any details about processing steps fire away.

Thanks for looking and enjoy the view :thumbsup:

[rustigsmed]

WOW!
awesome work Marc!

[gregbradley]

Superb work Marc.

One of your finest.

Greg.

[RickS]

Very nice, Marc!

What do you use to do the plate solve and annotation?

[troypiggo]

That is awesome! Really well done.

[multiweb]

Thanks mate. :thumbsup:


Thanks Greg. :thumbsup: Not the best but pretty happy with it. The longest imaging run I've had to date. 1 week straight.


Thanks Rick. I use unimap that you can download here (http://larryo.org/astronomy/software/unimap/download.html). You first do a star detection then give a hint. I typed M8. Then you give the FL (150mm) as it's a mosaic you multiply the sensor size by the number of panels. So 6 x 2 in this case. It will then do its thing and overlay the grid and annotations. I then just invert the picture so it's clearer to read.


Thanks a lot Troy. Glad you liked it. :thumbsup:

[Mighty_oz]

U sure do produce some nice work Marc, make a great planner for some more detailed stuff :)

[multiweb]

Thanks Marcus. Yes it's good to see it all in one shot. Makes it a lot easier to go and dig stuff at long FL. I use a lot of my milkyway shots to go find nebulosity. It also helps when you process long FL pics and you might have a gradient which is in fact real and part of a larger structure.

[Martin Pugh]

Nicely done Marc.

I am assuming no one has looked at your 50%, 75% or HD versions because none of the links work for me.

Martin

[strongmanmike]

What a fabulous shot of the Lagoon...what is all that other stuff around it :shrug: probably should have cropped it out :D

:P....nah, great piece of work there Marc, very well done :clap:

Mike

[Marke]

Awesome Marc :thumbsup:

[Gem]

Stunning! :)

[multiweb]

:shrug: That's odd. Anyone else having trouble with the links? :question:


:lol: Thanks mate. I actually started with M8 then the sky kept being clear ... so I got side tracked. :)




Thanks a lot for the comments guys. :thumbsup:

[Paul Haese]

Cool field of view Marc. Heaps of objects to see and dark dust really sets off the image. I looked at the 10mb image and my only comment is like any image is more data to get that pesky noise out. On a coolness level though it is chilly. :thumbsup:

[atalas]

Looks great!well done Marc.

[multiweb]

Thanks Paul. :thumbsup: I used to think that widefields don't suffer from seeing but in closer look you can see the difference in star resolution in the various panels shot under different conditions. The best night was the panel in the bottom center. The bottom right and top left were shot in high wind. The Lagoon and Swan/Eagle pair were shot in average seeing.

When you stitch together the good panels with the bad ones the myriad of faint resolved stars turn into mush so you have to do the best you can to match the seams. This is not quite visible at 50% which is ok. I'm trying to portrait the whole area with decent resolution which the 150mm gives me. 100mm doesn't and 200mm is too narrow FOV. There is also a tilt in the field which I need to shim the lens for. To get top-res you'd need an FSQ106 and consistently good seeing. One day...

Thanks a lot Louie and welcome back to NSW. :thumbsup:

[atalas]

Thanks a lot Louie and welcome back to NSW. :thumbsup:[/QUOTE]


Not quite Marc....I'm in Melbourne,enjoying the cool weather:lol:

[Ross G]

Hi Marc,

What an amazing, wide photo.

Sharp, detailed and beautiful tones.

The Pentax lens and your mosaic skills work well together.

I'm impressed.

Ross.

[prokyon]

Wow, stunning! So deeeep!

[multiweb]

Ha... bring them some sun and dry air. ;)


Thanks a lot Ross. Glad you like it. :thumbsup:


Thanks Werner. :thumbsup:

[CoolhandJo]

Masterful!

[multiweb]

Too kind mate but not even close. :thumbsup:

[iceman]

Wow Marc, that's just beautiful. I really really like this.

Will you be doing a colour version too? :)

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

[gregbradley]

Congrats on IOTW Marc, well deserved.

Greg.

[multiweb]

Thanks a lot Mike. :thumbsup: No I don't think so. It would require too much work.


Thanks again Greg. :thumbsup:

[CapturingTheNight]

Sensational image Marc :thumbsup: Congrats on IOTW

[multiweb]

Thanks a lot Greg. :thumbsup:

[seeker372011]

Adding to the chorus but it is a great shot and clearly well planned and executed

[SkyViking]

Wow that's really beautiful and nicely processed. It's great to swim around in the large version. I'd be eagerly awaiting a colour rendition too, will there be one...?
And congratulations on IOTW! :)

[multiweb]

Thanks Narayan. :thumbsup: I'm glad you think it was planned but as my mate always eloquently put it I tend to do 'jazz' imaging. :lol: I did a panel on M16/17 then M8/20. As the week turned out to be clear every night I filled the gaps in between and it turned out ok ;)


Thanks again Rolf. :thumbsup: I wish there was but it would be a lot of work to do with 6 panels x 3 colors. Maybe one day I do it with the OSC but I'm more interested in doing more Ha of very large chunks of sky with a 35mm and 28mm and see what's outhere. I'm waiting for the next clear nights and want to image the Eridanus Bubble alongside the Barnard Loop. Those are very big structures spanning across constellations.

[Regulus]

I'm a bit awe-struck. That's an amazing panel Marc.
If it's ok I'd like to link it on my FB page (trying to educate my friends who don't yet 'get it'. Hard job but someone should do it.
Again. Awe Struck.

And news just to hand: Congratulations on IOTW

[Carl]

Stunning image Marc, think i might put the scope away and just have a go with the camera.

Regards
Carl

[peter_4059]

Wow - that's an amazing field Marc. Really puts it all in perspective.

[Octane]

Super work, Marc.

And, yes, mosaics are a pain in the butt. My Rho Ophiuchus mosaic is going to span 3 years of effort, haha. :cryface:

Congratulations on Image of the Week, too!

H

[multiweb]

Thanks a lot Trevor. :thumbsup: No worries - go for it.

Thanks Carl. By all mean do. Point and shoot. Easy peasy :thumbsup:


Thanks for the comments Peter. :thumbsup:


Thanks mate. :thumbsup: Yes it can especially if you do color with filters. But hey, Rho will still be there next year, and the year after.... no rush. :)

[Ross G]

Hi Marc,

Finally switched the computer on today.....Congratulations on IOTW!

Well deserved, it's a great photo.

Ross.

[multiweb]

:) Thanks Ross. Catch up soon. :thumbsup:

[RobF]

Heck, how did I miss this one.
Top stuff Marc - showing us how its done again. Love these widefields.

[David Fitz-Henr]

Just caught up with this one - great work and well deserved IOTW! I see what you mean as well regarding how useful these ultra wide field images would be in targeting objects of interest for longer fl's. :thumbsup:

[multiweb]

Too kind Rob. :thumbsup: Did you manage to do some more Ha with your lens? I shot Ara with 35mm last night. Moon is getting a little bright but turned out sort of ok.


Thanks a lot David for the kind comments. :thumbsup: Glad to see you find the fields useful for chasing stuff.

[RobF]

I've been too busy alas with work since Astrofest Marc. Definitely on the To Do list though now I've got most of the bits and pieces together. I've got a few Pentax prime lenses now. Have actually been having more fun with them on the 450D during the day than astrophotography to be honest :D

[marco]

Quote 100%, excellente shot Marc!

Clear skies
Marco

[Leonardo70]

Congrats, this is a great shot ....

All the best,
Leo

[multiweb]

Daylight Photography? Traitor! :P


Thanks Marco. Much appreciated mate. :thumbsup:


Thanks a lot Leo. :thumbsup: