This is the completed image of the tarantula nebula. Taken over 17 nights the total integration time was 28.5 hours. It contains data in the following amounts:
SII 400 minutes
Ha 480 minutes
OIII 460 minutes
Red 100 minutes
Green 140 minutes
blue 130 minutes
This image is a combination of narrow band data and RGB data. I used the narrow band data as a mask over the RGB using lighten mode in PS6. This helped to remove most of the magenta from the stars and give the whole image a more rounded look in my opinion. I found it interesting that there are no really bright blue stars in the field of view. Most of the brighter stars are orange or red giants.
The last time I imaged this target (2009) with a long focal length scope was with the RC8 and the QSI which I have included the
link here for comparison. I always wanted to do another image of this target with both narrow band and broad band data and perhaps do it justice.
This image is a crop of about 80% of the field to give a better composition and slightly resampled down.
Click here for larger resolution image.