Hey all
I've not really concentrated on this image other than trying to bring out the core without having to resort to masking. After following Bert's efforts in HDR, and sometimes not really understanding why he employed HDR for some shots, I've used it here to bring out the core. Thanks Bert - HDR really does help in the case of M42's easy to blow out main feature.
This is a result of only 14 images - 4 at 360 secs and 10 at 15 secs -merged in HDR via PSCS4. No stacking. Noise is still a problem so what I'll do next time is try stacking several HDR images which in turn have been derived from groups of different exposures. Alternatively, it's time to cool the 350D....
Anyway - I'm pretty happy with this core, but more exposure time is needed to do the rest justice. It's pretty pale - but I kinda like that look rather than "oomphy" shots.