M104 now in colour

[richardo (Rich)]

Hi all,
took a few nights to get the rgb data due to cloud rolling in..
Now it's raining, so lucky.
Time are getting tough for it to take 3 nights for 90 min of rgb.. sheesh...


Here's a link to the image via my front page....
http://www.baytop-observatory.com/

Click on the main image for a 150% larger version.

Hope your weather is better than mine and your getting
out.

All the best
Rich

[Garyh]

Excellent result Rich! Nice and deep as well. Can`t quiet get as deep with the DSLR here. Looking back at mine, I have to work a bit more on the color balance as looks a little on the red side compared to yours. Your`s looks just right over here!

[bluescope]

Nice to see the colour version Rich ... lots of faint fuzzies around and good definition of the core and dust lanes of 104.

[pgc hunter]

very nice! look at all those faint fuzzy fleas swarming it.

[CoolhandJo (Paul)]

Very nice close up image of M104. I took my very first DSLR picture the other night of this image and it looked like a spec in a very wide field!

[gregbradley]

Awesome image. My monitor shows magenta in the inner halo though. That either should be whitish or slightly yellowish.

I am amazed by the amount of detail you caught. That is something I would normally associate with a 14 inch RC or bigger.

Greg.

[telecasterguru (Frank)]

An amazing image. It is so crystal and detailed. Wonderful.

[Bassnut (Fred)]

wow, very nice, really stands out hanging there in space. I can see a quite a few other galaxies in the frame too, top work.

[spearo (Frank)]

very nice
i'm jealous!
nice and detailed
very well done
frank

[peter_4059 (Peter)]

Great image Rich. The colour certainly makes M104 quite spectacular.

[richardo (Rich)]

Originally Posted by Garyh

Excellent result Rich! Nice and deep as well. Can`t quiet get as deep with the DSLR here. Looking back at mine, I have to work a bit more on the color balance as looks a little on the red side compared to yours. Your`s looks just right over here!

Thanks Gaz!
Lots of dramas taming gradients with this. Have all the led's covered.. got me baffled.

Originally Posted by bluescope

Nice to see the colour version Rich ... lots of faint fuzzies around and good definition of the core and dust lanes of 104.

Thanks Steve!

Originally Posted by pgc hunter

very nice! look at all those faint fuzzy fleas swarming it.

Cheers Peter!

Originally Posted by CoolhandJo

Very nice close up image of M104. I took my very first DSLR picture the other night of this image and it looked like a spec in a very wide field!

Thanks Paul, yeah you'll need a larger apertured scope for getting up on this guy/ Gal with a DSLR!

Originally Posted by gregbradley

Awesome image. My monitor shows magenta in the inner halo though. That either should be whitish or slightly yellowish.
I am amazed by the amount of detail you caught. That is something I would normally associate with a 14 inch RC or bigger.

Greg.

Thanks Greg.
I thought to myself, the colour was a bit of a let down to the lum, as I knew it would be. Adds a bit to it though.
Although I adhered to my extinction factor multiplier routine with my rgb ratios, there was a gradient through the lower portion though. Tends to make balancing the background little hard to get it a good neutral colour.
I had to mask and reduce the red channel some what about the halo as I increase saturation to the overal rgb data on layer blending. Obviously some spligae across the whole image from the gradient. Other wise it would have been ugly magenta/ red. Even now it does show through though. So yes I'm aware the halo should be more white... my monitor too shows this.
Not overly happy with the colour data and the nights. Lots of work arounds to make it happen. Maybe a re shoot on the rgb with a better night.

Happy with the lum though! This primary mirror I have is exquisite when the conditions allow! F4 pulls it in quickly.

Originally Posted by telecasterguru

An amazing image. It is so crystal and detailed. Wonderful.

Thanks Frank!

Originally Posted by Bassnut

wow, very nice, really stands out hanging there in space. I can see a quite a few other galaxies in the frame too, top work.

Cheers for that Fred.
There's a heap in the lum version that are slightly taken out with the rgb data.

Originally Posted by spearo

very nice
i'm jealous!
nice and detailed
very well done
frank

Thanks Frank.
Taken a few years to get decent data on this one for me. Always been hit and miss in the past.. generally passed it up for something else due to conditions this time of the year.

Originally Posted by peter_4059

Great image Rich. The colour certainly makes M104 quite spectacular.

Thanks Peter!

Thanks all for comments and encouragement.
Might do a redux to the colour though. Not all that happy with what I've had to deal with... probably be worth the effort for satisfactions sake.

All the best folks.. hope your able to get out!
Rich

[JD2439975 (Justin)]

I'd have to say a little heavy on the red, the halo & some stars have a pinkish tinge to them.
But other than that this image is fantastic, hard to believe it sprang from a 10" scope with all the detail in the dust lanes, even the inner disc is showing through past a nice tight little core.

Well done Rich.

[multiweb (Marc)]

Wow! awesome Rich!

[richardo (Rich)]

Originally Posted by JD2439975

I'd have to say a little heavy on the red, the halo & some stars have a pinkish tinge to them.
But other than that this image is fantastic, hard to believe it sprang from a 10" scope with all the detail in the dust lanes, even the inner disc is showing through past a nice tight little core.

Well done Rich.

Thanks Justin...
have just re combined the rgb data with a slightly different ratio.
Bit more happier with it.

Originally Posted by multiweb

Wow! awesome Rich!

Thanks Marc...!

Cheers guys
Rich

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

She is a spectacular galaxy and you have done her justice.

Yeh the hues in there aren't peeeeerfect and I am sure they are bluddy anoying you but it is still an excellent image mate

Love the FOV and you have captured the floating in space look very nicely!

Mike

[richardo (Rich)]

Originally Posted by strongmanmike

She is a spectacular galaxy and you have done her justice.

Yeh the hues in there aren't peeeeerfect and I am sure they are bluddy anoying you but it is still an excellent image mate

Love the FOV and you have captured the floating in space look very nicely!

Mike

Thanks Mike!
Have re combined the rgb's to neutral out the halo more.
Been an interesting exercise with processing.
Life would have been easier if I had the chance to take all the rgb's in one night.. really stuffed up my ratios and using extinction factors over three nights.

Any way, the lum tells the story. Am at least happy with that!

Thanks Miguel

All the best
Rich

[Tom Davis (Tom)]

Excellent detail and FOV!

Tom

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

Thanks Mike!
Have re combined the rgb's to neutral out the halo more.

Yes looks a bit better

Been an interesting exercise with processing.
Life would have been easier if I had the chance to take all the rgb's in one night.. really stuffed up my ratios and using extinction factors over three nights.

What are these extinction factors and ratios you speak of.?

Any way, the lum tells the story. Am at least happy with that!

Yes, it's great!

Mike

[Ric]

Lovely image rich, that's a beauty.

So clear and detailed.

Cheers

[richardo (Rich)]

Originally Posted by Tom Davis

Excellent detail and FOV!

Tom

Thanks very much Tom!

Originally Posted by strongmanmike

What are these extinction factors and ratios you speak of.?

Mike

Hey Mike...
Ratios are my G2V star weights that match my system.
I'm sure we've discussed this before???
Ok I take an even amount and exposed subs in all channels but apply them with different intensities.
For my system- R=1.215 G=1 B=1.282. (these figures were derived from taking short exposures of a G2V analogue star with my setup. You write down their separate intensities and divide first the red into green... this is your red ratio, divide the blue into the green... this is your blue ratio and we call the green 1.) You still have to add a multiplier factor to what ever altitude you were shooting the star at, because of colour extinction, but once this is done, these ratios/ weights are your base...
Ok, so these ratios are if I we were pointing our scope up at 90* at the zenith... no interference, shortest distance of atmosphere to go through.
The further you go down from zenith, the less transmission certain wave lengths have, more so with blue light.... because there will be more interference and more atmosphere to go through.
I use a chart that tells me the multiplier factors I need to use in conjunction with my pre- determined rgb ratio/ weights.

Ex. if the object was at say 65*.. my chart tells me I need to multiply my R (1.215)x 1.011, G(1) x 1.017 & B(1.282) x 1.026.
So now my corrected weights will be
R=1.228, G= 1.017 and B=1.315... this is what I plug in maxim when I do a rgb combine.
This of course can fail if conditions change in the night. But at the very least it gives us a mathmatical pedestal to work.

A few guys who are no slouches developed this method back in -1998 when ccd detectors were coming of age..... Chuck Shaw, Al Kelly, Ed Grafton and Richard Berry.... plenty on the net about them. I remember reading the article in Sky and Telescope.
You can use Richard Berry's AIP4WIN which has a colour calculator tool in it as well.

I know some compare their images to others on the net and adjust accordingly, but why do this when we have a mathmatical approach rather than guess work. Many imagers use this method.
Yep, all artistic license though I know, and up to each and every individual on how they want to do things......

Originally Posted by Ric

Lovely image rich, that's a beauty.

So clear and detailed.

Cheers

Thanks very much Ric !

Cheers all, hope you're able to get out while the moon's gone!

Rich