Another go at Helix

[sadia]

Inspired by some of the recent helix posts I spent this weekend on helix. Mike needed only 2hrs to show the outer shell where my 7+hrs is still not enough!

I tried to keep the stretch to minimum to avoid too much noise but I guess heavy jpg compression isn't helping much!

TEC160 (last image before flattener i hope)
Astrodon 3nm ha
Exp: 1x 60min; 13x 30min
CCD: Sbig STL
Guiding: MMOAG wtih STL remote guide head

[jase (Jason)]

Nice work Sad. But seriously I can't compute 13x30min subs on an F/8 scope with a STL using a 3nm Ha filter. You sure you're stretching the data correctly? The faint arm should be much stronger in appearance given you should be getting a reasonable S/N. If all else fails, sum the data. That will get it to pop. Would recommend working the data set over a few times to see what works as I'm sure you could improve on this. Keep at it.

[gregbradley]

Wonderful detail there Sad. Awesome scope as well

I like it.

From what I read about others use of 3nm Ha it takes a lot of exposure time.

You could try some subs at 2x2 to pick up the outer halo if that was something you wanted to capture. It looks great as is. I like the fine spikes radiating inwards in the eye.

Greg.

[Moon (James)]

You really need to update your sig!

TSA-102, SW ED-80, C10N | G11 | QHY8 | Ethos17, Powermate 4x

You have taken some awesome shots with the TEC.
How did you combine the 60 and 30 min subs? As Jase said, a sum will do the trick (better than mean or median I'm guessing) Or you could normalize by multiplying the 30 subs x 2 with pixel math.
James

[Ross G]

Hi Sadia,

Your photo looks good.

I like the smooth tones.

Thanks.

Ross.

[Hagar (Doug)]

Nice one Sadia, I am surprised you haven't captured more detail with these exposures. Maybe worth giving it another stretch and push the boundaries a bit harder.

[sadia]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I will be heading for a repro coming weekend and will try few different things to compare the result. On a separate note what sort of RGB ratio and exposure time would work best for this object if i want to do a R: SII; G: Ha B:OIII combination?

[sadia]

Originally Posted by Moon

You really need to update your sig!

You have taken some awesome shots with the TEC.
How did you combine the 60 and 30 min subs? As Jase said, a sum will do the trick (better than mean or median I'm guessing) Or you could normalize by multiplying the 30 subs x 2 with pixel math.
James

i will try that James. I was doing normal mean and i think because I only have 1x 60min sub thrown into the rest its not adding much value. Will have to update the signature too