The Pillars of Creation

[Raydar (Ray Palmer)]

Shot this a couple of weeks back. Full frame is 3175 pixels. This is the usual NB channels with Luminance at 1x1.

Shooting at prime through the C14 gets up close to the nebula. I really like this object.



Larger (half sized) version can be found here.

Always a balancing act getting the colours acceptable IMO. Feedback welcome as always.

Ray

[atalas]

Love the detail and contrast and colour looks good as well

[alpal]

Deleted by me - Alpal - the spammer is gone now.

[alpal]

Great shot Ray,
you're doing amazing images with that C14.

cheers
Allan

[Raydar (Ray Palmer)]

Originally Posted by atalas

Love the detail and contrast and colour looks good as well

Cheers Louie.

Originally Posted by alpal

Great shot Ray,
you're doing amazing images with that C14.
Allan

Al the C14 is a great scope but with aspects such as mirror flop, front corrector plate, primary holding heat and metallic body it can be like having a 3 year in the observatory sometimes when shooting at prime. However I can't grumble, she's a work horse and I totally get my pound of flesh from her.

Ray

[Atmos (Colin)]

It is nicely resolved Ray! There is evidence of mirror flop but not much you can do about that given the design

Colour wise, it is a tad too green for what you're after but it is getting close

[alpal]

Originally Posted by Raydar

Al the C14 is a great scope but with aspects such as mirror flop, front corrector plate, primary holding heat and metallic body it can be like having a 3 year in the observatory sometimes when shooting at prime. However I can't grumble, she's a work horse and I totally get my pound of flesh from her.

Ray

Hi Ray,
yes you certainly do have that beast tamed -
fl at 3910 mm imaging at f11 with round stars is amazing.
You can really zoom in on all our favorite targets for a different view.

cheers
Allan

[traveller (Bo)]

Great details Ray,
A triumph to image at that FL and get this sort of results.
Bo

[Placidus (Mike and Trish)]

There is some very sharp detail there in the pillars, Ray. The "hair" evaporating from the top of the main pillar is impressive and well captured. All our favourite micro-features are there sharp and clear.

The colour (S:H:O ratio) is well balanced, but perhaps a bit fluoro. I wouldn't normally recommend increasing the saturation in a NB image as they are usually pretty colourful all by themselves.

Well done!

[Andy01 (Andy)]

I'm enjoying the composition and moody feel of this image.

[topheart]

Well done. I reckon long focal length imagers deserve credit !!
Cheers,
Tim

[Slawomir (Suavi)]

Love the detail, awesome image Ray

[Spookyer (Brett)]

That is zoomed right in on that one Ray, well done.

[beren]

great work mate

[Raydar (Ray Palmer)]

Originally Posted by Atmos

It is nicely resolved Ray! There is evidence of mirror flop but not much you can do about that given the design

Cheers Colin, you are right about the green and mirror flop. One day I'll upgrade the scope but for now I might try and lock the mirror even further. I already have horizontal and vertical locking knobs which have helped significantly but not 100%.

Originally Posted by traveller

Great details Ray,
A triumph to image at that FL and get this sort of results.
Bo

Originally Posted by Placidus

There is some very sharp detail there in the pillars, Ray. The "hair" evaporating from the top of the main pillar is impressive and well captured. All our favourite micro-features are there sharp and clear.

The colour (S:H:O ratio) is well balanced, but perhaps a bit fluoro. I wouldn't normally recommend increasing the saturation in a NB image as they are usually pretty colourful all by themselves.

Well done!

Mike / Trish, totally agree with the saturation. Thanks for the feedback.

Thanks to everyone else for their kind words. Only those that do this sport know the mountains we all climb.

Ray