Slim pickings here on the east coast lately - and with only a few hours of imaging available in the past few weeks, I thought I'd hit this ol' favourite on the rise in the wee hours last week. All up- only managed 2.5hrs which I thought would be enough for the c14 @ f1.9 and such a bright target... but the dimmer perimeter has suffered unfortunately with some serious noise to deal with.
I elected for 30sec subs with the Antila triband RGB filter to keep the trap under control. Funny though, even though I succeeded in not blowing that out, I actually didn't like the appearance of a dim contrasty core in m42. Maybe it's just not what I'm used to, but after trying a few different versions chose to keep it pretty bright (not clipped I hope) and then proceeded to process a second image with just the trap/trapezium. Shooting @ f1.9 and ~680mm has its challenges, but think this worked out ok.
C14 non edge @f1.9 with the Starizona Hyperstar v3 (f1.9, 680ish mm fl)
EQ8 pro
Asi2600mc pro gain 0
Asi220mm / guidescope
ZWO EAF
ASIAIR pro / APP / PI / LR
Love the comments and feedback - thanks for checking it out!!
A 14" at F1.9 aaah yes, stuff of dreams when I was a young astrophotographer...aah sigh
I think you have done a very good job with the dynamic range there Dave. Getting the dynamic range balance right on this baby is quite difficult and it's always fun zooming in on the Trap too, to see what you can dig out .
Dave,
Nice work on an extremely bright target
Like Mike said , a 14” at f2 is an insanely fast light bucket , a gigantic photon muncher !!
The colour could do with a bit more saturation or balance ( Ony my observation) but a tremendous image all the same. The core region image is a cracker !!
I don’t think I’ve seen one of your images using the Antlia Triband RGB or maybe I haven’t picked it up.
You’ve got me thinking about this filter.
I really struggle with broadband galaxy imaging in Sydney due to my scopes 8” aperture and 1000mm focal length but more importantly, the LP under B8 Skies. Even using my Luminance filter at 30 sec subs washes out the image with noise ( RGB at least give some defence against noise ) We don’t get enough clear moonless nights in Sydney to gather 20 or 30 or 40 hours of data ( which is what’s required to maximise SNR ) on a particular target whilst it’s in my semi restricted field of view.
Testar mention in their notes on this filter that it could replace a Luminance filter in a Mono camera. So standard LRGB to Triband RGB , R, G , B
If so this would be a deal breaker for those with Mono cameras imaging under B7 to B9 City Suburban skies and want to get the best low noise data out of Broadband targets.
My only concern with this filter is colour , although the specs say it balances RGB spectrum response quite well , even though it primarily a narrowband filter.
Your thoughts. ?
A 14" at F1.9 aaah yes, stuff of dreams when I was a young astrophotographer...aah sigh
I think you have done a very good job with the dynamic range there Dave. Getting the dynamic range balance right on this baby is quite difficult and it's always fun zooming in on the Trap too, to see what you can dig out .
Mike
Cheers Mike. Yes it is quite a challenge and so many interpretations when it comes to the final presentation. I'm glad I had the shorter subs to play with which gave me the freedom to go any way I wanted. Perhaps integrating some longer subs into the mix may have helped with the outer regions a bit but probably just needed a few more hours of data...
Dave,
Nice work on an extremely bright target
Like Mike said , a 14” at f2 is an insanely fast light bucket , a gigantic photon muncher !!
The colour could do with a bit more saturation or balance ( Ony my observation) but a tremendous image all the same. The core region image is a cracker !!
I don’t think I’ve seen one of your images using the Antlia Triband RGB or maybe I haven’t picked it up.
You’ve got me thinking about this filter.
I really struggle with broadband galaxy imaging in Sydney due to my scopes 8” aperture and 1000mm focal length but more importantly, the LP under B8 Skies. Even using my Luminance filter at 30 sec subs washes out the image with noise ( RGB at least give some defence against noise ) We don’t get enough clear moonless nights in Sydney to gather 20 or 30 or 40 hours of data ( which is what’s required to maximise SNR ) on a particular target whilst it’s in my semi restricted field of view.
Testar mention in their notes on this filter that it could replace a Luminance filter in a Mono camera. So standard LRGB to Triband RGB , R, G , B
If so this would be a deal breaker for those with Mono cameras imaging under B7 to B9 City Suburban skies and want to get the best low noise data out of Broadband targets.
My only concern with this filter is colour , although the specs say it balances RGB spectrum response quite well , even though it primarily a narrowband filter.
Your thoughts. ?
Cheers
Martin
Thanks Martin - appreciate your kind words.
It's funny you mention the colour balance - for some reason PI wouldn't give me an astrometric solution so I couldn't do SPCC like I normally do and had to do the colour correction by eye. Probably a little off as you say.
The Antilla RGB is pretty good, although I think it may be a little too aggressive for small aperture rigs but at 8" or more is probably ok. It's great for the Hyperstar as (more often than not) I'm blowing out bright objects even with 30sec subs so this certainly helps tame the beast.
It is definitely a broadband filter, but does pick up Ha quite strongly - and I reckon it gives a little bit of a 'red' cast. Irrespective, a good colour calibration in post processing is always needed imho.
Cheers Mike. Yes it is quite a challenge and so many interpretations when it comes to the final presentation. I'm glad I had the shorter subs to play with which gave me the freedom to go any way I wanted. Perhaps integrating some longer subs into the mix may have helped with the outer regions a bit but probably just needed a few more hours of data...
Yeah best to get a few different length exposure data sets on this baby (manual HDR)...sigh, I guess I will have to update my Trap effort now, given the new camera and all
Thanks Steve! Thankfully for us urban imagers ol’ m42 is lovely and bright. I was pleasantly surprised with the detail with only such a short integration.
Another beautiful image Dave!
Every night locally it's overcast or raining as I'm going to bed (around midnight) and it was raining heavy last night but, when I got up at 3 or 4 to go to the dunny the most amazing clear skies had me wishing I'd stayed up and taken my Astro-track and not Nikon D810 out (Player one Neptune I think). I think Orion would be a great target to get my sea legs with the Astro-trac.
Maybe after doctors and dentists stop messing me around.
Ah,yes - getting an early start on the M42 season. Good to be ahead of the pack An excellent contribution to the many versions of this classic object Dave. I think you have kept a good balance with colours, brightness and contrast. The season is off to a good start
Another beautiful image Dave!
Every night locally it's overcast or raining as I'm going to bed (around midnight) and it was raining heavy last night but, when I got up at 3 or 4 to go to the dunny the most amazing clear skies had me wishing I'd stayed up and taken my Astro-track and not Nikon D810 out (Player one Neptune I think). I think Orion would be a great target to get my sea legs with the Astro-trac.
Maybe after doctors and dentists stop messing me around.
Cheers Leo - the great thing about Orion is that it is accessible as a target with pretty much any piece of gear you have, and you can get an image with any focal length lens you have kicking around. With such a small window of opportunity in this bleak weather, its a great target!
Ah,yes - getting an early start on the M42 season. Good to be ahead of the pack An excellent contribution to the many versions of this classic object Dave. I think you have kept a good balance with colours, brightness and contrast. The season is off to a good start
Thanks Rodney - yes I think we've all contributed a few m42s in our time lol, but still it retains its allure as it rises in the early hours. There's so many ways to approach processing m42 - the more I look at it I reckon I could have changed a few things, but happy with my efforts all the same! cheers
Maybe it's just not what I'm used to, but after trying a few different versions chose to keep it pretty bright (not clipped I hope) and then proceeded to process a second image with just the trap/trapezium. Shooting @ f1.9 and ~680mm has its challenges, but think this worked out ok. 
.
An excellent contribution to the many versions of this classic object Dave. I think you have kept a good balance with colours, brightness and contrast. The season is off to a good start 
