The Southern Cross Mosaic

[gregbradley]

This is the first time I have posted an image here.

This is a 4 panel mosaic of the Southern Cross taken 2 weeks ago. 6 hours total
1.5 hours per panel. 5 minute subexposures and it is an LRGB image.

I used an FSQ106ED and Sbig STL11 with Astrodon filters.

http://www.pbase.com/gregbradley/image/98540101/large

The lower left shows part of the Coal Sack and mid-left
shows the Jewel Box. I am sure there are other catalogued objects
there as well.

Greg.

[jase (Jason)]

Hey Greg, 'bout time you joined us instead of posting on the SBIG forums all the time. I like the image. The stars have some interesting halo's present. Looks like you experienced some high level clouds or fog during some of the data acquisition. The jewel box looks a little lost to the side. Four panels isn't easy to match brightness/contrast along with colour saturation. You've done a good job of providing a seamless transition between them. Well done.

[skeltz (Rob)]

good image greg ,colours look a little saturated to me but thats just my opinion ,not often we see a image of the southern cross...maybe us Aussies are spoilt to much

[gregbradley]

Yes the main stars are definitely punched up. Yes there was some light thin cloud on the 2nd night that flared the stars a bit but I kept that in as it added to the accentuation of the main 5 stars so artistic interpretation/poetic license??

I plan to redo this with my AP refractor/Apogee U16M setup as I think it will show it up nicer and with more colourful background.

So many images to do and so little time haaahhh.

Greg.

[jase (Jason)]

Originally Posted by gregbradley

So many images to do and so little time haaahhh.
Greg.

You've got a choice Greg. Try to acquire as many targets as possible with mediocre output or spend your time on a few and produce stunning results on each of them. What will it be?

[gregbradley]

Good point. I was joking of course. I agree, invest in the best image you can do within reason. Some of these 90 hour images are not something I am likely to do within current confines.

Greg.

[iceman (Mike)]

I really like it, Greg.. and thanks for posting your images here. I look forward to more!

I think the halo around the main stars gives it the sort of punch that you see in old akira fuji widefields

[spearo (Frank)]

Lovely image
keep them coming
frank

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

Nice work Greg, I agree with Salway, aragato!

Cool how Akira, who was an astrophotographer, had a brand of film for a surname

Mike Pentax

[Peter Ward]

Originally Posted by strongmanmike

Cool how Akira, who was an astrophotographer, had a brand of film for a surname

Mike Pentax

Actually, I don't believe its a coincidence....I heard Akira is part of *the* Fuji family.

[h0ughy (David)]

with triva like that Peter and this image to look at - great all round.

[marc4darkskies (Marcus)]

Good stuff Greg & nice to see you posting here Kudos to you for successfully completing a 4 frame mosaic - nicely done!!

Cheers, Marcus

[Ric]

A fine first image to post Greg, well done with some nice equipment.

Looking forward to seeing more of your work.

Cheers

[gregbradley]

Thanks guys.

The challenge with mosaics so far has been the subtle differences in background colours. So when they are joined some tiles fit nicely but others can show obvious divisions.

So I think on the next one I will run Gradient Xterminator on all tiles first to try to even out the background. Also I may try a gradient mask if I had to or perhaps another stitching program other than Photoshop which is the main one I have tried.

Ideally you shoot the same angle in the sky and limit the number of tiles you shoot to a certain range of angles otherwise if the object gets too low in the sky you get those tonal changes like how the moon is reddish when it first rises.

Anyone got any other tips?

I was planning another mosaic for this weekend.

Greg.

Greg.

[Robert_T]

hi greg, what a great mosaic, looks great and totally seamless - well done

[glenc (Glen)]

A very impressive image Greg. It shows at least 8 open clusters.