Orions Spectacular Sword - finished

strongmanmike (Michael) · #1 18-12-2009, 03:52 AM

It's been 6 weeks since my last image and since then my lappie died on me, so last night I finally made it out to image again

I have been wanting to do a nice framing of the entire sword in natural colours for a while now so here it is

.

These summer nights are pretty short (especially on work nights

) so this is an LHaRGB combine = 90 60 30 30 30min with the ProLine11002 and 6" F7.5 Starfire APO.

There's a nice reflection around the brightest star at the bottom but I have left it in because I actually kind of like it, I think it looks rather dramatic optical...?

60% size image (2.3meg)
http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike20...72164/original

Here's a very small image so those on dial-up can look first to decide wether they want to open the larger one above

http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike20...20372164/large

Here are close ups of:

The main nebula
http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike20...73542/original

The running man:
http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike20...73394/original

Mike

Nightskystargaz (Thomas) · #2 18-12-2009, 04:21 AM

Mike,

, beautiful pic. I like it.

,

Tom

AlexN · #3 18-12-2009, 05:55 AM

Geez thats come up alright mate! Really nice color!
I really like how the core, whilst its detailed and resolved, it appears significantly brighter than other areas.. I think this is where most M42 images fail, the core gets tamed right down until it blends with the rest of the nebulas tonal range without brightening... Clearly, if it saturates in a 5 minute exposure, its a lot brighter than say, the running man..

Those reflections seem to have changed again since last time... Any thoughts on those?

Alex.

Jeffkop (Jeff) · #4 18-12-2009, 06:39 AM

An oil painting Mike ... one worthy of some prominent position in your house where it can be viewed by all who visit.

What more can I say.

SkyViking (Rolf) · #5 18-12-2009, 06:41 AM

Amazing image Mike, thanks for sharing!
There is a curious small patch of bright yellow nebulosity around a star between M42 and the running man. Does anybody know if it has a name?

sheeny (Al) · #6 18-12-2009, 07:13 AM

Always love your work Mike! Just wish I didn't have download limits on satellite so I could afford to look at every one of your images in full high resolution.

Al.

multiweb (Marc) · #7 18-12-2009, 08:01 AM

Yeah awesome!

Love the way you kept the core bright. It balances the luminosity in the whole picture. Great details in the brown nebs leading up to the running man too. Superb work.

Paul Haese · #8 18-12-2009, 08:20 AM

Nice image Mike. I can see another 3-4 hours on it though. Fantastic detail in and around the nebulae.

Ric · #9 18-12-2009, 10:55 AM

A wonderful image Mike, as mentioned the colours and hues really give it the impression of an oil painting.

Very nice indeed.

Tom Davis (Tom) · #10 18-12-2009, 01:19 PM

Pretty one, mate!! Nice detail and color!

Tom

DavidU (Dave) · #11 18-12-2009, 01:39 PM

What a shocker !

Superb work Mike, just beautiful

strongmanmike (Michael) · #12 18-12-2009, 08:06 PM

Thanks everyone, I read your replies and I am glad you all seem to like the colours as this was what I was striving for, a little bit different but still natural looking, the oil painting comparison was exactly my thoughts too. The pastel colours in this region have always fascinated me.

I know I have compared to this image before but the stark difference after 25yrs of imaging advances is pretty incredible:

http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike20...94020/original

Ah progress.....

Mike

AlexN · #13 18-12-2009, 08:42 PM

Like we were saying recently.. Despite it being a terrific pain in the backside.. You just gotta love technology!

Garyh · #14 18-12-2009, 08:52 PM

Every man and his dog images M42, but having a look at your latest rendition I must say it`s a ripper. Smacks you right in the face! beaut colors and I like the luminance of it. Not over masked but giving it as close as you can get to the dynamic range in the main trap area to the fainter outer parts.
I think you have done it reral justice.

marc4darkskies (Marcus) · #15 18-12-2009, 10:15 PM

A splendid shot Mike for sure.

I like it a lot!! But why do you have to say it still looks "natural"? M42 is full of colour ... it should look like an oil painting. Natural is a grey fuzzy blob isn't it?

My only critique is that while you've gotten rid of much of the overcooked look in the core, it now seems a tad too bright IMHO.

A personal taste thing perhaps?

Cheers, Marcus

PS: Yep, every man and his dog may image M42 but few do it justice like you have. I'll have a crack at it too if these clouds go away ... and your rendition will be hard to match!

strongmanmike (Michael) · #16 19-12-2009, 08:58 AM

Cheers Marcus

Glad you liked it, you and Jase (oh and Fred but he drinks too much so doesn't count

) are the toughest critics

Some more exposure would aaaalways be nice so who knows what the long summer will add?

, of course there is soooo much nebula and dust in this size field, going super deep would possibly lose the characteristic shape in 100% nebulosity?

As for the core...? who knows, when I'm throwing the spices in the boiling pot I often wonder what will be served out in the bowl

.I was looking for a pastel look so the oil painting look is actually kind of what I was after but sometimes the colours and processing on M42 look just gastly, weird or unnatural (to my eye anyway). I was ok with how it tasted in the end. The earlier core shot you thought was "over cooked" was the idea in that particular case as it was a close up, to show the core in such detail in this much wider shot would certainly have looked very odd.

I am sure your rendition will be just fine, probably different though...just like every spaghetti bol, there are no two that taste the same but you know a good one when you taste one

strongmanmike (Michael) · #17 24-12-2009, 11:03 AM

I tweeked up the resolution and contrast slightly overall and lightened the core a little to reveal the details around the trap a little more clearly:

60% size 2.3meg (best for having good look at the whole sword)
http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike20...72164/original

Just the main nebula (1.5meg)
http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike20...73542/original

NB: scroll down and choose "large" size from the "other sizes" menu under the image if you are on dial up.

Merry Christmas guys

Mike

Hagar (Doug) · #18 24-12-2009, 11:15 AM

Can only be described as spectacular. I am glad you broke it up into individual pieces as it is nice to see the detail in each bit. I think I need a bigger monitor to get the whole thing on at once. Might try puting it up on the 50" TV and see what it looks like.
I love the subtle colours, a bit quieter than my usual bright glarey colour scheme.

strongmanmike (Michael) · #19 24-12-2009, 11:37 AM

Cheers Dougy

I do like to display various aspects and processings of my FOV's as one image alone cannot showcase everything properly IMO.

This is only the start, I will be adding to this image over the summer so stay tuned

...who knows where I will end up

Mike

DavidU (Dave) · #20 24-12-2009, 11:40 AM

Awesome Sidonio Mike, I will have to rig my lap top to the 47" LCD TV like Doug said.
Inspirational.