Horsehead and Flame

swannies1983 (Dan) · #1 16-01-2012, 05:53 PM

This is my first attempt at this and it's a work in progress. I have always wanted to image it and this was probably the structure that got me interested in astrophotography. There's just so many wonderful things within it.

As always, equipment info:
Scope: 8" Newt
Mount: EQ6
Camera: unmodded Canon 400D
ISO800
Exposure: 7x8mins
Guidescope: 60mm f/11 tasco refractor
Guidecamera: unmodded toucam
Filter: Hutech LPS
Ambient temperature: 18 degrees
A little windy at times
Stacked in DSS (lights, darks and flats) and processed using PS.

Fairly happy given the camera is unmodded and it was quite warm and windy at times. I had to throw out 3 subs as the area of the sky crossed the meridian and I had to re-calibrate PHD. Looking forward to collecting some more photons.

Rigel003 (Graeme) · #2 16-01-2012, 09:45 PM

Excellent result for fairly short exposures, Dan. Nice tight stars with good focus and guiding. Cooler conditions and longer and more subs will decrease the background noise.

I can relate to always wanting to image it. There's something magical about this dark cloud. It first gripped my imagination as an early teenager reading a sci-f book by Isaac Asimov called "The Stars like Dust"where a space ship hides in the dark dust of the nebula. Cover illustration from Joe Bergenon's web page attached

swannies1983 (Dan) · #3 16-01-2012, 10:11 PM

Thanks

I'm currently outside setting up for another go. This is the first night in a long time when the wind has been <10km/hr. There is a little high cloud around the place. I might push for 10min subs but I don't like my luck given it's still a balmy 26 outside....eeekkk...*noise*

Ross G · #4 16-01-2012, 10:29 PM

Great shot Dan.

I really like the composition and FOV.

Ross.

swannies1983 (Dan) · #5 17-01-2012, 12:21 AM

Cheers Ross.

I'm outside trying to image but gully winds have picked up (sick of them). Plus, ambient temperature sitting around 27. Too much noise in the images.

kinetic (Steve) · #6 17-01-2012, 01:06 AM

Wow Dan, unmodded!!...that is a great shot.

The astro-elite yawn at this stuff but I never get tired of looking at
this subject. Beautiful.

Steve

swannies1983 (Dan) · #7 17-01-2012, 08:45 AM

Thanks Steve. I was a bit reluctant to image the HH given the fact I have an unmodded camera. But I like a bit of a challenge.

I added 3x8mins subs but it hasn't done too much with the picture. Noise was terrible and will continue to be a limiting factor over Summer.

strongmanmike (Michael) · #8 17-01-2012, 08:55 AM

Nice result Dan, love the brightness of Alnitak and those great spikes, has some punch actually

Mike

swannies1983 (Dan) · #9 23-01-2012, 12:04 AM

Added another 14x8mins subs from last night (total 21x8min subs). It's coming along nicely. I went a little too far in some layer masks and I will need to fix these with the next repro after I collect some more data. I'm still a newbie when it comes to processing and I have only just moved on from simply using curves and levels.

Picture here

RickC (Richard) · #10 23-01-2012, 02:52 PM

thats pretty sharp Dan, great effort

swannies1983 (Dan) · #11 23-01-2012, 03:01 PM

Thanks Richard. I collected another 1hr worth of data last night despite the temperature being around 26. That will bring it to about 4hrs worth of data. Depending how I feel (quite sleep deprived at the moment), I may collect some more or just leave it at that depending on what the latest data gives me.

It's amazing how different the image looks with other computer screens. My work screen produces ugly pictures. My latest attempt looks quite dull at work but fine at home.