Here we've added RGB (45 mins each) to our recent 5hrs 30 min of luminance.
The Sombrero is unbelievably bright in the core, and we had to confine ourselves to 15 minute subs in order not to burn it out.
Since the colour data are unbinned and seeing was pretty good, we've added it in pro rata into the luminance channel. We're delighted at the number of tiny galaxies that are now remarkably clear and sharp.
A note on the colour: The Sombrero is often shown to be quite bluish. That is not how it came out for us, for good reason. The Sombero is not a spiral galaxy with a truly giant halo. It is best understood as an elliptical galaxy that has taken on a new lease of life after absorbing intergalactic gas and dust, and produced a new small spiral galaxy within it, in-situ. Thus, we would expect the halo to be very large, and to look like any ordinary elliptical galaxy: lots of very old, cool stars, and hence salmon pink.
A further note on the relative sizes of the halo and core: We suspect that many photos out there, aiming for very high contrast, have made the darks darker and the brights brighter, resulting in a huge nucleus and an unimpressively small halo. We've tried to avoid doing that, and instead to show that the halo really is quite huge, and the nucleus, like a Seyfert galaxy, has a tiny stellar core.
Please have a look at the full size image, where you can see very many distant, unrelated galaxies, mostly edge-on spirals, one or two beautiful face-on spirals showing considerable detail, and a couple very faint unshaped galaxies that are perhaps of the dwarf magellanic style.
Edit:
In response to kind feedback, we've produced a version with slightly more wavelet sharpening. This much sharpening starts to interfere with the point-like nature of the core.
Hi Mike and Trish,
Wow you've gone deep - with so many other galaxys.
I also like the star colours that have come out.
I'm not sure but I think you could have slectively sharpened
some of the Sombrero along that dust lane &
the area in behind it - that flat part of the disk?
yeah excellent guys....very deep too! thanks for the little write up too....a couple of facts about the Sombrero I didn't realize!
Thanks, Louie. I'll dig up a reference later.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter Ward
Delightful results from that photon hoover...as usual
I'll be picky and say it's a little soft...but oh so wonderfully deep.
Thanks, Peter. Your images are always so crisp and crunchy. I'll try a separate version that's a bit firmer.
Quote:
Originally Posted by alpal
Hi Mike and Trish,
Wow you've gone deep - with so many other galaxys.
I also like the star colours that have come out.
I'm not sure but I think you could have slectively sharpened
some of the Sombrero along that dust lane &
the area in behind it - that flat part of the disk?
cheers
Allan
Thanks muchly Allan. Actually we've already done some very gentle selective sharpening of just that region. I feel Mike Sidonio watching carefully, lest I overdo it, but as I said to Peter, I might try a separate version.
Cheers Richard.
nice to hear from you.
yeah excellent guys....very deep too! 
