It's been quite a while between gaps in the clouds in Brisbane (at least for me). Of the 2 clears nights I could only image on one so got a measly 2 hours on NGC 3576 (Ha and OIII). Not sure when the skies will clear again so thought I'd have a go at the data with aim of processing only in PixInsight. Had a lot of fun playing with colour masks and curves to tweak the various hues using a simple HOO colour palette as a base. Comments on improvements, better strategies etc. always welcome.
As I said on Facebook, you've done a great job on this one with limited data, Ben. The range of colours given just HOO is very impressive. The rough process I had at mine looks decidedly monochromatic in comparison... gonna have to up my game!
Thanks Lee and Andy (here and elsewhere). I’m really not used to colour manipulation in PI so was a bit of an experiment. Found if I colour balanced the mostly red HOO image (after some background neutralizing) I got some green/blue coming through and then with colour masks applied I could get my reds brassy and move the blues away from the green. Oh and I’m now convinced it’s the Princess Leia Nebula!
Thanks Collin, Greg and Mike. I’m assuming this particular object is really quite bright? I always have intentions of pursuing hours of data but summer has been so terrible. A good chance on this though to see if I can up the time, although it rides just above my Southern roof line. Managed to get an extra couple of hours on SH2-308 but it has now moved into a zone where the max I can get is 2 hours a night :-( A multi year project I guess.
Thanks Collin, Greg and Mike. I’m assuming this particular object is really quite bright? I always have intentions of pursuing hours of data but summer has been so terrible. A good chance on this though to see if I can up the time, although it rides just above my Southern roof line. Managed to get an extra couple of hours on SH2-308 but it has now moved into a zone where the max I can get is 2 hours a night :-( A multi year project I guess.
Reasonably bright but the loops aren't that bright.
To get a better idea of how good your image is, check this version out. 28 hours with a 12 inch astrograph and a full frame sensor and its not as bright or sharp as yours:
You’ve inspired me to give it a crack. I’ve been contemplating which setup to use though. I have an 8” f/4 also but I’m using an a APSc sensor as opposed to your 4/3. Sky Safari doesn’t give me a representation of the object to judge image scale but the boxes it does show suggest that I could fit in with my C9.25 with 0.63 reducer. I guess the simple question I guess is is this image cropped at all ?
This website is really useful for comparing systems on a target. Just select imaging mode and select scope and camera from the list and put the target name in - select it from the drop down that opens with the target name.
Thanks Mike n Trish and Ryan. Yes the image is a little cropped around the edges (more at the sides than top and bottom). Initially cropped to remove stacking artifacts then to get rid of some distorted stars (collimation was a little off perhaps or the the chip was a little close to the sensor - need to add a shim I think). Not a whole lot was trimmed though. Maybe 10-15%?
I ended up running it though astronomy.net. Looks like if I just want the statue then I could use the C9.25 but to get a decent frame like yours ( although a bit larger ) the f/4 is the way to go. Just hope I can achieve something like yours
That's pin sharp Ben. Colour is interesting but generally pleasing. I think the palette suits this object well, not sure if that would work with other objects but it does with this one.
...WOW ....Beautiful !!
