I lugged the gear out to the slabs again last night because the skies were nice and clear and dark. I did another run on the Tarantula and friends and this is the result. I feel my processing is a bit harsh on this version but I also feel it is a marked improvement on the previous night's rushed effort. I intend to keep working on the data and see if I can come up with a better version at a later date.
I hope you like this one for now.
p.s. I also did about an hour on Eta Carinae .... still working on it !
details :
9x360 sec plus 1x1200 sec exposures ( Total 1 hour 14 mins )
WO FLT110 F7 Triplet Apo with WO 4" TMB field flattener
SBIG ST2000XCM @ -13 degrees_ NO FILTERS_ self guided with CCDOPS v.5
SkyWatcher EQ6 Pro
Must be great to be imaging 1200sec subs without needing filters to cut light pollution!
Looks good Steve!
Sure is Alex .... I might have some filters for sale soon .... I don't think I'm going to need them anymore. I just tried a 1200 sec on 2070 to see how it would turn out .... then I did another 1200 sec on IC434 but for some reason the tracking went to sh%t and I decided to shoot NGC3372 instead .... still to come. It was a pity because 20mins on Horse had loads of bright data .... always another night though.
I still don't think I've done the data on Tarantula justice yet .... glad you like it mate !
I did a few 1200 sec subs of IC434 with my QHY8 from my place (light pollution city) but they came out rather well... I think if you're using a cooled CCD and you can run 20 min subs, theres no reason not to (apart from the core of M42 etc)
Longer the better I say.. I did quite a few 20min subs of 3372 about a month ago now, and they were unreal.. so much signal and so much extension in the nebula it just wasnt funny!
I look forward to your Eta Car. and also to the re-pro's of your 2070 when they come about.. (my best edits of my images usually come after about 2 weeks of trial and error.. I either find what works well, or just throw in the towel depending on the data..)
I did a few 1200 sec subs of IC434 with my QHY8 from my place (light pollution city) but they came out rather well... I think if you're using a cooled CCD and you can run 20 min subs, theres no reason not to (apart from the core of M42 etc)
Longer the better I say.. I did quite a few 20min subs of 3372 about a month ago now, and they were unreal.. so much signal and so much extension in the nebula it just wasnt funny!
I look forward to your Eta Car. and also to the re-pro's of your 2070 when they come about.. (my best edits of my images usually come after about 2 weeks of trial and error.. I either find what works well, or just throw in the towel depending on the data..)
Where I lived before moving here I couldn't do any more than 6 min subs after that it was like fog had set in .... so much light polution it wasn't funny. I only lived 2 kms from city centre of Perth.
Here is like moving to heaven .... the sky is just amazing on a clear night when there's no moon around. It's also very peaceful .... just me and the sheep
Nope, I fiddled in PS, the backgrounds a bit high, but apart from that, I failed miserably on any possible improvement. My intitial assesment was flawed Steve. Im sorry to cause offence, the image is fine.
Nope, I fiddled in PS, the backgrounds a bit high, but apart from that, I failed miserably on any possible improvement. My intitial assesment was flawed Steve. Im sorry to cause offence, the image is fine.
Apology accepted Fred .... I' still going to keep trying to process the data better as I said.
Lots of detail in this image but I feel you may well have overdone the processing and left yourself with too much data. Looks a little on the soft (off focus side) but that could be attributed to overprocessing.
Lots of detail in this image but I feel you may well have overdone the processing and left yourself with too much data. Looks a little on the soft (off focus side) but that could be attributed to overprocessing.
Sorry.
No worries Doug, I know it can be improved on. Thanks for looking !
It looks a bit soft though and could do with a bit of sharpening either smart sharpen in PS or selective sharpening using a mask.
When you say no filters you are referring to light pollution filters?
One shot colour still usually needs an IR/UV filter.
Greg.
Thanks Greg .... I actually have no filters in my imaging train as I wouldn't like to have my SBIG hanging off a UV/IR filter and with a 4" field flattener etc I don't know how to attach any filters other than perhaps investing in a filter wheel for the ST2000XCM ..... which I suppose would be the way to go. Seems a bit of a waste of dollars to buy a wheel just for one filter though ..... any ideas are welcome ?
