Barnard Loop

[multiweb (Marc)]

Here's one I took at BSG on Thursday night with a QHY8 and a SMC Pentax-M 100mm lens two stops down.

There's a bigger field here [4.3MB | 2128px wide]
and a smaller version here [2.5MB | 1600px wide]

First night was unsuccessful as the fog rolled in around 3:00am but the second night stayed clear and relatively dry way past sunrise so I managed 45x180s on it.

Still fairly low but the skies were pretty dark pointing north and I really wanted to have a crack at it so I'll make sure I reshoot it at the zenith when it's the season. Probably with something a tad wider too.

This shot had a lot of gradients to deal with due to low altitude and I'm surprised it still turned out sort of alright.

[Octane (Humayun)]

Bloody sensational. That is beautiful, Marc.

From what I recall, the northerly aspect at Wymah is fantastic.

H

[richardo (Rich)]

Wow, have to agree with H, this is excellent Marc!
I keep forgetting how far and extensive Barnards loop is.. this certainly puts everything back into perspective!

Are you able to crank up the saturation some? Just looks a little light on... perhaps just check your black point... before hand.. my only nit pick.


Good stuff and what a fov!

All the best
Rich

[RobF (Rob)]

Great shot Marc - love this object
I've read visual observers are supposed to be able to see Barnard's loop under ideal conditions. Has anyone ever seen/heard of that? I would have thought it was way to diffuse.

(if it's in Wikipedia though it MUST be right )

[desler]

That's a ripper Marc, well done!

Darren

[midnight (Darrin)]

A perspective not often seen. Just so much going on in there Marc - you've done very well.

Well done!!

Darrin...

[Mighty_oz (Marcus)]

Lovely shot, that pentax is a keeper hey

[SkyViking (Rolf)]

Very nice, I like the overall soft appearance of the nebulosity.

[Lester]

That it a view that I will never tire of, well presented Marc. All the best.

[sjastro]

Excellent image Marc.

Steven

[multiweb (Marc)]

Originally Posted by Octane

Bloody sensational. That is beautiful, Marc.

From what I recall, the northerly aspect at Wymah is fantastic.

H

Thanks H. Yes it is indeed pitch black on the North side. Couple of trees in the way but I was desperate to get that one and started shooting as soon as I locked on a guide star through the leaves then went to bed.

Originally Posted by richardo

Wow, have to agree with H, this is excellent Marc!
I keep forgetting how far and extensive Barnards loop is.. this certainly puts everything back into perspective!

Are you able to crank up the saturation some? Just looks a little light on... perhaps just check your black point... before hand.. my only nit pick.


Good stuff and what a fov!

All the best
Rich

Thanks Rich. This data is coming back from the grave really. You should see what I started with. I think it's the maximum amount of tinkering it can take. Boosting saturation would reveal more problems than it's worth but I'll shoot a nice one when the season comes.

Originally Posted by RobF

Great shot Marc - love this object
I've read visual observers are supposed to be able to see Barnard's loop under ideal conditions. Has anyone ever seen/heard of that? I would have thought it was way to diffuse.

(if it's in Wikipedia though it MUST be right )

Thanks Rob. Well I know a few people who managed to see the HH from Ilford with a specific filter on a very dark night. From this shot you can tell the barnard loop looks much dimmer than the HH. But maybe for the lower left part so it would be a challenge IMO. May be with binoculars? But I doubt you'd see it on a longer FL scope. Or on top of a mountain in high altitude. Who knows? That wouldn't be from Oz though.

Originally Posted by desler

That's a ripper Marc, well done!

Darren

Thanks Darren. Glad you liked it.

Originally Posted by midnight

A perspective not often seen. Just so much going on in there Marc - you've done very well.

Well done!!

Darrin...

Thanks for looking Darrin.

Originally Posted by Mighty_oz

Lovely shot, that pentax is a keeper hey

Thanks Marcus. The 100mm FOV is nice for most things but of all my lenses it's the only one that will still give me a bit of coma even stopped but I'm used to it.

Originally Posted by SkyViking

Very nice, I like the overall soft appearance of the nebulosity.

Thanks Rolf. I spent a fair bit on processing this one and I think the soft/natural appearance comes from the lack of data and altitude which is good in a way, as I tend to be a bit extreme with saturation and sharpening when processing this area. Which I'll do eventually.

Originally Posted by Lester

That it a view that I will never tire of, well presented Marc. All the best.

Thanks a lot Lester.

Originally Posted by sjastro

Excellent image Marc.

Steven

Thanks for the commenst Steven.

[suma126 (Shane)]

brilliant image well done

[atalas]

Hey,how cool is this shot! well done Marc.

[Tom Davis (Tom)]

Wow, that time of year already!? Great shot, Marc!

Tom

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

Gee that is pretty good Marc, bet it has you begging to do it again with more exposure and when it is higher in teh sky?

Nice job

Mike

[TrevorW]

Very well done Marc

[DavidU (Dave)]

Well done Marc,a superb vista.

[gregbradley]

Very nice Marc.

It'd be good to shoot some Ha with that also.

Greg.

[multiweb (Marc)]

Originally Posted by suma126

brilliant image well done

Thanks for the comments Shane.

Originally Posted by atalas

Hey,how cool is this shot! well done Marc.

Thanks a lot Louie. How's that new cam coming? Ironed out all the bugs?

Originally Posted by Tom Davis

Wow, that time of year already!? Great shot, Marc!

Tom

Thanks for looking Tom. Yeah a bit early in the season but what else is there to do between 3:00am and sunrise?

Originally Posted by strongmanmike

Gee that is pretty good Marc, bet it has you begging to do it again with more exposure and when it is higher in teh sky?

Nice job

Mike

Thanks Mike. Yes more data is the go. Haven't you heard? M42 is the new M8.

Originally Posted by TrevorW

Very well done Marc

Thanks Trev. Glad you liked it.

Originally Posted by DavidU

Well done Marc,a superb vista.

Thanks for the kind comments David.

Originally Posted by gregbradley

Very nice Marc.

It'd be good to shoot some Ha with that also.

Greg.

Thanks Greg. You're right, this area is awesome in Ha so a blend will ultimately be the go to bring out all the interesting stuff. Plenty of time. It's only going to get higher. This was a good practice run.

[RickC (Richard)]

Marc,
very nice image