Finally after long time spent collecting light I am able to post an image a medium resolution of the Small Magellanic Cloud, or better of its core.
It is incredible the abundance of Ha OIII in this galaxy, impressive to imagine that these are not nebulae of our milky way
It is a HaOIII LRGB composition collecting 24 hours of light, half of it in narrow band. I recommend to view the full resolution version.
It is a process a bit extreme, sharper than my usual one and it is possible I will go for a softer version eventually, however I wanted to see how much I could push the contrasts in this target. Suggestions and opinions are welcome
Wow Marco, that's a sight and a half! It looks great at the small - medium sizes and I like everything about the image, bold, vibrant and unique with an incredible amount of HII showing...however when I look at it at original size all the faint stars seem to be connected by filaments rather than being individual dots looks like a filter of some sort may have done this..? What do you think?
Still looks amazing
Mike
not picking on you
Last edited by strongmanmike; 14-09-2013 at 12:36 AM.
Wow Marco, that's a sight and a half! It looks great at the small - medium sizes and I like everything about the image, bold, vibrant and unique with an incredible amount of HII showing...however when I look at it at original size all the faint stars seem to be connected by filaments rather than being individual dots looks like a filter of some sort may have done this..? What do you think?
Still looks amazing
Mike
not picking on you
Hi Mike, thanks for the quick feedback, check the image now. I had couple of versions, one ultrasharp and quite sharp, by mistake I uploaded the "ultrasharpened" What you are referring to I believe it is due to the sharpening (still excessive?) that makes the starts in this very crowded field looking fancy. Is the current one better? still excessive?
The link goes to a blank page in your website that you have to go to galaxies and find the image. The loaded larger images are cut off top and bottom and I could not move the image. So something is difficult there.
Another fabulous Marco image which is why you are one of my favourite astrophotographers!
That looks great Marco. One of the deepest shot I've seen. The Oiii nebula is pretty cool too. Your direct link didn't work for me either . I had to navigate back through the main menu > Galaxies>etc...
Yes I think that is a bit better, the crowded star regions look less stringy now
MIke
Ok, so I understand that it is still not totally OK than Will reduce a bit furtehr the contrast too. Also found on a differente monitor (much brighter) that background is not totally flat, need to give this picture a redo..
Quote:
Originally Posted by gregbradley
The link goes to a blank page in your website that you have to go to galaxies and find the image. The loaded larger images are cut off top and bottom and I could not move the image. So something is difficult there.
Another fabulous Marco image which is why you are one of my favourite astrophotographers!
Greg.
Hi Greg, thanks for the appreciation! I have fixed the link, thanks, about the problem you mention it is due to smugmug, my provider. It happens to me too time to time and it depends (I believe) on how the page is loaded into the cache of the browser. Usually if you clean the cache and reload the page you can scroll the image without problems. I hope they will fix this issue soon.. In case you can download the image at full size or get a link to any direct jpg using the two icons at bottom right..
Quote:
Originally Posted by multiweb
That looks great Marco. One of the deepest shot I've seen. The Oiii nebula is pretty cool too. Your direct link didn't work for me either . I had to navigate back through the main menu > Galaxies>etc...
I have uploaded another last version, corrected a little defect on the upper right corner (not perfectly flat fielded in the blue channel) and limited the overall sharpening, in fact I got back on my usual standard on that aspect and let the image a bit softer
Quote:
Originally Posted by marc4darkskies
Outstanding Marco! . Wonderfully deep! Some lovely objects in the smc.
Cheers Marcus
Thanks Marcus! Indeed this galaxy is rich in Ha and OIII areas when the exposures go deep enough
Quote:
Originally Posted by rogerg
Stunning image, very nice indeed. Must have taken a bit of time, processing.
A bit Thanks for the appreciation Roger
Quote:
Originally Posted by astronobob
Faaantastic
Thanks Bob
Quote:
Originally Posted by tilbrook@rbe.ne
Great work Marco!
It's interesting to see how much HA there is in the SMC.
Cheers,
Justin.
Thanks Justin, indeed, all these gasses belonging to another galaxy
when I look at it at original size all the faint stars seem to be connected by filaments rather than being individual dots 
looks like a filter of some sort may have done this..? What do you think?
Will reduce a bit furtehr the contrast too. Also found on a differente monitor (much brighter) that background is not totally flat, need to give this picture a redo..
