IC434 - Horsehead Nebula

[jase (Jason)]

Hi All,
I’m pleased to present my last image for the year ‘07. I was attempting to stay away from the “mainstream” objects, but couldn’t resist targeting this one while I waited for a few other summer targets on the list to rise. So here it is – IC434, The Horsehead Nebula.

One of the many celestial showpieces located in the constellation Orion is the Horsehead (IC434) and Flame (NGC2024) Nebulae. The Horsehead nebula (also known as Barnard 33) is seen center of frame. It’s a tower of dark dust and gas which harbours the embryonic stages of young stars. The nebula is surrounded by energised hydrogen which glows vibrantly red. The Horsehead nebula resides 1600 light years away.
To the lower left of the Horsehead is the beautiful emission nebula known as the Flame. The very bright star Alnitak (Zeta Orionis) excites the Flame nebula which glows a variety of colours, from yellow to orange, though the predominant hue is pink. It is approximately 900 light years distant.

About the image;
The image is a Ha+[HaR]GB composite consisting of a total exposure time of 5.7 hours (Ha: 165min, R: 60min, G: 60min, B: 60min). It was acquired over two nights while the object was high. The resolution shows as the details obtained in the Ha data are quite profound especially for a 530mm focal length instrument. I’m somewhat disappointed by the filter reflections on the bright stars. There is little that can be done to minimise these. They were much worse, but with masking I’ve restored something which I feel is more “palatable”.

Data exhibits some noise, need to redo calibration frames over the break. This was an interesting object to process, which lead to experimenting with a few different techniques. In particular RJ Gabany’s softlight colour process which gives lovely rich tones. It worked well (perhaps too well) and counteracted the typical salmon pink found in HaRGB images and amplified star colours. I also took some luminance frames, but decided not to integrate them – only Ha was used as the luminance. I know I can do much better with this target, but this is will suffice for now considering it wasn't on my planned targets list. Anyway, if you want to know specific processing details, simply PM me offline.

Hope you enjoy it.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all IIS members for their continued support and enlightenment. I obtain gratification contributing to this great community. I wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year. Take care on the roads. I sense 2008 will bring some magnificent images from us all.

All the best.

[Comet Hunter]

wow Jase, what a way to see the year out!

The Ha adds a lot of depth to the image.

[Rigel003 (Graeme)]

That's just fantastic, Jase. One of the best shots I've seen all year. I love the bright tendrils near the horsehead - like the edges of flowing curtains.

[dugnsuz (Doug)]

Beautiful image jase - the horsey jumps right out at ya!
Almost looks 3D.
Doug

[leon]

Jase, you are so annoying, with all those fantastic images, cant you ever do a fizzer. just kidding

I would hang that in the pool room mate, bloody beautiful

Leon

[Ric]

Blimey Jase, that is simply stunning. As Doug said it really has a 3D quality about it and the more I look the more I see.

That has to be one of your best and I'm looking forward to what you will be presenting next year.

Cheers

[jase (Jason)]

Originally Posted by Comet Hunter

wow Jase, what a way to see the year out!

The Ha adds a lot of depth to the image.

Cheers Andrew. Indeed, the Ha data really brings out some incredible details. All subs were 15min, perhaps too long for a 10nm Ha filter though with an ABG chip, pixels bleed so its no problem. Thanks again.

Originally Posted by Rigel003

That's just fantastic, Jase. One of the best shots I've seen all year. I love the bright tendrils near the horsehead - like the edges of flowing curtains.

Thanks Graeme. I shot the Ha frames while the object was +75 degrees and higher. The bright tendrils are really interesting.

Originally Posted by dugnsuz

Beautiful image jase - the horsey jumps right out at ya!
Almost looks 3D.
Doug

Cheers Doug. Pleased you liked it.

Originally Posted by leon

Jase, you are so annoying, with all those fantastic images, cant you ever do a fizzer. just kidding
I would hang that in the pool room mate, bloody beautiful

Leon

Thanks Leon. I've produced a few fizzers this year, most don't get released. I took an image of M57 using photometry filters at a ~3500mm focal length. That was a waste. The great thing about fizzers is you learn a lot from them.

Originally Posted by Ric

Blimey Jase, that is simply stunning. As Doug said it really has a 3D quality about it and the more I look the more I see.

That has to be one of your best and I'm looking forward to what you will be presenting next year.

Cheers

Cheers Ric. I seriously feel I could do better on this target. Planning was rushed (last minute decision), some subs didn't align well (as can be seen top right of frame) and my calibration frames let me down - noisy data. IMHO its not my best. I think my favourite image of the year would have to be R Coronae Australis. Something really special and vivid with that image. I still recall the night I captured it. The temperature dropped below zero and the dome wheels froze to the base. This caused much panic as I couldn't rotate the dome as the object cross the meridian. I now have some quality lubricant applied which works in extreme weather. The joys of imaging. Thanks again.

[Tamtarn]

We can't remember seeing so much nebulosity and detail above the horsehead before in any other image. Such nice composition also. Beautifully done Jase.
An excellent way to finish off 2007

A big thank you for the processing hints throughout the year it's helped us a great deal.

Your many posts on images stressing "don't clip the black point" has resounded loud and clear

All the best for a great 2008

Barb and David

[Bassnut (Fred)]

Excellent Jase, nice nebulae extension, and youve captured some highlight detail on the horse head not oft seen. And a merry Xmas and eventfull new year to you too Jase.

Cheers (hic ;-)

[davidpretorius]

that looks like lightning!

fantastic horsey!

[gbeal]

Yet another stunning image Jase, almost too bright, LOL.
Gary

[spearo (Frank)]

Just amazing!
you keep setting standards for me to work towards (not that i`ll ever get there but i do like to aim high!)
cheers
frank

[Garyh]

A beaut image to end the year! LoL..like Barb and Dave say...
A little noise in the large version but look at that horsehead! heaps of detail.
Look forwards to more masterpieces in 2008!
Have a great holiday season!
cheers Gary

[Alchemy (Clive)]

its all good jase, and 2 for the price of one

love the detail in the horse itself it looks like its had a bit of special attention there, glad you have the higer res version on your website brings it to life so much. Also love the detail in ngc 2023 more detail than ive seen elsewhere, little tendrils of dark snaking down into it drew my attention as i wandered through the image.

Corona... gob smackingly good.

i'd pm you for the processing details but ive got to absorb and practice other processing details youve been kind enough to pass on first.

[avandonk]

I wont repeat what others have said about this image, but I do agree with them. Thanks for all your helpful constructive advice over the year Jase. I am sure others would all agree with me on that point.

I don't know whether you were aware of these filters by Hutech here

http://www.sciencecenter.net/hutech/...lter/index.htm

They claim that these filters suppress surface reflections from bright stars to 4% to that of conventional dichroic filters. They use their own filters as a comparison. I don't know how it would compare to the filters you are using now. What filters are you using?

Anyway a very nice image showing very faint detail I have not seen before.

Remember in all of science it is the signal to noise ratio that really matters. The rest is window dressing.

Bert

[Phil]

Hi Jase agian a stunning imaging very sharp mate. Well done.
Phil

[Ingo]

It's down

[jase (Jason)]

Originally Posted by Tamtarn

We can't remember seeing so much nebulosity and detail above the horsehead before in any other image. Such nice composition also. Beautifully done Jase.
An excellent way to finish off 2007

A big thank you for the processing hints throughout the year it's helped us a great deal.

Your many posts on images stressing "don't clip the black point" has resounded loud and clear

All the best for a great 2008

Barb and David

Thanks Barb and David. Pleased you like it and glad you got some information from my posts over the year. Sometimes, its difficult to provide constructive advice/criticism without offending the person to some extent. - re: clipping the black point.

Originally Posted by Bassnut

Excellent Jase, nice nebulae extension, and youve captured some highlight detail on the horse head not oft seen. And a merry Xmas and eventfull new year to you too Jase.
Cheers (hic ;-)

Cheers Fred. The 2.7 hours of Ha data does wonders, but its in the processing where I found this hidden data. Have a good one dude!

Originally Posted by davidpretorius

that looks like lightning!

fantastic horsey!

Thanks David.

Originally Posted by gbeal

Yet another stunning image Jase, almost too bright, LOL.
Gary

Cheers Gary. Need to see some more imaging from you now you're plate solving.

Originally Posted by spearo

Just amazing!
you keep setting standards for me to work towards (not that i`ll ever get there but i do like to aim high!)
cheers
frank

Thanks Frank. Keep at it. The only way to learn is by pushing yourself to try different things. There are failures along the way, but you still learn from them.

Originally Posted by Garyh

A beaut image to end the year! LoL..like Barb and Dave say...
A little noise in the large version but look at that horsehead! heaps of detail.
Look forwards to more masterpieces in 2008!
Have a great holiday season!
cheers Gary

Cheers Gary. Yes, noise is a problem. I used old calibration frames which didn't help the situation. Thanks for checking it out.

Originally Posted by Alchemy

its all good jase, and 2 for the price of one

love the detail in the horse itself it looks like its had a bit of special attention there, glad you have the higer res version on your website brings it to life so much. Also love the detail in ngc 2023 more detail than ive seen elsewhere, little tendrils of dark snaking down into it drew my attention as i wandered through the image.

Corona... gob smackingly good.

i'd pm you for the processing details but ive got to absorb and practice other processing details youve been kind enough to pass on first.

Thanks Alchemy. Pleased you liked both images. Coronae a fav of mine. Blue reflection nebs are always good to image.

Originally Posted by avandonk

I wont repeat what others have said about this image, but I do agree with them. Thanks for all your helpful constructive advice over the year Jase. I am sure others would all agree with me on that point.

I don't know whether you were aware of these filters by Hutech here

http://www.sciencecenter.net/hutech/...lter/index.htm

They claim that these filters suppress surface reflections from bright stars to 4% to that of conventional dichroic filters. They use their own filters as a comparison. I don't know how it would compare to the filters you are using now. What filters are you using?

Anyway a very nice image showing very faint detail I have not seen before.

Remember in all of science it is the signal to noise ratio that really matters. The rest is window dressing.

Bert

Thanks Bert. Something that I didn't mention in the original post was the stretching method I used. What I did was create six layers of different DDP intensities - stretched hard through to soft. It was in the hard stretched data I found the intricate details, but a considerable amount of noise. So I layered and clipped each of them in Photoshop to bring out the different features while "trying to" suppress noise. I guess this is similar to the HDR process - just a manual time consuming way of doing it. Thanks for the filter link too. Will check them out. At a quick glance they do appear to have a lower transmission window to what I'm currently using, which are the Custom Scientific LRGB set. Will need to do some research. I do like the CS set as there is a clean channel cut for the red filter (no cross over). This makes it great for RRGB images or in general using red as the luminance. Thanks again.

Originally Posted by Phil

Hi Jase agian a stunning imaging very sharp mate. Well done.
Phil

Thanks Phil. Pleased you liked it. Have a good one mate.

Originally Posted by Ingo

It's down

Dodgy web hosting provider. Will be changing to someone more reliable in the future.

=======

Thank you all for your kind words. Have a great time over the festive season.

[iceman (Mike)]

Nothing I can add to what has already been said. Jase, a fantastic image that gives us newbies motivation.

Your help and processing tips and constructive criticism has been very welcomed, and I look forward to all of your posts to not only my images, but other people's too as I can learn from them all.

Thanks again and have a great xmas/new year.

[RB (Andrew)]

A visually pleasing image, apart from the gradient and guiding errors it looks.....oh wait I was looking at one of my old images.

Wow Jase how stunning is that, it has a 3D look to it, almost radio active, well I suppose it is.

Excellent as usual Sir, and a great way to top off a fantastic year.

All the best mate.