Messier 4 - Bathed in the light of a supergiant

[SkyViking (Rolf)]

Great image Rob, it is very dramatic with that stray light.
And good to see M4 being imaged, I think this is an overlooked globular.

[Hagar (Doug)]

Very nice Rob, Colour etc is very nice and the big star burst doesn't detract to much. Looks like a Messier run comming along soon.

[TrevorW]

Nice effort Rob, I did this just last night with the 8" RC but no Antares showing in the subs, so I'll be posting a comparison shortly

[RobF (Rob)]

Originally Posted by Enrique

I like it. It adds something. I wish I could have a look to the right to find out. Could you help?

Enrique

Thanks Enrique - unfortunately I didn't collect any extra data for mosaics. I didn't really expect the diffraction effect, and I suspect having Antares in the field will create some tricky imaging issues. I might be able to have a try from home, but city lights and pollution filter will compound collection and processing I expect

Originally Posted by astroron

The Sun is aprox 1000.000kms in Diameter and 150 000.000kms(93million miles from Earth
Antares is three hundred million kilometers in Diameter.
No Billions involved
Nice pic's Rob.

Whew - thought Antares was expanding to get us there for a while Ron!

Originally Posted by DavidU

I find your #1 image very effective. Great stuff.

Thanks David - I was surprised at the difference, and actually very happy with my earlier glob shots at the time. Hopefully shows I'm learning something along the way (and having fun too...)

Originally Posted by JD2439975

Massive improvement on your earlier image, looks like you'll have to go back through the catalog & do them all again.
But that's part of the process of improving our abilities I guess, revisiting old friends.

I too like the stray rays, they converge some way off the field giving a sense of just how huge a fireball Antares is.

I might just do that Justin, but there's always so much to explore. I wish the skies didn't move so quick sometimes.....

Originally Posted by luigi

I think I'm not a purist it's a wonderful photo! I'd even want more light filtering!

Thanks Luis - I'm not sure if its the edge of the scope or edge of a mirror that has done this to be honest - still learning - certainly wasn't planned

Originally Posted by h0ughy

i agree adds to the mood of the image. great star colours

Thanks David - really happy with this one. Yet again a quick "secondary target" has given lots of unexpected pleasure. Nice to have a Plan B sometimes.

[jjjnettie (Jeanette)]

M4 is a cracker Rob.

[RobF (Rob)]

Originally Posted by Alchemy

A tactic that can often work, (individual stringettes) if you're not a John cleese /Monty python fan that wont make much sense
Looks fine to me, most scopes have some artifacts around bright stars.... Even the expensive ones.

Clive

I've just been educated Clive - missed most of Python, but I can see you could achieve almost *ANYTHING* with Simpon's Individual Stringettes - sounds like amazing stuff.....! Just what every Astrophotographer needs in his kit bag.

Originally Posted by troypiggo

Agree - the effect really adds to an already great image.

Thanks Troy - like most of my half decent pics - luck over skill

Originally Posted by multiweb

Nice one Rob. Great star colors and sharp as. The side streaks makes it interesting. Otherwise clusters are boring.

Chicken - come out from behind that couch I say....!
Certainly a lot quicker to collect data from a bright glob than a faint emission neb though Marc - might become a fad....

Originally Posted by SkyViking

Great image Rob, it is very dramatic with that stray light.
And good to see M4 being imaged, I think this is an overlooked globular.

Thanks Rolf - love your toUcam shots - reminds me that a camera is often just a tool to help us explore further. Having a nice pic to keep is a bonus.

Originally Posted by Hagar

Very nice Rob, Colour etc is very nice and the big star burst doesn't detract to much. Looks like a Messier run comming along soon.

Thanks Doug - I've had a ball chasing down Messier objects over the last 2 years - all the objects I could never quite enjoy with my 4.5" Newt and 1980 Norton's....

Originally Posted by TrevorW

Nice effort Rob, I did this just last night with the 8" RC but no Antares showing in the subs, so I'll be posting a comparison shortly

Ta Trevor - must check it out

Rob