The Snake Nebula (B72) in Ophiuchus

[RobF (Rob)]

Awesome work Humayun. Interesting what you say about limiting exposure to control over exposure. Many people seem quick to suggest long exposures without considering this in relation to focal ratio.

Hope the SBIG and filterwheel are back together again soon.

[Bassnut (Fred)]

Gee, certainly different, bit mushy though (starwise)?.

[rogerg (Roger)]

Very nice contrast of colours there H, the golden star field with the blue brighter stars. Nice contrast of textures too. Just great. Bet it looks good big, 100% big .. if it were mine I'd be doing a 80x50cm print of it and staring at the endless field of stars

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

Originally Posted by Bassnut

Gee, certainly different, bit mushy though (starwise)?.

Oo-oo-ooh yee are a hard man Fred

[mill (Martin)]

Originally Posted by Bassnut

Gee, certainly different, bit mushy though (starwise)?.

Geeeeeeezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!!!!!!! those stars are there and are not going away Fred
Very good image there Humayun (don't listen to Fred he is just jealous ).

[gregbradley]

Absolutely gorgeous Humi.

I also like the way the 106N presents the bright stars with that nice blue glow. A trademark of the scope.

A stunner. I'm the opposite of you in that I am looking forward to getting a 5D Mk11 (terrestial mainly though) whilst you want to get into CCD cameras!

Greg.

[Bassnut (Fred)]

Jealous?, yes I am, but I hate stars, they are the devils creation, mearly an artifact of woozy wide feild imaging, boringly the same (apart from colour), the bain of true, pure, zoomed in (NF), accurate presentations, devoid of forground distractions.

Mushy joined together stars in a soup of background noise, please .

[rcheshire (Rowland)]

Love it... stars, dark structure and blue

Good point regarding f-ratio/exposure time, which I presume will change with iso setting, and possibly the type of filter used.

[mill (Martin)]

Originally Posted by Bassnut

Jealous?, yes I am, but I hate stars, they are the devils creation, mearly an artifact of woozy wide feild imaging, boringly the same (apart from colour), the bain of true, pure, zoomed in (NF), accurate presentations, devoid of forground distractions.

Mushy joined together stars in a soup of background noise, please .

[AlexN]

Lol @ Fred. Stay true my friend

[Octane (Humayun)]

Mike,

Thank you for the very kind compliment. I have a ways to go, though.

Originally Posted by strongmanmike

Sensational image Humayun. Even without the STL you are in a select group of DSLR masters, so armed with that FSQ you can clearly still do top work

I would like to see a bigger version though....

Mike

Luis,

Cheers, mate. It's all IRIS. : )

Originally Posted by luigi

This photo rocks! Very interesting, very unusual and perfectly executed!
Wow!

Alex,

Thank you! You've been AWOL for a while. What's the go? Are you gearing up to buy some nice gear? We miss the Alex we once knew. : P

Originally Posted by AlexN

As Mike said, You sure are a master of the DSLR Humi...

Fantastic work...

Frank,

Thanks, bud. Now, I'd like to see you do an f/11 on the Snake, or part, thereof. ; )

Originally Posted by spearo

That's come out beautiful!
Very golden sky as you predicted
beautiful
frank

Dr. Paul,

Thank you, kind sir.

Originally Posted by CoolhandJo

Now thats how you use a DSLR!

H

[Octane (Humayun)]

Marc,

Cheers, buddy. : )

Originally Posted by multiweb

That is indeed very nice. Post the full res. c'mon!

Luis,

I imaged with the camera tethered to EOS Utility and the results can be observed immediately in Digital Photo Professional. I observed the histogram with the shadow/highlight detail enabled. I usually drag the exposure slider and work out how long I can image before saturating, and, round down/up to whole minute figures.

So, the histogram, in this case wasn't lying as I was observing the RAW file directly. 5-minutes was the maximum limit before I could start seeing saturation alerts.

Originally Posted by luigi

I wonder if the saturation point is real or just a glitch of the JPG that the camera shows in the display. The histogram is the JPG histogram. Did you check in the RAW histogram if you had still some room to expose on the bright stars? Thanks!

Gary,

I'm glad you liked the image. I've been looking at it the whole day (set it as my background at work) just pondering. The enormity of it all just hits home when you realise that this is essentially a couple of finger width at arms length in the sky. Incredible.

Originally Posted by gbeal

Wowsers H, stunning.
Gary

David,

Thank you, mate. You're absolutely right, the calibre of images shown here is nothing short of staggering. There's been a very marked improvement in even just the last year, with new people showcasing magnificent work, not just the oldtimers. I will have my CCD back today, or Monday. In time for Border Stargaze in a couple of weeks, where I plan to devote the entire event to perhaps just one or two objects!

Originally Posted by DavidU

DSLR at it's finest. Super work H.
My goodness there are some nice images posted on IIS these days.
Now hurry up with the new CCD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lester,

You are too kind. Thank you, mate!

Originally Posted by Lester

Hi Humayun, you are very good at this and your image is testament to that. Thanks for the view and all the best.

H

[Octane (Humayun)]

Carl,

Cheers! And, yep, I see the pteradactyl. I think it'd make a very decent target in and of itself at a longer focal length. 1000-1500mm ought to do it justice.

Originally Posted by renormalised

Nice shot of the dust there, H

There's a pterodactyl there too, off to the right of the "joe blake"...see his wings and body, and a thin neck and pointy head (faint), and his tail

Chris,

Glad it comes across that way for you. I had seen images of this object on the web in the past and I hadn't quite seen one presented like this. I'm not too fussed with the science behind the image or if it is 100% valid and true to life. I like to think of myself as an artist presenting my own vision of what looks good in my head. This'll do for me. : )

Originally Posted by Screwdriverone

Wow H,

Are you SURE you didnt point the camera straight down while at the beach????
SOOOO many stars it looks like sand.

Captial A for Awesome dude.

Excellent.

Cheers

Chris

Shane,

Thank you!

Yep, as mentioned to Carl earlier up, I would love to have a go at that 2 o'clock object by itself. I don't have the right gear for it at the moment, unfortunately. In the future, perhaps!

Originally Posted by TheAstroGuy

Absolutely Insanely Good!!!

I love that area and the depth of field you have got here is sensational.

There is a portion at about 2 o'clock that is so 3 dimensional i love it.

That's some fine skill and work with such a wide field.

Kindest Regards

Shane

Jase,

Thank you, kind sir. STL is fixed and on its way back. More to come soon!

Originally Posted by jase

Splendid work Humayun. Shame about the STL though. Keep them coming.

Steve,

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Stevec35

Excellent Snake Humayun!

Cheers

Steve

H

[Octane (Humayun)]

Richie's Creation,

I can't believe how pinpoint the FSQ resolves stars. I've never had a scope that's done this before. I'm floored!

Thank you!

Originally Posted by richardo

Pretty wild area looking to the heart of our galactic centre, the star field is massive and this image just shows us how dense things are with the wider fovs...
Just wall to wall...
Gotta love fast scopes with excellent optics!!

Great work H !!

Yes shame about the FW... ain't there always some thing

All the best
Rich

Clive,

Cheers! I was browsing Doug's galleries a few weeks ago and came across your IC 4603. I have to say, that's one of the best renditions I've seen of that region. Are you still imaging or have you hung up the boots for a while? Would love to see some more of that FLT action!

Originally Posted by Alchemy

Yep, looking nice, I like the dust at 2 o'clock very interesting.

Gary,

Cheers, mate!

Originally Posted by Garyh

Beautiful widefield shot of this interesting snakey thing.
Lovely work Mr H

Steven,

Thank you, sir.

Originally Posted by sjastro

Fantastic image H.

Steven

Rob,

Thank you! Well, I think with CCDs having a 16-bit sensor, and a greater well-depth, you're capable of going for longer without too much of an issue. With a DSLR, with the shallower wells, you reach saturation far quicker, not to mention all the other noise that plagues the DSLR.

Luckily, the 5D Mark II gives pretty spectacular results for test images shot at ISO-6400. I might take a 15-second exposure, and boost the resultant exposure by 2 stops using Digital Photo Professional; I check to see if there's any saturated clipping, and make sure the histogram's a decent distance across the X-axis. So, if a 15-second shot at ISO-6400, pushed 2-stops in RAW, gives me good results, I just do the relevant division/multiplication to get me down to ISO-1600 for "correct" exposure. 15->30->60 for the two stops of RAW latitude, and then, 60->120->240 for the 2-stops for the ISO. I then add a little more exposure to account for the extra noise in the image at ISO-6400. 240->300 seconds isn't an altogether huge leap and works well for me.

Originally Posted by RobF

Awesome work Humayun. Interesting what you say about limiting exposure to control over exposure. Many people seem quick to suggest long exposures without considering this in relation to focal ratio.

Hope the SBIG and filterwheel are back together again soon.

H

[Octane (Humayun)]

Fred,

I'll take your comment (and resulting ones) as the Vanderhaven tick of approval. lol.

Leave me alone -- I'll work with what I've got! : P

Originally Posted by Bassnut

Gee, certainly different, bit mushy though (starwise)?.

Roger,

Thanks, mate.

I'm almost out of yellow ink on the Epson, so don't want to risk it at the moment as I'm about to start printing some enlargements for a recent wedding. But, I will do some astrophotographic prints in the not so distant future once I've blown the almost-$1K for replacement inkset. : (

Originally Posted by rogerg

Very nice contrast of colours there H, the golden star field with the blue brighter stars. Nice contrast of textures too. Just great. Bet it looks good big, 100% big .. if it were mine I'd be doing a 80x50cm print of it and staring at the endless field of stars

Martin,

Thanks, mate! I know, I know, he's into his whole starless narrowfield phase. He'll grow out of it, eventually. : P

Originally Posted by mill

Geeeeeeezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!!!!!!! those stars are there and are not going away Fred
Very good image there Humayun (don't listen to Fred he is just jealous ).

Greg,

Thank you!

I think some of that blue glow is natural, and some of it not so natural -- it had clouded over by the end of the first night's imaging session. I didn't actually throw those sub-exposures out; I left them in to see what effect those 4-5 exposures would have over the entire 54-image set. I might go back and re-stack and remove the offending exposures to get a truer representation.

Greg, I have had the 5D Mark II since it was released (I ordered it the day it was announced in October 2008). I got mine in the first shipment to JB Hi-Fi. I am more than happy to provide you with links to landscape images that I've taken with the camera to give you an idea of what's capable of this system. It is, without a doubt, the best camera I've ever owned. I bought the 300D when it first came out in 2003. I upgraded to the 350D as soon as that came out. Got the 40D modified for astrophotography and this is now my wedding/portrait/landscape camera. It's making me money, so, I can't fault it, at all. : )

Originally Posted by gregbradley

Absolutely gorgeous Humi.

I also like the way the 106N presents the bright stars with that nice blue glow. A trademark of the scope.

A stunner. I'm the opposite of you in that I am looking forward to getting a 5D Mk11 (terrestial mainly though) whilst you want to get into CCD cameras!

Greg.

Roland,

Thanks! Spot on, if when imaging with the DSLR and going through a hydrogen-alpha filter, I don't think it'd be uncommon to push for 20-minute or even 30-minute exposures, especially with very narrowband filters.

In this case, it was just the DSLR (one shot colour) so no compensation had to be made. In future, with the STL, I will have to work out an adequate ratio for the filter system. Normally, I think people typically stick to the same length exposure, but, alter the weighting of each filter in pre-processing with G2V reference stars to white balance.

Originally Posted by rcheshire

Love it... stars, dark structure and blue

Good point regarding f-ratio/exposure time, which I presume will change with iso setting, and possibly the type of filter used.

Thanks, everyone -- especially Fred, for your nod of approval. : P

H

[AlexN]

Originally Posted by Octane

Alex,

Thank you! You've been AWOL for a while. What's the go? Are you gearing up to buy some nice gear? We miss the Alex we once knew. : P

Yeah mate, between working permanent night shifts 5pm to 5am every day, building a car, and getting my backside into gear and buying into some real estate, I've had very little time for anything...

There is however, a rig in the works... I still need a few bits and bobs, but it will be the best setup I've had yet when its all done... Teeheehee... Got you wondering doesn't it...

[ptc (Richard)]

Serpens Caput: caput as in expended, used up, deadsville....

in Latin, Caput means head. But in American slang it means used up, expired, exhausted, dead etc...

had a brief window of opportunity to shoot the head of the snake a few weeks back. managed to get three shots before the opportunity expired. Two came out well. I think the head portion was particularly well done.

No flats, biases, or darks used for the data reduction. Completely unfiltered as well.

completely hand held and guided. Very short shots: a few milliseconds.....

the image scale is 12" between wires

http://www.narrowbandimaging.com/inc..._snake_3ft.jpg

[alexch (Alex)]

I love those dense star fields with dark nebulae. Exceptional image, would make a brilliant poster or desktop wall-paper.

Thanks for sharing.
Alex

[Screwdriverone (Chris)]

Very clever Richard,

I initially thought, hey, stop spamming H's thread, get your own post to show your pics!

Had a laugh.

Cheers

Chris

[Jen]

OMG H that is a stunning pic