IC 5148 The Cosmic Atom - with ultra faint outer OIII halo
This little planetary nebula is located in the constellation Grus (The Crane). The bright central ring is quite small at about 2.3 arc min in size while the ultra faint and rarely captured outer OIII halo extends out to about 6 arc min in diameter.
The outer halo is very elusive and a quick look around on the net confirms this but I think I got it all...?. The new narrower band pass 6nm Astronomiks have helped here but I recon 3nm may have helped delineate more structure in the faint halo, still, I'm happy with the three nights of imaging which once again took place in quite good conditions... I have been quite lucky in this department in recent times , with most nights at least average seeing but many above average to good
The faint outer halo, clean and grit-free, looks like a dragon-serpent wrapped protectively round its brilliant opal egg. The opal itself is unbelievably sharp.
Nicely done, Mike! The only other image I have seen that shows so much of the halo is the one by Don Goldman (who had the slight advantage of a CDK20.)
I have a lot of hours on this target from last year. I was trying to improve on Don's Oiii by collecting a lot more data with my puny 300mm scope but didn't really succeed. I was battling read noise all the way. I should get around to processing it, I suppose...
Thanks heaps guys glad you all found it intriguing
Yes, Don's image is great and yep aperture rules here but I recon the fast optics of the AG12 has allowed me to do an ok job considering the difference in site and equipment? I think my handling of the main ring holds up more than well but and apart from the bigger aperture, I think the 3nm OIII filter Don used was handy too as we both have the same extent of the outer halo but he has revealed higher detail and features within that halo...anyway, we use what we have to best of our ability and be happy with that I guess?
Nicely done as usual Mike. I did the halo about a year ago. It took me 18.5 hours of OIII and I don't think I did it as well as you. Of course faster optics would help.
That's brilliant Mike, some very delicate detail in the main shell and the outer one looks intriguing; ghostly and indeed ultra faint!
It's truly fascinating how many of these faint PN outer shells that have been revealed in detail by amateurs in recent years.
Nicely done as usual Mike. I did the halo about a year ago. It took me 18.5 hours of OIII and I don't think I did it as well as you. Of course faster optics would help.
Yeah I remember yours now Steve, nice, it is a difficult object to process huh?
Quote:
Originally Posted by SkyViking
That's brilliant Mike, some very delicate detail in the main shell and the outer one looks intriguing; ghostly and indeed ultra faint!
It's truly fascinating how many of these faint PN outer shells that have been revealed in detail by amateurs in recent years.
Thanks SkyViking Sigmarson Olofsen
This was difficult to process, after heavy stretching the OIII was pretty bloody noisy, so then the noise filtering had to be done very carefully so as not to remove details but also and perhaps more importantly, not to add details or features that weren't there! I think I succeeded in this anyway...but I would love a 20" to make life easier
Well, one day I would love a 24" F3 well corrected scope .....buuut not holding my breath on that one
Quote:
Originally Posted by graham.hobart
So Mike, you working on an Atlas of planetary Nebs?
Excellent as always.
Cheers
Graham
He he yeah, PN's are such fun and usually very beatiful little things to image, bit like butterflies (I'd imagine?) and it's been a bit of a side course for me lately huh?...I do love galaxies at heart though
, with most nights at least average seeing but many above average to good 
glad you all found it intriguing 
but and apart from the bigger aperture, I think the 3nm OIII filter Don used was handy too as we both have the same extent of the outer halo but he has revealed higher detail and features within that halo...anyway, we use what we have to best of our ability and be happy with that I guess? 
.....buuut not holding my breath on that one 
