Helix Nebula

[Rex]

Hi Guys, Last nights effort, The Helix Nebula.

I think I have almost fixed my funky stars issue. Spent a few hours yesterday, adjusting the focuser and re-collimation. Almost there but still minor adjustment needed by the looks. Much better than it was however.

Imaging telescopes: Skywatcher CFP2008 Carbon Fibre 8" f4
Imaging cameras: Canon 1100D Astro modded
Mount: Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro
Guiding telescope: 4" f5 Newtonian
Guiding camera: QHY5
Software: APT, Pixinsight 1.8, PHD guiding
Filters: Astronomik CLS-CCD Clip
Accessories: Baader MPCC coma corrector
Frames: 12 x 600sec @ ISO 800
Integration: 2.0 hours
Pixel scale: 1.319 arcsec/pixel
Orientation: -4.184 degrees
Field radius: 0.487 degrees
Larger version:Astrobin

Edit: Did some more playing to try and remove some of the colour noise that's evident in the background. Lost a little bit of the neb, but seems to be better saturated. Not sure which I prefer. Let me know which you like.

[cometcatcher (Kevin)]

That's an awesome image Rex. I always found the Helix a difficult object.

[Spookyer (Brett)]

Looking pretty good there.

[Rex]

Originally Posted by cometcatcher

That's an awesome image Rex. I always found the Helix a difficult object.

Thanks Kevin, This is my first real attempt at it, and I will probably add more data to it, but am pretty happy considering. To be honest I wasn't too worried if this didn't turn out, I am just glad I am getting to the bottom of my focuser tilt.

Originally Posted by Spookyer

Looking pretty good there.

Thanks Brett.

I had a bit more of a play to try and remove some background noise. Image attached to first post for comparison.

[raymo]

That really is super Rex; in fact it is better than a version that I very
recently saw on the main forum. I've wanted to have a go at it for a
while, but am STILL waiting for a clear night.
I prefer the first one.
raymo

[5ash (Philip)]

Lovely image Rex , showing some finer detail even the "eyelid /eyebrow?" underneath. Keep them coming , regards philip

[Rex]

Originally Posted by raymo

That really is super Rex; in fact it is better than a version that I very
recently saw on the main forum. I've wanted to have a go at it for a
while, but am STILL waiting for a clear night.
I prefer the first one.
raymo

Thanks you so much Raymo. I'm glad you like it. I almost posted it in the main deep sky forum but chickened out at the last minute. I'm really not sure which I like best, that's why I left the original up there when I posted the second one. My biggest annoyance with the first one is the colour noise that is visible in the background.

Originally Posted by 5ash

Lovely image Rex , showing some finer detail even the "eyelid /eyebrow?" underneath. Keep them coming , regards philip

Thank you Phillip. I was surprised at the amount of detail showing on the inner edge of the red against the blue actually. Glad you think it turned out ok.

[RickS (Rick)]

Nice work, Rex! As has already been mentioned, you're starting to get some of the faint extensions happening. Great stuff!

[phobos27 (Nick)]

Are you sure you didn't take that photo from a book because it looks great! I reckon the second photo with more saturation looks much nicer and you don't lose very much of the Nebula at all.

Quick Question? If I remember correctly, the Helix Nebula is rather small and I believe we have the same scopes so how did you get such a nice image? Maybe I have just never really tried that much!

Nick

[PeterEde (Peter)]

Thats' awesome
Feeling the need for a guide scope. These 10 -30 sec exp are killing me

[LightningNZ (Cam)]

Great image Rex, I'm still hanging out for a clear night to have a go at this object.

Same question as Nick - did you crop it much to get it looking so large?

Cheers,
Cam

[raymo]

Brief aside: Peter, if you learn to drift align[ assuming your EQ3 is
motorised] you can extend your subs to 90-120 secs.
raymo

[Rex]

Originally Posted by RickS

Nice work, Rex! As has already been mentioned, you're starting to get some of the faint extensions happening. Great stuff!

Thanks rick. Hopefully they will show even more when I get more data.

Originally Posted by phobos27

Are you sure you didn't take that photo from a book because it looks great! I reckon the second photo with more saturation looks much nicer and you don't lose very much of the Nebula at all.


Quick Question? If I remember correctly, the Helix Nebula is rather small and I believe we have the same scopes so how did you get such a nice image? Maybe I have just never really tried that much!

Nick

Thank you very much Nick. To answer your question, the helix is medium sized and as such this is about 60% of the original. Now M57 the ring nebula looks very similar to the helix but is tiny in comparison. I doubt this scope would produce a usable image of the ring nebula without using a barlow or similar device. I have attached a single frame straight CR2 to JPG convert to show nebula size at full frame.

Originally Posted by PeterEde

Thats' awesome
Feeling the need for a guide scope. These 10 -30 sec exp are killing me

Thanks Peter. Like Raymo said below, if you're meticulous with your polar alignment and you ensure your scope is properly balanced on the mount, you should be able to extend your exposure times. It takes practice, but gets easier the more you do it.

Originally Posted by LightningNZ

Great image Rex, I'm still hanging out for a clear night to have a go at this object.

Same question as Nick - did you crop it much to get it looking so large?

Cheers,
Cam

Thanks Cam, I look forward to seeing your image. As mentioned it's about 60% original resolution.

Originally Posted by raymo

Brief aside: Peter, if you learn to drift align[ assuming your EQ3 is
motorised] you can extend your subs to 90-120 secs.
raymo

Good advice as usual Raymo.

[jsmoraes (Jorge)]

Very good work ! Nice image and color of nebula, smooth and natural.
I will prefer the first because with a bit of more bright color shows the faint cloud at the right side of nebula.

[Rex]

Thanks Jorge, much appreciated.