Well, I honestly thought I would never bother imaging this galaxy, I always thought it a little boring and for some reason I didn't like its shape..? ...true, go figure
Anyway, I am glad I decided to shoot it because as is often the case once you start to get data down it starts to grow on you, then when processing starts you get used to it and then you start to think..what was I thinking?
I was lucky to get good seeing for most of one of the three nights and the other two were at least average but I was also plagued by high wafting cloud at times the same night as the good seeing and given the presence of some faint Milky Way Cirrus dust in the field, well, passing high Earth cloud is not ideal huh? and then the last quarter Moon rose to really illuminate the scene always something... But after culling the worst frames the Cirrus is quite evident in the end result and I didn't push it too hard in an attempt to keep it subtle (which it actually is in reality)
The other thing was working the right colour and as is often the case colour palettes for this galaxy vary across the net...my RGB suggested the AAO version was about right so I went with it
At only 5.3' X 4.75' in size NGC 2442 is actually smaller than I thought but in the end I was happy with the result and taking the gamble with the weather and flexing off work Thursday and Friday to complete the project paid dividends
Comparing with a beautiful high resolution result by Volker Wendell using the CHART32 CTIO 32" Cassegrain in sub arc sec seeing at Cerro Tololo, helps to identify features and details in my lower resolution data, even distant background galaxies that can be seen "through" NGC 2442 can be identified!
Cheers
Mike
Last edited by strongmanmike; 07-03-2016 at 12:46 AM.
Very nicely resolved meat hook Can even spot what appears to be some faint purple patches in there! Almost begging for some deep Ha to bring them out hehe
Interesting stuff Mike, , the shape is indeed intriguing, kind of out-of-balance in a way, and a lot of light coming from the lower left arm bend which is in all images here - fascinating !
A Very nice resulting image on your part for this target, colour looks very similar to the reference image
Great pick up on the Cirrus dust & distant galaxies too, some great dtail in them aswell !
Top show ! !
Well, I honestly thought I would never bother imaging this galaxy, I always thought it a little boring and for some reason I didn't like its shape..? ...true, go figure
Anyway, I am glad I decided to shoot it because as is often the case once you start to get data down it starts to grow on you, then when processing starts you get used to it and then you start to think..what was I thinking?
Mike
I went through exactly the same thoughts before I imaged this one. This is a really nice picture Mike. Lots of sharp detail and good colours. Nice that you caught the dust--it's pretty faint.
Geoff
Very nicely resolved meat hook Can even spot what appears to be some faint purple patches in there! Almost begging for some deep Ha to bring them out hehe
Also some nice not so faint fuzzies
Cheers Colin, yes I thought about doing some Ha but was happy with how the HII regions were captured in the RGB so didn't bother
Quote:
Originally Posted by Somnium
looks like those few nights of good seeing and clear skies have yielded good results ! well done
I recon so too Aidan, hey I was just happy to out under (mostly) clear skies drinking Beer over a 4 day weekend - heaven
Quote:
Originally Posted by astronobob
Interesting stuff Mike, , the shape is indeed intriguing, kind of out-of-balance in a way, and a lot of light coming from the lower left arm bend which is in all images here - fascinating !
A Very nice resulting image on your part for this target, colour looks very similar to the reference image
Great pick up on the Cirrus dust & distant galaxies too, some great dtail in them aswell !
Top show ! !
Thanks very much Casey Jones (see attached ) glad you enjoyed the view mate, I always like galaxy fields with a bit of everything in'em too
Quote:
Originally Posted by Geoff45
I went through exactly the same thoughts before I imaged this one. This is a really nice picture Mike. Lots of sharp detail and good colours. Nice that you caught the dust--it's pretty faint.
Geoff
Cheers Geoff, I was quite happy with results too and as I said, glad I decided to hit it
Great work Mike - fascinating seeing the comparison with the professional 32" version too - guess there's no substitute for aperture.
Thanks for sharing!
Great work Mike - fascinating seeing the comparison with the professional 32" version too - guess there's no substitute for aperture.
Thanks for sharing!
Oh yeah aaaand sub arc sec seeing and great image scale The Chart32 scope is producing just about the highest res wide field (by pro standards) work of anyone in the world either pro or amateur.
A really nice capture Mike. Great detail for sure.
This poor galaxy has a name that just sets up a bias. "Meathook" really doesn't conjure up something "beautiful" and then there is our human bias for preferring symmetry.... Maybe we could come up with a nicer name? To me it looks a bit like a jeweled pendant, or a swimming prawn.
nice one Mike very cool structure and colour plus an interesting array of background galaxies - did you spot any uncatalogued dwarfs? I see you have been working the faint stuff here!!
It's a very weird little galaxy, Mike, and that's a great result. Nice detail and colour. The IFN is a bit of a bonus.
Cheers,
Rick.
Thanks Rick, am glad I have a fast scope that can go pretty deep pretty quick, I just don't have the patience to go beyond 20hrs, heck I haven't even reached that with the AG12 yet, 17.5hrs is my best so far...I generally get bored after 3 or 4 nights on one object
Quote:
Originally Posted by Placidus
Amazing detail in the dust lanes, especially razor sharp colour detail, and also in the nucleus. Lovely.
Thanks Mike and Trish, glad you like it
Quote:
Originally Posted by topheart
Awesome capture Mike.
Great work!
Cheers,
Tim
Thanks Timmy, how's the new camera going by the way? Did you end up selling the big ProLine?
Quote:
Originally Posted by PRejto
A really nice capture Mike. Great detail for sure.
This poor galaxy has a name that just sets up a bias. "Meathook" really doesn't conjure up something "beautiful" and then there is our human bias for preferring symmetry.... Maybe we could come up with a nicer name? To me it looks a bit like a jeweled pendant, or a swimming prawn.
Peter
He he yeah maybe...but in the end really it should be called The Rhino Galaxy (see attached)
Quote:
Originally Posted by multiweb
Looks great! Really nice details in the arms. Love the wider field with all the various galaxy shapes and color. Pretty deep too.
Thanks Marc, yeah a good galaxy field is hard to beat
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stevec35
That's a nice sharp meat hook Mike. You've got really nice detail in the surrounding galaxies too.
Cheers
Steve
Thanks Steve, I recall you did this galaxy with your old 12.5" RC and STL11000..?
Quote:
Originally Posted by rustigsmed
nice one Mike very cool structure and colour plus an interesting array of background galaxies - did you spot any uncatalogued dwarfs? I see you have been working the faint stuff here!!
Rusty
Cheers Rusty, well who knows .. hey one of those smaller irregular fuzz balls near the main galaxy might be associated with NGC 2442 but the tell tail tidal elongation isn't seen ...personally though, I love the small galaxy at the middle right edge of the full frame with the faint Donald Trump comb over arm to its right
how's the new camera going by the way? Did you end up selling the big ProLine?
Mike
Yes indeed Mikey !!
The new camera and AO and attachments / filters etc are somewhere between Sydney and Cairns at the moment - should arrive in the next day or so, then I can sort it all out with the new mount and cart it out to Savannah Skies and then the fun begins putting it all into operation. The wet season is still hanging around at this stage, but should be gone soon and I have three weeks off work in a few weeks, so it should line up all OK hopefully. It might take a while to tweak it all and start producing data....
Yes, I sold the PL16803, CFW5-7 and Filters. They have gone to a guy overseas with the best modern large imaging scope collection I have heard of in a long time.
I have kept one of the two PL16803s - that one will keep on working behind the BRC250. However I sold the other PL as I really wanted to return to AO guiding as I have used that previously behind the 0.5m diameter 4.7m focal length scope and loved it.
Yes indeed Mikey !!
The new camera and AO and attachments / filters etc are somewhere between Sydney and Cairns at the moment - should arrive in the next day or so, then I can sort it all out with the new mount and cart it out to Savannah Skies and then the fun begins putting it all into operation. The wet season is still hanging around at this stage, but should be gone soon and I have three weeks off work in a few weeks, so it should line up all OK hopefully. It might take a while to tweak it all and start producing data....
Yes, I sold the PL16803, CFW5-7 and Filters. They have gone to a guy overseas with the best modern large imaging scope collection I have heard of in a long time.
I have kept one of the two PL16803s - that one will keep on working behind the BRC250. However I sold the other PL as I really wanted to return to AO guiding as I have used that previously behind the 0.5m diameter 4.7m focal length scope and loved it.
All the best.
Cheers,
Tim
Wow all sounds exciting Tim, you have some nice gear that's for sure...definitely looking you up when next in Cairns...just to drool
I have a PL16803 & CFW-5-7 with full set of LRGBHaOIIISII's sitting in my cupboard...juuust waiting for a long FL scope.....one day..one day
Hey Mike,
If I ever take a trip down your way, I gonna rummage around in your cupboards and drool.
Yep, you are welcome to sit back and share a beer and a sunset out at Savannah Skies with me anytime - life just doesn't get better than that!
Cheers,
Tim
...true, go figure 
always something... 
But after culling the worst frames the Cirrus is quite evident in the end result and I didn't push it too hard in an attempt to keep it subtle (which it actually is in reality) 
) glad you enjoyed the view mate, I always like galaxy fields with a bit of everything in'em too 
(see attached)
.. hey one of those smaller irregular fuzz balls near the main galaxy might be associated with NGC 2442 but the tell tail tidal elongation isn't seen 
...personally though, I love the small galaxy at the middle right edge of the full frame with the faint Donald Trump comb over arm to its right 
