My turn!! ... M42 & the Hunter's sword.

[marc4darkskies (Marcus)]

When I was a kid, I stared at this patch of sky for hours, marvelling at the delicate whisps of nebula through the eyepiece of a Unitron 3" refractor and then a Celestron 8. I tried to image it a number of times but I didn't have the tools to guide well enough to get anything like a decent result ...

... but now I do!

So, after a 40 year wait, here is my rendition of this amazing patch of sky. My objective, as always, is to show the object as boldly as possible while trying to keep it as real as possible. I like the result, but can't rule out a sidonio at some point. Don't worry though, there are already two sidonios built into this image already - I tinkered for quite while.

Naturally, I've blended in a shorter LRGB image to bring out the detail around the trapezium. Nope, no hubble detail there, but not bad for 2.21 arcsec/pixel.

Small:
http://www.pbase.com/gailmarc/image/121582105/large

Large (use <Cntrl -> to zoom out & <Cntrl +> to zoom in):
http://www.pbase.com/gailmarc/image/121582105/original

Hope you like it.

Cheers, Marcus

[Tom Davis (Tom)]

Right on! Great image!!

Tom

[SkyViking (Rolf)]

Awesome, you have really brought out the details while kept the impression that the Trapezium area is indeed much brighter. I like it!

[Paddy (Patrick)]

Stunning image!

[h0ughy (David)]

i am in awe

[marc4darkskies (Marcus)]

Originally Posted by Tom Davis

Right on! Great image!!

Tom

Thanks a lot Tom. I used yours, Rob Gendlers and Mike Sidonio's images as references when processing. It's interesting to note that each rendition has something different (and good) to offer.

Originally Posted by SkyViking

Awesome, you have really brought out the details while kept the impression that the Trapezium area is indeed much brighter. I like it!

Thanks Rolf. Yes, it's important to keep some of the original brightness relativity and I think I've done that. I was worried that I didn't leave it glowing bright enough, but making it glow any brighter would start to obscure some of the detail.

Originally Posted by Paddy

Stunning image!

Thanks Patrick, glad you liked it!

[marc4darkskies (Marcus)]

Originally Posted by h0ughy

i am in awe

Hey thanks Dave. Looking forward to seeing some images from the Doghouse!!! (which is looking great by the way)

[Garyh]

Ah yes Awesome result Mark!
First thing I noticed when it started downloading was the star colors were really beautiful! Compostion is very nice and all that faint dust!
Just Beautiful!

[toryglen-boy (Duncan)]

well done mate, thats a fantastic image

[DavidU (Dave)]

Absolutely beautiful mate !

[Octane (Humayun)]

Marc,

That is just stunning.

Above all else, I really love your stars. I know that's one area you try to perfect and it really shows.

Well done, sir.

H

[marc4darkskies (Marcus)]

Originally Posted by Garyh

Ah yes Awesome result Mark!
First thing I noticed when it started downloading was the star colors were really beautiful! Compostion is very nice and all that faint dust!
Just Beautiful!

Thanks a lot Gary - The fainter dust clouds were a challenge - to bring out the colour and detail in them while managing the noise.

Originally Posted by toryglen-boy

well done mate, thats a fantastic image

Cheers Duncan!

Originally Posted by DavidU

Absolutely beautiful mate !

Thanks Dave

Originally Posted by Octane

Marc,

That is just stunning.

Above all else, I really love your stars. I know that's one area you try to perfect and it really shows.

Well done, sir.

H

Thanks Humayun. I spent more time on the stars than usual partly to mitigate the internal reflections coming from all the bright stars and of course to maintain the colours while stretching the faint clouds. Hey, maybe I should remove the neb and just show the stars .... hmmmm

[Paul Haese]

Nice work Marcus.

Perhaps doing some Ha to bring more of that out would benefit the image.

Overall I reckon it is a lovely shot. Stars are nice and round.

[bluescope]

Very, very nice image Marcus ... great work !

[telecasterguru (Frank)]

Wonderful image.

Frank

[multiweb (Marc)]

Wow! You've certainly captured a lot of neb on that shot. Superb composition and colors.

[troypiggo (Troy)]

^^^ What they all said. Stunning, superb, awesome, amazing. Well done on all counts. One of the greats.

[marc4darkskies (Marcus)]

Originally Posted by Paul Haese

Nice work Marcus.

Perhaps doing some Ha to bring more of that out would benefit the image.

Overall I reckon it is a lovely shot. Stars are nice and round.

Thanks Paul. I didn't add Ha in the first instance because, for this FOV, much of the extended neb is dust & reflection. If the clouds ever go away though I may gather some Ha and see.

Originally Posted by bluescope

Very, very nice image Marcus ... great work !

Thanks a lot Steve

Originally Posted by telecasterguru

Wonderful image.

Frank

Cheers Frank.

Originally Posted by multiweb

Wow! You've certainly captured a lot of neb on that shot. Superb composition and colors.

Thanks Marc. Yep, pretty happy with the depth I managed with only 5 min subs!

Originally Posted by troypiggo

^^^ What they all said. Stunning, superb, awesome, amazing. Well done on all counts. One of the greats.

Cheers Troy, glad you liked it. I'm pretty pleased with it - and after staring at it in a darkened room over and over, I'm struggling to see how to improve it. Give me some time though & I'll figure something out.

[richardo (Rich)]

Well done Marcus!!
This is certainly a wall hanger.
The faint wisps and detail within are lovely to gaze into on your original size image.
Huge detailed fOV...

Really looking forward to see what else this setup can do.

Rich

[gregbradley]

I like this one the best of the recent M42s. You got a nice natural look going there with lots of detail as well.

The TOA really gets a lot of detail doesn't it?

Greg.