PIER-14 Images

When the Spaghetti nebula [Simeis 147] starts to rise again towards the start of the autumn , it might make a good future 2 panel vertical mosaic.

A previous imaging attempt when the obstruction was causing problems, I found it impossible to produce anything other than an image using just the Ha data. I subsequently used the opportunity whilst it was still visible to use pier 6 on that nebula. With that pier being in landscape orientation it was much easier to capture most of this object in a single frame. This is a result of 4.5 hours Ha data and 4.0 hours oiii. Could have done with a little bit more, but this after all was costing me.

A few more narrowband images using pier 14.

The Monkey Head nebula was captured when there was that obstruction so necessitated some harsh cropping. The others are of the Christmas Tree cluster and a close up of the Cone nebula.

That Sime is a nice image Ray, you should add that to the gallery

Steve

Broadband work is non to shabby either

Couple of images. The 3 panel mosaic made possible by the assistance from Mike in explaining how to do more than 2 panels, plus ic5068 using data from one of the mosaic panels combined with data from pier 6.

Loving it Ray. Need to get on with processing this treasure trove of data, but am stuck in project crisis hell for the next couple of weeks!

Thanks for those kind words Richard. I feel for you and the frustration you must have right now. Obviously work must come first, and I hope whatever it is causing a crisis can be resolved quickly and give you some additional free time.

Best regards,

Ray

These things happen. Shows you how illusory this retirement lark is :-)

My first process of the IC1396 data we captured before the changes. Not as much data as I would like. I ended up with 28 mins Ha, 64 mins O3 and 80 mins S2.



There is severe bloating of MuCeph (the Garnet Star) in S2, which I have not yet tried to tame. So I should be able to do better with practice.

It looks a good image to me with a pleasing colour palette

I have had Antilia LRGB HOS 3nm ultra narrowband filters on back order for this pier for the last 6 months. I am hoping they arrive before the next trip so i can get them swapped over!

Steve

Thanks Steve.

I think I am beginning to get the hang of this narrowband processing! Onwards and upwards

Hi Richard,

I'm a bit puzzled by the integration times you posted since when I processed it I used far more. Given those few subs you've done a fantastic job, really puts mine in the shade considering the extra data I used.

What I think you' may find is that you haven't used all the available data. I need to check the computer that I download the data to and when I have I'll get back to you.

Cheers,

Ray

Yes, getting better colour wise for sure

Its not so much star bloat as a halo to be honest, the new filters when the finally land should tame that!

Steve

Hi Richard,

I'm a bit puzzled by the integration times you posted since when I processed it I used far more. Given those few subs you've done a fantastic job, really puts mine in the shade considering the extra data I used.

What I think you' may find is that you haven't used all the available data. I need to check the computer that I download the data to and when I have I'll get back to you.

Cheers,

Ray

You are right. Job 26 was also IC1396. I temporarily mislaid that. Got to keep better records of the data sets!

So you just used 1026 and 1035 I assume.

So you just used 1026 and 1035 I assume.

Worse than that. I just used 1035 :-(

Major brain fade!

I'll gather everything up tomorrow and start again.

Lol.

So you used the data from the submission I put in to keep the pier busy, but not the 2 you specifically put in.

Now an admission of my own. It was only when you mentioned imaging the Teddy Bear nebula, aka Ced214, Ngc7822 etc that I remembered that I too had overlooked my own data. Lol.

It is available as downloads 1030 and either 1010 or 1012. For some reason its number changed in the job list and off hand I cannot recall what it was to download. So not necessary to submit an entry for the Teddy Bear.

Cheers,

Ray

OK, here is a reprocess of the Elephant's Trunk IC1396, using all the data we collected. 35 x Ha, 38 x O3, 65 x S2 all at 240sec = 9.2 hrs.

I think it is a bit richer than the first version. However, I do have rings around most of the stars. Not sure what to do about that.

Hi Richard,

Rings around stars are a real pain and can result from a star mask not fully covering all the stars, or in some processes being too aggressive, and a combination of both. Are you able to look back and find at what point they appeared. The halo on the main star can be mitigated, but the best I am able to do is to select the circle and use the curves transform to blend it as much as possible into the background. I always end up with a thin circle around the edge of the selected area, but it's not so obvious. That extra data has certainly made a big difference. It has what I've often referred to as a soft natural looking pastel appearance, something that suits many objects. Personally I go for stronger contrast, but too often overdo things! One day I'll strike the right balance.